Most incumbents re-elected to Shawnee County school boards

Rafael Garcia, Topeka Capital-Journal
Updated ·2 min read

Several incumbents have won in their respective races for re-election to Shawnee County area school boards.

With all precincts reporting as of 8:35 p.m., the Shawnee County Election Office's results, while unofficial, are final.

Each of the five predominantly-Shawnee County school boards had at least four seats up for election Tuesday.

Most of the races featured incumbents running for and winning re-election. The results, then, are a defeat for several of the challenger candidates — many of whom were endorsed by conservative groups and positioned themselves in favor of strong parental rights and against what they deemed a misguided modern emphasis on non-academic portions of school, such as social-emotional learning.

In Silver Lake, voters overwhelmingly passed a $16.3 million bond issue as well.

Tuesday's local elections show that most incumbents were re-elected to Shawnee County school board seats.
Tuesday's local elections show that most incumbents were re-elected to Shawnee County school board seats.

Topeka USD 501 school board

District 1 Position 4: Lalo Muñoz (4,246); Lana Kombacher (1,754); Jacqueline Bosch (1,129).

District 2 Position 5: Sue Bolley (5,817; unopposed).

District 3 Position 6: Melanie Stuart-Campbell (5,812; unopposed).

At large: Richard Bonebrake (3,548); John R. Williams (2,264); Antoine "AC" Collins (1,268).

Seaman USD 345 school board

District A Position 1: Braden Werner (1,741); Brett Bitner (1,175); Duane Steichen (151).

District B Position 2: Michelle Caudill (1,833); Zachary Wagers (1,249).

District C Position 3: Dianna Brodine (1,670); Terry Symonds (1,397).

At-large: Christy Weiler (1,907); Linda Sloan (1,191).

Silver Lake USD 372 school board

At-large (four seats): Cody VandeVelde (490); Aubrey Kruger (474); Lori Klein (446); Scott Mellen (394); Stan Circle (349); Dan Klucas (301); Ian Reel (286); A.J. Heier (271); Elizabeth Meier (161); Tannar Hinson (152).

Unexpired member at-large: Jason Seele (761; unopposed).

Auburn-Washburn USD 437 school board

District A Position 1: Jeremy Wiltz (3,014; unopposed).

District B Position 2: Matt Ewald (3,062; unopposed).

District C Position 3: Brad J. Noller (2,074); Linessa Frazier (1,011); Richard Lewallen (516).

At-large: Tom Bruno (2,668); Z. Vincent Mulegwa (862).

Shawnee Heights USD 450 school board

District A Position 1: Lauren Tice Miller (2,386); Damon Shore (1,762).

District B Position 2: Rocky J. Busenitz (2,311); Chris A. Kieffer (1,521).

District C Position 3: Sarah Sanders (2,567); Troy Showalter (1,557).

At-large: Kristy Van Metre (1,938); Michael P. Cichowicz (1,522); Jason A. Schulz (630).

Silver Lake's $16.3 million bond question passes

Yes: 605 (57.3%).

No: 451 (42.7%).

Rafael Garcia is an education reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at rgarcia@cjonline.com or by phone at ‪785-289-5325. Follow him on Twitter at @byRafaelGarcia.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka 2023 school board results feature incumbents re-elected