TOPEKA — Turnover on the Kansas Board of Education after the November election could tip the board’s balance of power in favor of conservative members.

Half of the board’s 10 seats are up for election. Republicans currently outnumber Democrats seven to three, but some moderate board members aren’t running for reelection, positioning the board for a potential ideological shake-up. All five races are contested, and the 12 candidates are differentiating themselves on such central issues as parental rights, public school funding and school safety ahead of Nov. 5.

The board is tasked with oversight of the Kansas Department of Education and supervision of public schools, but it has little control over funding, a responsibility of the legislative branch.

Two incumbents are running for reelection, and a pair of three-way races could split conservative votes. Many of this election’s Republican candidates align with the current board’s conservative faction on issues like religion in schools, arming teachers and parental involvement in instructional and functional decisions.

At an Oct. 6 forum in Lawrence, a candidate for the northeastern 4th District, Kris Meyer, criticized the four conservative members on the current board who she believes are “seeking to sow distrust across the state of Kansas in our public schools.”

Those four board members — Danny Zeck, Michelle Dombrosky, Cathy Hopkins and Dennis Hershberger — are not up for reelection until 2026.

In the 2nd District, which represents school districts in Johnson and Wyandotte counties, incumbent Melanie Haas, a Democrat and tech executive, is seeking to retain her seat in a three-way race. She is up against Republican challenger Fred Postlewait and an independent, Kiel Corkran. Haas was first elected in 2020 and is the board’s current chair. She was endorsed by the Kansas National Education Association, the state’s public educator union, and she has defended fully funding public schools.

Postlewait, a retired computer systems manager, was inspired to run for the board to address declining ACT scores, which have been on a downward trend since 2014 but saw a sharp drop in 2020.

“The train is off the tracks,” he wrote on his campaign website.

Corkran does not have a campaign website and didn’t respond to Kansas Reflector’s requests for an interview.

In the 4th District in northeastern Kansas — including Baldwin City, Eudora and large parts of rural Douglas County — Democrat Ann Mah is vacating her seat on the board after eight years. Republican Connie O’Brien, a former teacher and state representative, and Democrat Meyer, a longtime public school educator and principal, are vying for the position.

O’Brien beat out two other Republican hopefuls in the August Primary after Attorney General Kris Kobach gave her his endorsement, urging conservatives to vote for her.

She said in a video posted to YouTube she’ll focus on changes to vocational and technical education, supporting parental rights and supporting teachers.

O’Brien, who did not respond to Kansas Reflector’s requests for comment, said at the Oct. 6 candidate forum at the Lawrence Public Library she does not support vouchers, adding that private school and home school parents “don’t want government in their face.”

“But you have to wonder why parents march up to the capital every year and ask for those things,” she said.

Meyer told Kansas Reflector she’ll focus on fully funding public education, particularly special education, addressing teacher shortages and retention woes and bolstering student mental health support.

“I want to ensure the state board continues to set clear standards and advocate for policies and funding that guarantee all students receive a quality education,” she said. “This includes pushing back on legislative overreach that could hinder the state board’s constitutional duty.”

In the 6th District — which includes large parts of the Lawrence city limits — Republican Deena Horst isn’t running for reelection. Democrat Beryl Ann New, a retired director of personnel and equity at Topeka Public Schools, and Republican Bruce Schultz, a retired professor of anatomy and physiology at Kansas State University, are running to represent school districts in north-central and northeastern Kansas, including the cities of Lawrence and Topeka.

If elected, New told Kansas Reflector, her goal is to address poor student performance and safety in schools in her first year.

“I will collaborate with board members to ensure that resources are provided to schools whose students are yet below grade level in reading comprehension, provide funding to ensure that Kansas schools remain safe and secure, and solidly support the full funding of all Kansas schools with 100% of funds going solely to public schools,” New said.

She also said she supports vetted alternative teaching programs to address teacher retention and shortages. At the Oct. 6 forum in Lawrence, New said the principal reason she’s seen teachers leave the profession was inadequate compensation.

Schultz, who didn’t respond to Kansas Reflector’s inquiries, said at the forum he doesn’t think boosting teacher salaries is the right answer to teacher retention issues and shortages. Instead, he favors an approach that builds persistence in teaching, he said.

“We need to reform the system to allow and promote greater community engagement,” he said.

Schultz has campaigned on prioritizing parent involvement in school decisions, focusing education on math, science, language arts and financial literacy and budget efficiency, according to his campaign website.

In the Wichita-area 8th District, Democratic incumbent Betty Arnold, a former Wichita school board member, seeks to hold on to the position she has occupied since 2021. She’s aiming to reevaluate performance measures and outcomes, increase teacher compensation and prioritize student safety.

“I believe in public education and I will continue to support it,” Arnold said in an email. “As the focus shifts away from the support of public education, it is vital to have an advocate that understands public education is a must if we want to continue with all children having access to an education.”

Arnold’s opponent, Republican Jason Carmichael, did not respond to Kansas Reflector’s requests for comment. He lost a bid for a seat on the Unified School District 259 board in Wichita in 2023. During that election, he ran on the premise that “parents’ rights are the cornerstone” of society, KMUW reported. Carmichael believes in eliminating the U.S. Department of Education, supports teachers who are authorized to carry guns in order to combat an active shooter and opposes mandated vaccination requirements, according to a questionnaire he completed for iVoterGuide, which is affiliated with Christian political nonprofit AFA Action.

The 10th District in south-central Kansas is contested in a three-way race. Jeffrey Jarman, a Democrat, Debby Potter, a Republican, and Kent Rowe, an independent, are vying for the position being vacated by moderate Republican Jim McNiece.

Jarman, a communications professor at Wichita State University and member of the Maize public school board, said in an email he will advocate for stable funding and against school vouchers if elected.

“While the Legislature appropriates the funds, there is an important role for the board in advocating for stable funding,” he said. “The current funding formula finally meets the minimum required by the state constitution, but it will expire in 2027. I strongly support extending the formula to provide stability to school districts.”

Jarman said he hopes to support local districts by bettering educational achievement outcomes and allocating existing funds to programs that assist the “most vulnerable students,” he said.

“But,” he added, “the board is divided and decisions about how to best support our students unfortunately are politicized.”

Potter, who did not respond to Kansas Reflector’s requests for comment, homeschooled her own children, and she said she was inspired to run when she considered her grandchildren.

“I want them not to be indoctrinated away from their faith and away from their parents, and I feel like there’s a lot of undermining of the families going on,” she said at a candidate forum hosted by Republican Women United of Sedgwick County ahead of the August primary election.

She defeated another Republican hopeful in the primary. God is her campaign manager, she said at the forum.

Potter considers herself to be “very conservative, ” she wrote in answers for an iVoterGuide questionnaire. She supports arming licensed teachers, eradicating the federal department of education and is a strong advocate for parental involvement in schools.

“While I believe private education provides a better result for less money, the general public has determined that public education is in the public’s best interest,” she wrote. “To that end, my hope will be to involve parents and teachers to take more control (as would be the case in private education) through informing them and encouraging their increased participation with their local school boards.”

Rowe, who didn’t respond to Kansas Reflector’s inquiries, is a member of the Kansas Green Party, according to his campaign website. His priorities include retaining funding for rural public schools, preventing book bans in high schools and addressing student mental health issues. He is a retired professor of aeronautical science for the U.S. Air Force and the former mayor of Longton, which is in Elk County.

• Anna Kaminski is a reporter with the Topeka-based news service Kansas Reflector.