Springfield school board will fill 3 seats in April. How many incumbents will run again?

Claudette Riley, Springfield News-Leader
Updated ·5 min read
In April 2021, Springfield school board members Maryam Mohammadkhani, Danielle Kincaid and Scott Crise were sworn in.
In April 2021, Springfield school board members Maryam Mohammadkhani, Danielle Kincaid and Scott Crise were sworn in.

Springfield school board officers Danielle Kincaid and Scott Crise confirmed Monday they will seek a second term. It is not yet clear if Maryam Mohammadkhani will run again.

The initial three-year terms for Crise, Kincaid and Mohammadkhani will end in six months.

Springfield Public Schools posted details Monday for residents interested in seeking a seat. It included the eligibility rules, dates for picking up and dropping off candidate packets and what steps are required for those who hope to appear on the April 2 ballot.

The News-Leader reached out the incumbents with expiring terms, candidates who made unsuccessful bids in 2022 or 2023, and individuals who picked up packets or publicly discussed the possibility of running for the elected office but stopped short of running.

There is no rush. The first day to pick up a packet to run for the board is Oct. 31 — yes, Halloween — and any hopeful has until Dec. 26 to turn in the required paperwork.

All seven seats on the SPS board are at-large, meaning they represent the entire district and not a specific area, and the candidates with the most votes are sworn in. The governing board hires and evaluates the superintendent, sets policy, approves a budget and shapes the future of the district.

Here's a look at potential candidates who confirmed they will or won't run next year plus any the News-Leader has reached out to who have not yet responded.

Planning to run

  • Scott Crise, manager of gas plant operations for Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. His children graduated from SPS. He currently serves as board vice president.

  • Danielle Kincaid, an attorney and partner with the Elder Law Group. She is president of the board.

  • Maryam Mohammadkhani, a retired pathologist. Her children have attended both private and public schools, including SPS. She is a former board vice president.

  • Landon McCarter, a business owner and entrepreneur. He is a graduate of SPS and his children are enrolled in the district. He recently started working part-time as a substitute teacher. He received 12,889 votes in the April 2023 election, coming in third of four candidates.

  • Kyler Sherman-Wilkins, associate professor of sociology at Missouri State University. He is board president for the GLO Center and vice president of the Springfield chapter of the NAACP. He considered a run in 2022 but opted against it.

  • Chad Rollins, facility manager and pharmacy director at HealthDirect Pharmacy Services in Ozark, is a fitness enthusiast. A graduate of SPS, he has seven children who are or have been in SPS. He received 11,898 votes in April 2023 and came in fourth.

Planning to run?

The News-Leader has reached out to the following individuals to see if they are planning to run but had not received a response by deadline.

  • J. Michael Hasty, a veteran who served in Iraq, works in sales. He created the Queen City Watchdog and made an unsuccessful bid for City Council. His children have attended SPS. He hoped to run in 2023 but failed to get enough petition signatures. In a Monday text, Hasty wrote: "I am currently undecided."

  • Brandi VanAntwerp, executive director of FosterAdopt Connect, who previously worked at both CoxHealth and Habitat for Humanity. She ran in 2021 and 2022 but not 2023. She attended SPS and has children enrolled in the district.

Not planning to run

The following individuals confirmed Monday that they will not seek a spot on the 2024 ballot:

  • Charles Taylor, professor of communications at Drury University. First elected in 2016, he ran as an incumbent in 2022 but was defeated.

  • Chad Courtney, an attorney, ran in 2022 and does not plan to run again.

  • Stephanie Sproule, a real estate agent and parent who was active in the campaign to elect board member Steve Makoski, said she briefly considered running but has decided against it.

The basic eligibility requirements for candidates include being age 24 or older, and being a voter in the Springfield district who has lived in Missouri for at least one year prior to the election.

Each candidates must fill out and submit paperwork including petitions with the signatures of at least 500 registered voters in the SPS district by the deadline.

How to run for the board

Board secretary Tammi Harrington scheduled a board candidate orientation open to anyone interested in running. In it, she will go over key dates and answer questions.

The orientation is 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6 at the Kraft Administrative Center or KAC, 1359 E. St. Louis St. Here are key dates:

  • Packets to run for the board will be available starting at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31 at KAC;

  • Petitions must included the names and signatures of at least 500 registered voters from the district;

  • Packets to run for the school board can be turned in starting at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5 at the KAC;

  • Candidates who file on the first day — Dec. 5 — will participate in a random drawing to determine the order in which their names will appear on the ballot. The drawing will be at 5:15 p.m. that day and candidates are welcome to attend;

  • Candidates who file Dec. 6 or after will have their names appear on the ballot in the order in which petitions are received and validated by the board secretary;

  • Packets and petitions must be turned in by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 26. The district is closed that day but the office will be open from 4-5 p.m. that day for this purpose;

  • The election is Tuesday, April 2.

Claudette Riley covers education for the News-Leader. Email tips and story ideas to criley@news-leader.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Three SPS seats are up in April. How many incumbents will run again?