Wichita Public Schools

The COVID-19 pandemic boosted the microschool movement across the country, as families sought alternatives during shutdowns and remote schooling. The trend has continued post-pandemic, as part of a broader desire for educational choice.

Four years ago, the Wichita district employed a hybrid voting model that let voters across the district weigh in on school board races. This year, a majority of board members are in district-only races for reelection.

Amy Warren, a Wichita parent and volunteer, has raised more money than any other candidate in the race for Wichita Board of Education. She faces incumbent Hazel Stabler in the District 6 race in November.

Wichita district officials say another bond issue is the only reasonable way to finance needed repairs and upgrades. Board members gave initial approval to put a new bond issue on next year's general election ballot.

The Wichita Board of Education unanimously approved a three-year contract with Kelly Bielefeld. It includes a new agreement that the concept for a microschool launched last fall is Bielefeld’s intellectual property.

High schools in Kansas are graduating a higher percentage of students than ever before. But some people worry that the growth of credit recovery could be lowering standards and allowing students to get a diploma without the skills they need.

In a meeting with Wichita Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld last fall, members of the Greater Wichita Ministerial League and the NAACP questioned how the district’s graduation rate is increasing while scores on state assessment tests remain low.

Members of the district's financial oversight committee rejected a proposal to recommend a new bond issue by March 2026. They said the state’s largest district has not made a clear case for why it needs a bond or how it would use the money to rebuild and repair schools.

Wichita school district leaders formed the financial oversight committee to gather community input after voters rejected a $450 million bond issue. Now they're asking the group to recommend another bond vote.

One Wichita school board member said she received "a wave of unsettling feedback" from retired educators that several high schools could be manipulating grades or artificially inflating course credits so that more students graduate.