Natalie Lewis, John Fierro and Ajia Morris win KC school board races

The winners of three write-in campaigns for seats on the board of Kansas City Public Schools were Natalie Lewis, John Fierro and Ajia Morris, the election board announced Wednesday.

Meanwhile, unsuccessful write-in candidate Catina Taylor said that her actions asking students to help her at the polls were “absolutely appropriate and above reproach.” The school district is investigating the matter.

Lewis, a Kansas City businesswoman and former Kansas City Public Schools educator, was elected to the seat for Subdistrict 1 with 1,852 votes. Another declared write-in candidate, Albert Ray, received 356 votes. One hundred fifty other names received fewer than five votes each.

Fierro, president and chief executive officer of the Mattie Rhodes Center, was elected to the seat for Subdistrict 3 with 554 votes. Another declared write-in candidate, Marisol Montero, received 40 votes. Eighty-four other names received fewer than five votes.

Morris, a lawyer and vice president of mission advancement for Goodwill of Western Missouri and Eastern Kansas, was elected to the seat for Subdistrict 5 with 651 votes. Another declared write-in candidate, Bryan Dial, received 196 votes. Taylor received 339 votes. Forty-seven other names received fewer than five votes.

Jennifer Wolfsie, a parent leader in the school district, appeared on the ballot as the only candidate for the at-large seat vacated by Airick L. West.

Taylor acknowledged Wednesday that she asked students for help in her campaign but said she could not comment further on her actions on the advice of her attorney.

“I will be making a public statement at some point,” she said. “It will all be addressed sooner rather than later.”

A report by Fox4 News said that Taylor, a substitute teacher for the school district, offered her students extra credit for campaigning on her behalf outside the polls on election day last week and even drove some students to voting sites.

School district spokesman Ray Weikal said this was a personnel matter because Taylor was a district employee at the time of her alleged actions. But he said Wednesday that Taylor is no longer a substitute teacher for the district.

Curtis L. Rogers, the vice chairman of the school board who currently holds the Subdistrict 5 seat, said Wednesday that a school board investigation is underway. A spokesman for the Jackson County prosecutor acknowledged that the office has asked Kansas City police to investigate the allegation. It is not clear what, if any, law would be relevant.

But Taylor’s actions may have violated district policy on field trips away from school during classroom hours.

Taylor was a substitute teacher at the African Centered College Preparatory Academy. School principal Tyrone M. Bates Jr. sent a letter to parents Monday notifying them of a “breach in protocol with respect to a field trip with a group of students.”

“We have launched a thorough investigation into the matter and will take necessary steps to prevent this from happening in the future,” the letter said.

This story was originally published April 13, 2016 at 12:50 PM with the headline "Natalie Lewis, John Fierro and Ajia Morris win KC school board races."