Valley Heights Unified School District 498, Kansas, elections
| Valley Heights Unified School District 498 |
|---|
 |
| District details |
| School board members: 7 |
| Students: 406 (2023-2024) |
| Schools: 3 (2023-2024) |
| Website: Link |
Valley Heights Unified School District 498 is a school district in Kansas (Riley, Washington, and Marshall counties). During the 2024 school year, 406 students attended one of the district's three schools.
This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.
Elections
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Valley Heights Unified School District 498, Position 1 District 1
General election
General election for Valley Heights Unified School District 498, Position 1 District 1
Dava Warders ran in the general election for Valley Heights Unified School District 498, Position 1 District 1 on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | ||
| Dava Warders (Nonpartisan) | ||
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 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Valley Heights Unified School District 498, Position 2 District 2
General election
General election for Valley Heights Unified School District 498, Position 2 District 2
Corey Ekstrum and Michael Vermetten ran in the general election for Valley Heights Unified School District 498, Position 2 District 2 on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | ||
| Corey Ekstrum (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Michael Vermetten (Nonpartisan) | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Valley Heights Unified School District 498, Position 3 District 3
General election
General election for Valley Heights Unified School District 498, Position 3 District 3
Janelle Bigham and Lucas Roepke ran in the general election for Valley Heights Unified School District 498, Position 3 District 3 on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | ||
| Janelle Bigham (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Lucas Roepke (Nonpartisan) | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Valley Heights Unified School District 498, Position 7 At-large
General election
General election for Valley Heights Unified School District 498, Position 7 At-large
Darin Bigham and Scott Toerber ran in the general election for Valley Heights Unified School District 498, Position 7 At-large on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | ||
| Darin Bigham (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Scott Toerber (Nonpartisan) | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Election rules
Election dates and frequency
School board nonpartisan primary elections in Kansas are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in August every two years in odd-numbered years. Primary elections are only held if more than three candidates run for one seat in a single-seat race or if the number of candidates for a multi-seat race is more than three times the number of open seats. If three or fewer candidates run for a school board seat, the primary is canceled and the candidates automatically advance to the general election.
School board general elections in Kansas are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in odd-numbered years.
See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2021
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all public school districts except Fort Leavenworth School District (USD 207). There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- Filing deadline date: June 2, 2025
- Primary election date: August 5, 2025
- General election date: November 4, 2025
Election system
School board members in Kansas are elected through a system of a nonpartisan primary election and a nonpartisan general election. The primary election is only held if a large enough number of candidates run for office.
See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2006
School board members for the Fort Leavenworth School District (USD 207) are appointed by the commanding general of Fort Leavenworth. The Fort Leavenworth School District is located entirely within the Fort Leavenworth military base.
See law: Kansas Statutes Section 72-533b
Party labels on the ballot
School board elections in Kansas are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Kansas Statute Section 25-2009 states, "School elections shall be nonpartisan and laws applicable only to partisan elections shall not apply in such elections."
See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2009
Winning an election
The school board candidate or candidates that receive the most votes in the general election are elected to office.
Primary elections are only held if more than three candidates run for one seat in a single-seat race or if the number of candidates for a multi-seat race is more than three times the number of open seats. If three or fewer candidates run for a school board seat, the primary is canceled and the candidates automatically advance to the general election. If there is a primary election, the two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election for single-seat races, and the number of candidates with the most votes equal to twice the number of seats up for election advance to the general election for multi-seat races. In the general election, the candidate or candidates that receive the most votes are elected.
See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2021
Term length and staggering
School board members are elected to four-year terms.
See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2021
As close to an equal number of school board members as possible are up for regular election every odd-numbered year. This means three board member seats are up for election in one odd-numbered year and four seats are up for election in the following odd-numbered year for districts with the statute-set seven board members.
See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2018
Representation: at large vs. by sub-district
School board members are elected either at large or through a combination of at large and by sub-district, depending on the voting plan of the district. School boards choose a voting plan for each election from the following three options: (a) entirely at large in both the primary election and the general election, (b) through a sub-district method in the primary election and at large in the general election, or (c) through a sub-district method in both the primary election and general election. If using a sub-district method, the school district can have six sub-districts, three sub-districts, or two sub-districts. Each sub-district method requires one member elected at large. For the method with six sub-districts, one member is elected from each sub-district. For the method with three sub-districts, two members are elected from each sub-district. For the method with two sub-districts, three members are elected from each sub-district. As of 2022, 190 school districts (66%) elected all of their board members at large, and 96 school districts (34%) used one of the methods involving one at-large member and six members elected from six, three, or two sub-districts.
See law: Kansas Statute Section 25-2004
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
The filing deadline for school board candidates is 12 p.m. on June 1 of the election year or the following day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday.
See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-205
Newly elected school board members take office on the second Monday in January following the election.
See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2023
About the district
School board
The Valley Heights Unified School District 498 consists of seven members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.
| Name | Seat | Year assumed office | Year term ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Bachura | Position 2 District 2 | 2025 | 2027 |
| Luke Roepke | Position 3 District 3 | 2023 | 2026 |
| Scott Toerber | Position 7 At-large | 2023 | 2026 |
| Dava Warders | Position 1 District 1 | 2023 | 2026 |
| Jami Gillig | Position 6 District 3 | 2025 | |
| Sharon Osborne | Position 4 District 1 | 2025 | |
| Lisa Stryker | Position 5 District 2 | 2025 |
Join the conversation about school board politics
District map
Overlapping state house districts
The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.
Budget
The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]
| SOURCE | AMOUNT | AMOUNT PER STUDENT | PERCENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal: | $546,000 | $1,230 | 7% |
| Local: | $1,714,000 | $3,860 | 23% |
| State: | $5,139,000 | $11,574 | 70% |
| Total: | $7,399,000 | $16,664 |
| TYPE | AMOUNT | AMOUNT PER STUDENT | PERCENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Expenditures: | $7,567,000 | $17,042 | |
| Total Current Expenditures: | $7,288,000 | $16,414 | |
| Instructional Expenditures: | $3,740,000 | $8,423 | 49% |
| Student and Staff Support: | $481,000 | $1,083 | 6% |
| Administration: | $777,000 | $1,750 | 10% |
| Operations, Food Service, Other: | $2,290,000 | $5,157 | 30% |
| Total Capital Outlay: | $251,000 | $565 | |
| Construction: | $0 | $0 | |
| Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: | $0 | $0 | |
| Interest on Debt: | $28,000 | $63 |
Academic performance
Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]
The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:
| School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-2021 | 46 | PS | <50 | PS | PS | 45-49 | |
| 2018-2019 | 46 | PS | PS | PS | PS | 45-49 | |
| 2017-2018 | 52 | PS | PS | PS | PS | 50-54 | |
| 2016-2017 | 48 | PS | PS | PS | 45-49 | ||
| 2015-2016 | 45 | PS | PS | PS | 45-49 | ||
| 2014-2015 | 34 | PS | PS | PS | 35-39 | ||
| 2012-2013 | 55-59 | PS | PS | 55-59 | |||
| 2011-2012 | 75-79 | >=50 | PS | 75-79 | |||
| 2010-2011 | 85-89 | >=50 | PS | 85-89 |
The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:
| School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-2021 | 49 | PS | PS | PS | PS | 45-49 | |
| 2018-2019 | 48 | PS | PS | PS | PS | 45-49 | |
| 2017-2018 | 58 | PS | PS | PS | PS | 55-59 | |
| 2016-2017 | 53 | PS | PS | PS | 50-54 | ||
| 2015-2016 | 48 | PS | PS | PS | 45-49 | ||
| 2014-2015 | 41 | PS | PS | PS | 40-44 | ||
| 2012-2013 | 80-84 | >=50 | PS | 80-84 | |||
| 2011-2012 | 85-89 | >=50 | PS | 85-89 | |||
| 2010-2011 | 90-94 | >=50 | PS | 90-94 |
The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:
| School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-2020 | 80-89 | PS | 80-89 | ||||
| 2018-2019 | >=80 | PS | PS | >=80 | |||
| 2017-2018 | >=80 | PS | PS | >=80 | |||
| 2016-2017 | >=80 | >=80 | |||||
| 2015-2016 | >=80 | >=80 | |||||
| 2014-2015 | >=80 | PS | PS | >=80 | |||
| 2013-2014 | >=80 | PS | >=80 | ||||
| 2012-2013 | >=80 | PS | >=80 | ||||
| 2011-2012 | >=80 | PS | >=80 | ||||
| 2010-2011 | 60-79 | 60-79 |
Students
The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]
| Year | Enrollment | Year-to-year change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-2024 | 406 | -5.2 |
| 2022-2023 | 427 | -4.0 |
| 2021-2022 | 444 | 3.2 |
| 2020-2021 | 430 | -5.1 |
| 2019-2020 | 452 | -2.0 |
| 2018-2019 | 461 | 3.5 |
| 2017-2018 | 445 | -0.4 |
| 2016-2017 | 447 | 2.7 |
| 2015-2016 | 435 | -7.1 |
| 2014-2015 | 466 | 1.3 |
| 2013-2014 | 460 | 1.3 |
| 2012-2013 | 454 | 2.9 |
| 2011-2012 | 441 | 2.9 |
| 2010-2011 | 428 | -0.5 |
| 2009-2010 | 430 | 0.9 |
| 2008-2009 | 426 | -0.9 |
| 2007-2008 | 430 | 4.9 |
| 2006-2007 | 409 | 1.7 |
| 2005-2006 | 402 | 0.5 |
| 2004-2005 | 400 | -1.5 |
| 2003-2004 | 406 | -8.6 |
| 2002-2003 | 441 | -2.9 |
| 2001-2002 | 454 | -7.5 |
| 2000-2001 | 488 | -2.7 |
| 1999-2000 | 501 | 0.0 |
| RACE | Valley Heights Unified School District 498 (%) | Kansas K-12 STUDENTS (%) |
|---|---|---|
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 1.0 | 0.7 |
| Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.0 | 2.8 |
| Black | 0.5 | 6.6 |
| Hispanic | 4.2 | 22.0 |
| Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Two or More Races | 0.5 | 6.3 |
| White | 93.8 | 61.3 |
Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Staff
The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]
As of the 2023-2024 school year, Valley Heights Unified School District 498 had 35.00 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 11.6.
| TYPE | NUMBER OF TEACHERS |
|---|---|
| Prekindergarten: | 0.00 |
| Kindergarten: | 5.00 |
| Elementary: | 14.00 |
| Secondary: | 16.00 |
| Total: | 35.00 |
Valley Heights Unified School District 498 employed 0.00 district administrators and 3.00 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.
| TYPE | NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS |
|---|---|
| District Administrators: | 0.00 |
| District Administrative Support: | 3.00 |
| School Administrators: | 3.00 |
| School Administrative Support: | 3.00 |
| TYPE | NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF |
|---|---|
| Instructional Aides: | 3.00 |
| Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: | 0.00 |
| Total Guidance Counselors: | 0.50 |
| Elementary Guidance Counselors: | 0.00 |
| Secondary Guidance Counselors: | 0.00 |
| Librarians/Media Specialists: | 0.00 |
| Library/Media Support: | 1.50 |
| Student Support Services: | 6.00 |
| Other Support Services: | 10.50 |
Schools
The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]
About school boards
Education legislation in Kansas
Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.
See also
| School Boards | Education Policy | Local Politics | Kansas |
|---|---|---|---|
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
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