With agenda on hot-button issues, conservatives win 1 of 3 Lee’s Summit school races
In a tight race, two progressive candidates and one conservative appeared to win seats on the Lee’s Summit school board on Tuesday, defeating incumbent Kathy Campbell.
Unofficial results in Kansas City, Jackson and Cass counties after 9 p.m. Tuesday show Kamile Johnson took the lead with 15.5%, followed by fellow progressive Erica Miller, with 15.4%, and conservative Regina Garrett, 15.2%, to fill three seats on the board.
They defeated conservatives David Grady, 15%, and William Peterson, 15%, progressive Stacy Cronhardt, 14%, and Campbell, the lone incumbent who received 9.6%.
Incumbent Kim Fritchie did not seek reelection, and Megan Marshall resigned after winning a seat as a Jackson County legislator.
Pro-equity candidates Johnson and Miller both pushed for higher teacher and staff pay, and spoke against efforts to expand school choice and ban library books.
Johnson is vice president of pharmacy services at KC Care Health Center and said she has two young children, including one in the district. Miller is a licensed family therapist and mother of three children in the district. Garrett has a background in customer service and has two children in the district.
Garrett ran in a slate of conservative-backed candidates alongside Grady and Peterson, who campaigned on hot-topic issues, such as removing library books they say qualify as “pornography” and restricting transgender students’ access to sports teams and bathrooms.
Liberal parents have accused conservative candidates of wanting to ban books and stymie district diversity and equity efforts. Conservatives, who failed to gain a majority on the seven-member board, have countered that parents should have more of a say over their children’s education, accusing schools of “indoctrinating” students with liberal ideals rather than focusing on the academic basics.
The races are technically nonpartisan.
Garrett previously spoke in favor of removing library books that have content she deems inappropriate, while 28 district committees wrap up their reviews of 90 library books challenged by a small group of parents.
The 200 challenges are against books such as Kurt Vonnegut’s classic “Slaughterhouse-Five,” a science fiction novel exploring the horrors of war; Margaret Atwood’s bestselling “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a story of a dystopian, totalitarian society where fertile women are forced into sexual servitude; Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye,” about an 11-year-old Black girl who yearns to fit white American beauty standards; and “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” a coming-of-age essay collection by George M. Johnson with LGBTQ themes.
“We don’t allow pornography. We don’t allow certain sites for them to have access to on their Chromebooks. So why are we putting it in the school libraries?” Garrett said at a February board meeting.
Both Johnson and Miller said they trust the experts — librarians and teachers — to determine what content is appropriate in schools.
“I think we should rely on them and the processes they have in place to evaluate these books. And make sure we read the entire book. It is easy to take an excerpt from anything and lose the meaning of the entire book,” Johnson said.
Miller argued: “I think there are so many battles that we need to be fighting. Just within the past week, with the school shooting, and we’re talking about banning books and not banning assault rifles? That’s a huge issue to me.”
The candidates also were split on LGBTQ issues, while state lawmakers consider legislation that would curb rights for that community. Both Johnson and Miller said the district needs to improve equity and inclusivity for everyone and not isolate transgender and nonbinary students. Garrett has spoken against transgender students participating in girls sports.
Voters, with 70.6% in favor, also approved the district’s proposal to reallocate 20 cents of its debt service levy to its general operating levy without impacting the overall tax rate. The funds will be used to increase staff salaries next school year.
