A write-in candidate wins Kansas City school board seat after no one filed to run
Write-in candidate Monica Curls has won a seat on the Kansas City school board, after no one met the qualifications to appear on the ballot.
When no one successfully filed to run for the Sub-district 4 seat, in the east-central region of Kansas City Public Schools, both Curls and Jacquada “Jay” Gray registered as write-in candidates and started campaigning. While the election was on April 4, the election office finished counting write-in ballots this week.
More than 1,000 people wrote in names for the seat, according to unofficial results, with Curls winning 691 votes and Gray receiving 172. She will replace board member Marvia Jones.
Curls, 49, is the manager of government compliance for Terracon, an Olathe engineering company. She is from Kansas City, a product of the Catholic school St. Teresa’s Academy, and comes from a political family, with both parents having served in the statehouse. She has been active in KCPS community meetings and also previously helped with some campaigns.
“I am honored that the voters of the 4th Sub-district have chosen me to represent them on the KCPS Board of Directors. I want to congratulate Jacquada Gray for running a great campaign, and I know she will continue to advocate on behalf of our students,” Curls said in an email to The Star.
“I look forward to joining my colleagues on the KCPS Board as we focus on ensuring positive educational outcomes for all of our students. We have a lot of challenges in front of us, and I am ready to get to work.”
On Wednesday, two other new board members were seated. Both Jamekia Kendrix and Josh Jackaway ran unopposed for two open seats, so they automatically won the positions. Kendrix fills the Sub-district 2 seat, covering the north-central region, to replacing board chair Nate Hogan. Jackaway replaces Jennifer Wolfise for the at-large seat.
It was an easy-to-miss election despite the past year being marked by school closures, the hiring of a new superintendent and contentious debates over the future of Kansas City Public Schools.
The last Kansas City school board election saw big spending and two hard-fought races, including one that unseated a longtime incumbent and board chair.
But school leaders argued the sleepy election wasn’t a sign of apathy. They have been working to build excitement for KCPS, hoping to grow enrollment, better compete with neighboring schools and gain voter support for a bond initiative next year.
Some potential candidates didn’t realize their sub-districts had changed, following redistricting, or said that the new maps were confusing. And others struggled to gather enough signatures. For at-large seats, 500 signatures are required, while candidates running in the other races need 250 signatures from active voters who live in the sub-district.
Jennifer Wolfsie, who did not seek reelection, previously told The Star collecting enough signatures from people residing in a sub-district, who are not only registered to vote but actively do so, “actually is more difficult than a lot of people realize.” Some candidates have several signatures thrown out, she said.
On election years, KCPS holds training courses for residents considering running for school board. Wolfsie said the district plans to start offering those courses every year, and earlier in the fall, to help candidates get a head start on collecting signatures and meeting the qualifications.
