The Wichita Board of Education selected Brock Booker to fill its vacancy in District 3 on Friday morning.
Booker, originally from Parsons, is a digital marketing student at Rasmussen University and a community volunteer. He previously ran for Wichita mayor in 2019.
After studying music at Friends University, Booker works with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra chorus. He has also volunteered with organizations like the One Heart Project, which helps mentor at-risk students in Wichita.
As a new board member, Booker said it’s important to bring the community together for student success.
“If we want to have stronger neighborhoods, stronger schools, we've got to all work together, which we're seeing more and more of now,” Booker said. “Everybody's got to play a role when budgets get tight and resources are slim.”
Booker takes over the District 3 seat from Ngoc Vuong, who resigned this summer for a tenure-track assistant professor of psychology position out of state. He will serve the remainder of Vuong’s term through December 2027.
Allysa Hupko, a licensed clinical social worker, was the only other applicant for the position. Booker was chosen by a vote of 4-2 after a first round tie among the board.
District 3 contains Curtis and Mead middle schools, as well as Allen, Bostic, Caldwell, Colvin, Griffith, Jefferson and White elementary schools. It also has East High School, the oldest building in the district and a focus of the upcoming bond referendum.
Wichita Public Schools will ask voters in November whether to approve up to $615 million in bonds for building improvements. East High School would receive $20 million for building preservation. Currently, the building is undergoing a $8.5 million project to repair the foundation and flooring.
Booker said East High is important to the community and deserves to be preserved.
“It's been in the community for a long time, a number of years, and there's a whole host of memories,” Booker said. “It's in a part of town that many people pass by, or have access or have meetings there.”
Booker said he hopes voters take a closer look at this bond referendum, after the last one failed. For him, it represents an investment in students' futures. Part of the district’s strategic plan is to make sure students feel safe and connected to their schools. The bond is a good way to advance that plan, he said.
“We have to make the key investments now to build out the future,” Booker said. “Wichita is growing. We expect many students coming downtown with the biomedical campus, and many students from 259 that are looking at health careers and things around that nature.”
Student behavior, district transportation and enrollment are other areas Booker said he wants to concentrate on. But for now, he wants to listen to district faculty and students to find out how he can best help.
“I'm excited to join the board and continue the work,” Booker said. “I appreciate everything that Ngoc Vuong did and accomplished. I applied for this because I wanted to have a continuation of service and be someone who could step in on day one.”
Booker’s first meeting as a board of education member will be Oct. 12.
