For seat on school board in Kansas, it was ‘parent passion’ in JoCo that steered vote
In the competition for one of the five seats up for grabs on the Kansas State Board of Education, the choice was more about parent passion versus political agitation than it was about party perspective. Or at least that’s how those watching closely saw it.
Looks like passion won.
Unofficial results have Democrat Melanie Haas, a Shawnee Mission parent, winning over a longtime Johnson County politician, Republican Benjamin Hodge.
With the Kansas Secretary of State reporting results from all 235 precincts, Haas, who was running for her first political office, won with 55% of the vote to Hodge’s 45%. Their battle was over the board’s District 2 seat, which represents Shawnee Mission, Blue Valley, De Soto and Olathe school districts in Johnson County, as well as the Turner district in Wyandotte County.
“I had an opponent in this race who did not show up at all so it really concerns me that the race was so close,” Haas said Tuesday night. “It shows that a lot of the issues came down to partisan politics. But now I get ready to do the work. This is why I decided to run. It’s really exciting for me.”
Fellow Republicans have described Hodge, a former state representative, as a “more conservative” member of the party. He was absent from debates and interviews this campaign season. His website hasn’t been updated since his unsuccessful 2016 run for Johnson County Board of Commissioners, which left voters with little knowledge about where he stands on public education policy issues.
Political consultant Stephanie Sharp, a former GOP state representative, told The Star that Hodge was “sort of an equal opportunity agitator.” She said she warned voters that she believed Hodge had more interest in being disruptive than in serving public K-12 education.
Hodge has not returned repeated requests for comment.
Haas, a technology executive and entrepreneur, attended debates and forums, and she responded to interview requests. On her website she laid out her reasons for running: “I believe that public education affects every single one of us. … With massive budget shortfalls looming as a result of COVID-19, creative problem solving will be required at all levels of government.”
Four other seats on the 10-member board were up for election this year, but the only other contested race was in Wichita.
The unofficial final vote count there had Democratic challenger Betty Arnold and Republican incumbent Kathy Busch in a dead heat, each capturing 50% of the vote with all 116 precincts reporting. But officials in the Kansas Secretary of State office said the totals are not final until all qualified votes are counted. On Wednesday there were still 66,000 advance-by-mail ballots that have not yet come in. Officials expect to continue counting votes through Friday.
Three other board members — Deena Horst, Ann Mah and Jim McNiece — ran unopposed.
COVID-19 has made the state school board election one to watch as voters grapple with whether to send their children back to classrooms. And districts look for guidance on how to keep schools open and students and staff safe.
New awareness of the board’s role came after it rejected Gov. Laura Kelly’s order delaying the start of school until after Labor Day in a 5-5 vote, two weeks before the primary. That left it up to districts to decide when to start the school year.
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 6:39 PM.
