Four years after a campaign that focused on mask mandates and other COVID-19 protocols, several Wichita school board members face new challengers and a new voting system in November.
Diane Albert, Kathy Bond and Hazel Stabler were elected in 2021 as part of a conservative wave of school board candidates who edged out incumbents by focusing on mask mandates, critical race theory and other national issues.
Julie Hedrick, former director of facilities for Wichita schools, held on to her board seat that year and is now seeking a third term. One of her two challengers in November is Brent Davis, whom Hedrick narrowly defeated in 2021.
That year was the final local school board election that used a hybrid voting model, in which voters across the district got to weigh in on all school board races.
Voters decided in 2022 to adopt a district-only system, where only people living in each board district can vote for candidates running in that district.
On the upcoming general election ballot in District 1, Albert will face newcomer Mackenzi Truelove, who described herself in a KMUW primary voter’s guide as “the youngest and most left-leaning” school board candidate.
In District 5 in west Wichita, Bond will face retired teacher Amy Jensen, who finished within four votes of the incumbent in their five-candidate primary.
And in District 6 — which includes Riverside, Midtown and parts of north and northeast Wichita — Stabler will seek a second term against first-time candidate Amy Warren. Warren, a Wichita parent and volunteer, has raised the most money of any Wichita school board candidate so far.
The District 2 ballot will feature Hedrick, Davis and a third candidate, Valerie Most. There is no primary unless four or more candidates file for a single race.
Jensen said the primary results show that voters are seeking change on the Wichita school board and value candidates who have experience in the classroom.
“People believe in teachers. They believe in my experience. They believe that fighting for students and families and educators is important,” said Jensen, who taught for more than 30 years at high schools in Clearwater and Maize.
Wichita’s proposed $450 million bond issue is likely to be a key issue in the District 5 race. Kathy Bond was the only board member to vote against a resolution to send the bond issue to voters earlier this year, and she has been outspoken in her opposition to the scope and timing of the bond, which voters narrowly rejected in February.
Jensen said she supports another bond issue.
“The infrastructure needs are so dire right now, we have got to do something, and the only thing we can do is have a bond,” Jensen said.
“People are moving their kids out of the (Wichita) district to go to bright, shiny schools in other districts, and those bright, shiny schools came from bonds.”
Albert, who serves as board president, says her priority is academics and making sure Wichita students are prepared for college or a career after high school.
“My focus has always been on student achievement. That's not changed,” she said. “But people four years ago, they wanted to talk about a lot of other things as well.”
One of those things was a districtwide mask mandate intended to curb the spread of COVID-19.
At their first board meeting in January 2022, Albert, Bond and Stabler made national news when they refused to wear face masks, prompting then-president Stan Reeser to end the meeting before it began.
The three board members wore face coverings at subsequent meetings but urged district leaders to reconsider COVID protocols.
Since then, the new members have voted frequently with the board majority, including motions to raise the superintendent’s salary, to close six schools and to approve a long-term facility master plan.
Earlier this week, the board voted unanimously on a tentative budget that would keep the tax rate flat and increase spending by $39 million. The budget for Wichita public schools next year will exceed $1 billion.
Bond, who refers to herself as “the watchdog” in interviews and on social media, continues to challenge district leaders on some issues, including a facility master plan that calls for the closure of four elementary schools. Bond voted in favor of the master plan last year.
Albert said the switch to a district-only election will not alter her campaign strategy or her message as she seeks a second term.
“I’m going to continue doing what I've always done … which is continue to build relationships and continue to work towards greater student success,” she said.
“I think there’s a national conversation, and then a local reality. And I’m trying to make sure … we all understand what that reality actually is here in Wichita, in our schools and in our classrooms.”
