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A new member of the Kansas Board of Education says it will make parental oversight a priority in schools across Kansas.
Prior to the election, the 10-seat board had six Republicans and four Democrats. With Republicans winning all five of her seats in the November election, the BOE will veer even further to the right. In the BOE, Republicans have her seven seats and Democrats have his remaining three seats.
Each member’s term of office is four years. Even-numbered districts vote in presidential election years, and odd-numbered districts vote in midterm election years. The board sets the school’s curriculum standards and graduation requirements.
BOE has been at the center of intense debates on critical race theory, gender and sexuality curricula, and other hot educational topics around national trends in book bans and discussions of appropriate classroom materials.
Three of the five districts voted in the general election elected Republicans who ran unopposed. District 1 and District 3 were his only competitive BOE races in 2022.
District 1 covers school districts such as Atchinson, Douglas, Leavenworth and Shawnee. In District 1, Republican Danisek won his 62% share of the vote, while Democrat Jeffrey Howards won the seat.
Like his fellow Republicans, Zech argued for custody and said schools needed to be more transparent, giving parents full control over their children’s curriculum.
“It’s time to stop Washington’s liberal standards from dictating values that don’t align with Kansas education. We must leave the education of our children up to parents,” Zeck’s campaign page has read.
District 3 covers parts of Johnson County, including Overland Park, Oleis, and Gardner Schools. In the Third District, incumbent Republican Michelle Dombroski faced off against Overland Park Democrat Sheila Albers. Albers advocated addressing teacher shortages and improving education, while Dombroski focused on child custody.
Dombroski received 60,315 votes to Albers’ 54,247 votes and was sent back to office in stiff competition. Her Dombroski campaign page states her belief in her parents’ “inalienable, inviolable authority to direct the upbringing of their children.”
Of the unopposed districts, Republican Kathy Hopkins won the fifth district seat. Hopkins has previously said she wants to stand by her parent’s rights and keep politics out of the classroom.
Dennis Hershberger, a Republican who was elected unvoted to District 7, is also an advocate of custody, campaigning under the slogan “Faith, Family, Liberty.” Incumbent Republican Jim Porter was reelected in the 9th District.
Kansas Reflector is part of the States Newsroom, a network of news stations supported by a 501c(3) public charity coalition of grants and donors. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. If you have any questions, please contact Editor Sherman Smith: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and twitter.
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