Topeka ? Two incumbent State Board of Education members appeared to be falling short Tuesday night in their write-in campaigns to stay in office another four years.

Sonny Rundell, of Syracuse, was losing to Connie Morris, of St. Francis, by a wide margin with 76 percent of the precincts reporting.

However, the margin 81 percent for Morris to Rundell’s 19 percent was not unexpected because write-in votes would be counted after ballots were scanned through voting machines.

Val DeFever, of Independence, also was losing in her bid to defeat fellow Republican Iris Van Meter, of Thayer, in the 9th District of southeast and central Kansas. Van Meter was leading 75 percent to 25 percent with 79 percent of the precincts reporting.

In the 7th District in south-central Kansas, Republican Ken Willard was leading Democrat Duane Anstine in a battle of local school board members. Willard, of Nickerson, was leading Anstine, of Hutchinson, 56 percent to 44 percent with 85 percent of precincts reporting.

If one or both incumbents were successful, they would preserve a majority for a coalition of Democrats and Republicans elected two years ago in response to a decision to lessen the importance of evolution in science testing standards. If not, the board could be split 5-5.

Rundell lost to Morris in August’s Republican primary in the 5th District of western and north-central Kansas. Morris gave up a teaching job to run.

She said the state should stop educating the children of illegal immigrants. She drew criticism from educators and Hispanic activists, who noted the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that such a policy is unconstitutional.

Van Meter is a grandmother and former substitute teacher. While her backers said a fiscally conservative message carried her to victory, DeFever supporters said Van Meter deliberately ran a stealth campaign.

Election officials were not certain when results would be complete because of the districts’ size. The 5th District covers 39 counties and parts of two others. The 9th covers 14 counties and parts of five others.

Two other incumbents won primaries and faced no general election opposition, Democrat Janet Waugh, of Kansas City, in the 1st District, and Republican John Bacon, of Olathe, in the 3rd, who supported the science standards that de-emphasized evolution.

Beyond curriculum issues, the board is likely to play a bigger role in school mergers and consolidations among the state’s 303 districts.