Two challengers and two incumbents running for seats on the Wichita school board have raised more money than their opponents, according to financial disclosure forms filed with the Sedgwick County Election Office this week.
Amy Warren, a Wichita parent and volunteer, has raised $9,878 in her campaign for the District 6 seat against incumbent Hazel Stabler, according to campaign finance records.
That’s the most of any Wichita school board candidate so far, including those competing in primary races Aug. 5.
Warren’s major contributors include Jon Rolph, owner of Thrive Restaurant Group and a former Kansas Board of Regents president; Kristine Rogers, wife of former Wichita school board member and Kansas Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers; and Way Back PAC, a Wyoming-based political action committee that supports “solutions-oriented … pro-democracy candidates.”
Stabler, who is seeking her second term on the board in District 6, had raised $3,000 through July 24, according to her filing. Her contributors include Stan Shelden, owner of Shelden Architecture; Jeff Morris, chief administrative officer at Intrust Bank; and Republican State Rep. Sandy Pickert.
In the District 5 race, retired teacher Amy Jensen has raised nearly $5,000 — more than incumbent Kathy Bond, who raised $3,800 heading into next week’s primary. Jensen’s donors largely include local teachers and retired teachers.
Bond’s largest single contributor was Republican District Judge Eric Yost.
The three other candidates in the District 5 school board primary — Michelle Cunningham, Phillip Samuels and Caleb Smith — filed exemptions declaring that they planned to spend less than $1,000 on the race.
In District 1, school board president Diane Albert raised significantly more than any of her opponents heading into Tuesday’s primary.
Albert, who is seeking her second term on the Wichita board, raised $7,840 through July 24. Her nearest opponent, Mackenzi Truelove, raised $1,195.
Albert’s major contributors echo board colleague Stabler’s, including architect Shelden and bank executive Morris.
The other two candidates in the District 1 primary — Sara McMillen and Kyle Wiseman — filed exemptions declaring they planned to spend less than $1,000.
In District 2, incumbent Julie Hedrick has raised $7,425 so far — more than her opponent, Brent Davis, who has raised $4,952. Valerie Most, a third candidate on the November ballot for District 2, filed a spending exemption.
Wichita school board members serve four-year terms and earn no salary. They approve curriculum and set priorities for the state’s largest school district and oversee a budget of about $1 billion.
Historically, campaigns for the seven seats on the Wichita board have been nonpartisan and low-key affairs. But that has changed over the past five years, as school boards across the country became a battleground for protests about COVID-19 protocols, book bans, parental rights and lessons about racism, sexuality or social-emotional learning.
Major issues in the Wichita school board race this year include a $450 million bond issue that voters narrowly rejected earlier this year. Current board members have given an initial go-ahead to put another bond issue to voters next year.
