Lee’s Summit school board hopefuls talk hot topics, from AI to protests, in forum
Candidates for the Lee’s Summit school board in the upcoming April 7 election addressed a range of questions on topics like student protests, artificial intelligence in schools and other challenges for the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District at a candidate forum hosted by the Lee’s Summit PTA Council on Monday.
Voters in the state’s seventh-largest school district by enrollment will choose three board members from a group of seven candidates, though one of those candidates, Christopher Thornton, recently announced he was suspending his campaign.
Three incumbent candidates, Regina Garrett, Kamile Johnson and Erica Miller, are running to retain their seats. The rest of the field is filled out by candidates Matt Warton, Rodrick Sparks and Kirsti Martin.
Thornton did not appear at Monday’s forum and council president Lorenzo Harrison read a statement from him about him bowing out of the race. Martin announced on social media that she would not attend because of a previously scheduled medical appointment.
Here’s how the candidates responded to a handful of questions posed at Monday’s forum:
ICE protests
A community question to candidates suggested that at recent student protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, some students had allegedly thrown items at vehicles and others had reportedly been bullied for not participating, and asked how candidates felt the district handled the protests.
Most recently, hundreds of students at Lee’s Summit High School walked out of class on Friday and demonstrated along Route 291.
Sparks said the district should not tolerate vandalism, bullying or disruptions, but said students have a right to protest.
“I believe that they have the right to be able to voice that opinion,” Sparks said. “As long as parents were aware of the students doing what they did, then I believe that we should be able to support that as a democracy. In no way would I support any type of participation that would be disruptive.”
Miller concurred and commended Superintendent David Buck on his communication with board members in the lead-up to the protests.
“I don’t agree with violence, I don’t agree with vandalism and certainly not bullying,” Miller said. “I think that on the other side of the coin, though, is, I do think that the students that put the protests together did it thoughtfully. The ones that I spoke with, they were doing it very thoughtfully. I think it’s a right in this country to stand up for things that you believe. I think that our students were exercising their right.”
Johnson said the district remained in contact with law enforcement during recent protests to make sure that students were safe and said she and other district officials didn’t support any of the issues that were alleged.
“Students have the right to protest, and their voices should be heard, and if they are respectful about it, I think it should be allowed,” Johnson said. “My son participated, and he went right back to class, and I think that’s OK.”
Warton emphasized the importance of equal application of district policy about class disruption and said the district shouldn’t get involved in “picking and choosing which things are going to be tacitly approved or not.” Anything “illegal or bullying” would be unacceptable, he said.
“Obviously, we all have the right to get out in the street and make your voices heard,” Warton said. “And that’s a fundamental part of what makes America awesome, is that piece. But there’s still the education process and not being disrupted that is really important.”
Garrett described the issue as a “very sensitive subject” and said she kept her child home from school the day that students walked out of Lee’s Summit High School out of concern that “things were going to get out of hand.” She raised safety concerns and said police were investigating vehicles that were damaged.
“Maybe it was mostly peaceful, but that part of it was not and honestly, with the bullying thing, I don’t agree with that either, but are we allowing that by allowing protesting on school time?” Garrett said. “It’s a question.”
How should the district approach AI in schools?
Sparks said that the district does not currently have an AI policy and said that it should.
“The balance is, this is part of the world that we live in, and so we have to make sure that we are not compromising kids learning how to think on their own,” Sparks said. “We have to also make sure that kids are not utilizing these different tools to take it easy.”
Miller agreed with the idea of the district establishing an AI policy, and said she wanted to hear from teachers about how to handle the technology.
“They’re the ones that are working with the students,” Miller said. “They’re the ones who have to look at a student’s paper and say, ‘Yeah, no, you didn’t write this.’”
Johnson agreed that the district should have AI policies and wanted to hear from district staff. She said she wanted to find ways for students to use the technology appropriately.
“I don’t have that answer, but there does need to be a balance, because if they continue to participate in this global economy, they will have to have understanding of using these tools and taking them into the workplace in the future,” Johnson stated.
Warton said he felt the district can’t push AI out of the educational experience entirely because of how important it has already become to the professional world.
“It’s a tricky question to be certain,” Warton said. “I think, engaging with teachers, with students, outside resources, and understanding what is capable, what are the tools that exist to be able to make sure that it’s not being used for the nefarious, for the cheating, for the not thinking for themselves, but also, how can you incorporate in and use your critical thinking plus AI to deliver a better product in the end?”
Garrett said she worries about AI as a technology and knows that her kids use it regularly in school.
“I do know that it’s going to be useful when they get out of school and they have these jobs that use AI,” Garrett said. “I support that they do have knowledge about it, but I also know that teachers have to make sure that these kids aren’t using it for negative reasons, whether it’s cheating or creating a paper that AI wrote for them.”
Hiring a new superintendent?
Candidates were also asked about the possibility of a superintendent search, if board members needed to make such a hire during their term. A year ago, the district’s board declined to extend Buck’s contract but reversed course two weeks later. Buck was hired in 2020.
Johnson pointed to her experience on the board evaluating Buck and her own work in the private sector as a manager, director and vice president.
“I know what to look for in a candidate,” Johnson said. “We need to look for someone who’s connected to the community, look for someone who is connected to the schools, who is well-educated and wants to support all of our students.”
Warton said he’s hired dozens of people during his career and would bring that experience to hiring a new leader for the district.
“What I want to see is character, I want to see integrity,” Warton said. “I want to get a sense to understand, who this person is in front of us? Are they going to be the person that’s going to lead our district the right way, make the right decisions when things get hard, make the right decisions when things aren’t easy?”
Garrett said she has interviewed candidates for jobs previously and would bring that experience to a hiring process.
“I think knowing how to listen and being able to communicate effectively is a really good qualifier for being able to communicate with a superintendent and finding what their background is, listening to that, what their strengths or weaknesses are,” Garrett said.
Sparks said after meeting with Buck, he hoped the district wouldn’t have to hire a new leader, but said if that were necessary, he wanted an experienced superintendent.
“You have to have board members that are willing to do the work and show up every single day and ask the hard questions when it comes to hiring or even reprimanding a superintendent,” Sparks said.
Miller said board members get a wealth of training around hiring superintendents and said she would bring that experience to a potential hiring process.
“We have the resources available to us through (the Missouri School Boards’ Association) and other platforms that allow us direct connection and training to help support that role if we should have to do that,” Miller said.
In one word, what is the biggest challenge in public education right now?
Garrett: “Literacy.”
Sparks: “Academics.”
Miller: “Budget.”
Johnson: “Funding.”
Warton: “Parental involvement.”
To view the full forum, visit the Lee’s Summit PTA Council’s YouTube page.
