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I have strongly supported the expansion of our blended learning classrooms across the district. As a board member, it has been gratifying to see the excitement in our teachers who are now leading blended learning classrooms, to hear the success stories they have shared about their students, and to read the data that shows an increase in student engagement and achievement in these classrooms. I will continue to support our steady expansion of blended learning--through this initiative we are gaining ground in provided excellence in instruction for all our students.|author=Shannon Kimball's campaign website (2015)<ref>[http://www.kimballforschoolboard.org/news.html ''Re-elect Shannon Kimball for School Board'', "News & Issues," accessed March 31, 2015]</ref>}}
I have strongly supported the expansion of our blended learning classrooms across the district. As a board member, it has been gratifying to see the excitement in our teachers who are now leading blended learning classrooms, to hear the success stories they have shared about their students, and to read the data that shows an increase in student engagement and achievement in these classrooms. I will continue to support our steady expansion of blended learning--through this initiative we are gaining ground in provided excellence in instruction for all our students.|author=Shannon Kimball's campaign website (2015)<ref>[http://www.kimballforschoolboard.org/news.html ''Re-elect Shannon Kimball for School Board'', "News & Issues," accessed March 31, 2015]</ref>}}
==About the district==
::''See also: [[Lawrence Public Schools, Kansas]]''
[[File:Map of Kansas highlighting Douglas County.svg|150px|thumb|left|link= Lawrence Public Schools, Kansas| Lawrence Public Schools is located in Douglas County, Kan.]] Lawrence Public Schools is located in [[Lawrence, Kansas|Lawrence]], the seat of government for [[Douglas County, Kansas|Douglas County]], in northeastern [[Kansas]]. The county was home to an estimated 114,322 residents in 2013, according to the United States Census Bureau.<ref name=Census>[http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/20/20045.html ''United States Census Bureau,'' "Douglas County, Kansas," accessed December 30, 2014]</ref> Lawrence Public Schools was the [[Largest school districts in the United States by enrollment|seventh-largest school district by enrollment]] in Kansas and served 11,607 students in the 2011-2012 school year.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/2/http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/elsi/tableGenerator.aspx ''National Center for Education Statistics,'' "ELSI Table Generator," accessed January 15, 2014]</ref>
===Demographics===
Douglas County outperformed the rest of Kansas in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 49.6 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 30.3 percent for Kansas as a whole. The median household income in the county was $49,508 compared to $51,332 for the state. The poverty rate in Douglas County was 19.0 percent compared to 13.7 percent in the entire state.<ref name=Census/>
{{col-begin|width=95%}}
{{col-break}}
{| class="wikitable collapsible" style="background:none; text-align: center;"
! colspan="3" style="background-color:#00008B; color: white;" |'' Racial Demographics, 2013<ref name=Census/>
|-
! style="background-color:#00008B; color: white;" | Race
! style="background-color:#00008B; color: white;" | Douglas<br>County (%)
! style="background-color:#00008B; color: white;" | Kansas (%)
|-
| White || 84.8  || 87.1
|-
| Black or African American || 4.5 ||6.2
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 2.8 ||1.2
|-
| Asian || 4.2 ||2.7
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 0.1 ||0.1
|-
| Two or More Races || 3.6 ||2.7
|-
| Hispanic or Latino || 5.5 || 11.2
|}
{{col-break}}
{| class="wikitable collapsible" style="background:none; text-align: center;"
! colspan="4" style="background-color:#00008B; color: white;" |'' Presidential Voting Pattern,<br>Douglas County<ref>[http://www.douglas-county.com/mycounty/voting-and-elections/elections-archive.aspx ''Douglas County, Kansas,'' "Election Archive," accessed December 30, 2014]</ref>
|-
! style="background-color:#00008B; color: white;" | Year
! style="background-color:#00008B; color: white;" | Republican Vote
! style="background-color:#00008B; color: white;" | Democratic Vote
|-
| 2012 || 17,401 || 29,267
|-
| 2008 || 17,929 || 34,398
|-
| 2004 || 20,544 || 28,634
|-
| 2000 || 17,062 || 18,249
|}
{{col-end}}
{{School census}}


==Recent news==
==Recent news==

Revision as of 18:45, 23 May 2025


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Ballotpedia provides comprehensive election coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. This board member is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates.


Shannon Kimball is an at-large representative on the Lawrence Public Schools Board of Education in Kansas. She was first elected to the board in April 2011. Kimball won re-election in the general election on April 7, 2015.

Kimball expressed strong criticisms of Senate Bill 171, which sought to move school board elections to a fall election cycle, and testified before a Senate committee hearing on the bill. In her testimony, she stated, "this bill will do substantial harm to school district operations while actually decreasing voter engagement in and understanding of the issues that are vital to successful public schools."[1]

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Kimball grew up in western Kansas. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science and Spanish from Kansas University and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. She was formerly employed as an education specialist in the Georgia Department of Education. Kimball is married and has two children who attend district schools.[2]

Elections

2015

See also: Lawrence Public Schools, Kansas elections (2015)

Five seats were up for general election on April 7, 2015. Because more than three candidates filed for one position, a primary election was held on March 3, 2015.

Incumbents Bob Byers, Rick Ingram, Shannon Kimball, and Randy Masten were up for regular election. Masten was the only incumbent not to file to run for re-election. Byers, Ingram, and Kimball faced challengers Lindsey Frye, Ronald Gordon-Ross, Jessica Beeson, and Jill Fincher for the four-year terms up for election.[3] Ingram, Kimball, Beeson, and Fincher won the regular election.

An additional seat appeared on the ballot due to a vacancy on the board that was filled by appointment in 2014. Adina Morse resigned from the board in August to serve as the executive director of the Lawrence Schools Foundation. Marcel Harmon was appointed on September 8, 2014, to fill that vacancy.[4]

Because the seat would not have been up for regular election in 2015, the election for this seat was for the two years left on its unexpired term. Harmon ran to remain in the seat against challengers Mary Loveland, Kelly Spurgeon, and Norine Spears. Because more than three candidates filed for the race, a primary election was held. Harmon and Loveland advanced to the general election, where Harmon won his first full-term in the seat.[3]

Results

Lawrence Public Schools,
At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngShannon Kimball Incumbent 18.9% 5,418
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngJessica Beeson 17.6% 5,050
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngJill Fincher 17.3% 4,951
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngRick Ingram Incumbent 16.6% 4,758
     Nonpartisan Bob Byers Incumbent 14% 4,015
     Nonpartisan Lindsey Frye 9.3% 2,669
     Nonpartisan Ronald Gordon-Ross 6.3% 1,819
Total Votes 28,680
Source: Douglas County, "Online Election Results (official)," accessed April 16, 2015

Funding

Kimball reported no contributions or expenditures to the Douglas County Clerk in this election. Her 2011 campaign ended with $215.19 in debt.[5]

Endorsements

Kimball did not receive any official endorsements in this election.

2011

Lawrence Public Schools,
At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2011
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngRick Ingram 14.9% 3,688
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngShannon Kimball 14.4% 3,548
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngRandy Masten 14.3% 3,537
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngKeith Diaz Moore 14.2% 3,496
     Nonpartisan Marlene Merrill Incumbent 12.7% 3,126
     Nonpartisan Ola Faucher 8.8% 2,178
     Nonpartisan Bill Roth 6.2% 1,532
     Nonpartisan James W. Clark 6% 1,476
     Nonpartisan Diane Lindeman 4.8% 1,176
     Nonpartisan Tyler Palmer 3.1% 769
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.6% 154
Total Votes 24,680
Source: Douglas County Elections, "2011 General Election Results," April 11, 2011

Campaign themes

2015

Kimball provided the following statements on her campaign website:

Priorities

I believe wholeheartedly in the fundamental importance of public education. During this time of shrinking state support for our schools, it is more important than ever, and more challenging than ever, for our School Board to make student learning and achievement our first priority. As your board member, I have and will continue to constantly strive to:

  • Put the best interests of our students first
  • Make fiscally responsible decisions
  • Inform and involve our community in supporting Excellence, Equity, and Engagement in our schools

Bond Construction

Our bond projects are in full swing! I have been engaged in the facilities improvement process from the very beginning of the planning for our $92.5 million bond issue, first as a member of the Elementary School Facility Vision Task Force, then as a newly-elected school board member serving on the pre-bond planning committee. I continued that work throughout the bond campaign, and currently have a very active role in implementation of the bond as a member of the district's Facilities Planning and Progress committee. I will continue to focus on that work, and believe that preparing for the future of our district through smart facilities planning is vital. If re-elected, I will continue working to focus our district's short-, mid-, and long-range planning around facilities so that we are prepared for new growth as well as addressing continuing facilities needs (e.g., a long-range plan for improvements at the Lawrence High campus, planning for growth at the elementary and middle school levels).

One aspect of the bond that I am very excited about is construction of our new College and Career Center. At our February 9, 2015 board meeting, I was pleased to vote in favor of plans that allow completion of all 30,000 square feet at the Center. The expanded career opportunities that this facility will bring to our high school students are outstanding and, in conjunction with our partnership with the Peaslee Center and others in the community, will provide more and better opportunities than ever for our students to graduate prepared for college, the work force, and life.

Teaching and Learning

I have strongly supported the expansion of our blended learning classrooms across the district. As a board member, it has been gratifying to see the excitement in our teachers who are now leading blended learning classrooms, to hear the success stories they have shared about their students, and to read the data that shows an increase in student engagement and achievement in these classrooms. I will continue to support our steady expansion of blended learning--through this initiative we are gaining ground in provided excellence in instruction for all our students.[6]

—Shannon Kimball's campaign website (2015)[7]

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Shannon + Kimball + Lawrence + Public + Schools"

See also

External links

Footnotes