Incumbent wins Blue Valley school board seat despite last-second write-in challenge
After a tangled election cycle marked by backlash around a longtime teacher’s termination, a trio of Democrat-backed candidates - including a former Blue Valley superintendent - have won seats on the Blue Valley School Board.
Three of the school board’s seven seats were up for grabs this year. Two returning members and one new member were elected.
One candidate ran unopposed. Sonya Evans will remain District Member 4 after stepping into the role during a vacancy in 2023.
Following the district’s controversial decision to terminate a beloved kindergarten teacher, one parent joined the race as a write-in candidate in response.
Blue Valley school board members meet monthly. Their positions are unpaid.
Sonya Evans stays in District 4
Sonya Evans, a former Blue Valley School District parent, made the jump to district leadership in 2023 when she was tapped to replace a retiring Kaety Bowers. She won unopposed Tuesday night with the endorsement of Stand Up Blue Valley, a non-partisan parent action group.
According to the Blue Valley School District, Evans has several secondary degrees in education and was previously on multiple boards for the Blue Valley Education Foundation. She has also been involved with leadership for the Blue Valley Strategic Planning Committee and the Center for Advanced Professional Studies.
Evans was not immediately available for comment Tuesday night.
Gina Knapp defends District 5
Gina Knapp will remain on the Blue Valley School Board after defending her seat from two challengers, including a Blue Valley parent who launched a last-minute write-in campaign.
Knapp has been on the board since 2021 and served as board president during the 2024-2025 school year. Knapp previously told The Star that her experience as a Blue Valley parent advocating in the district for her oldest son — who is hard of hearing — initially inspired her to run for the board.
She currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer for the YMCA of Greater Kansas City and has been involved as an executive with multiple education-adjacent organizations, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis and the Kauffman Foundation.
Knapp defended her seat Tuesday night from former Kansas Board of Education member Steve Roberts, who is a former math teacher, and from Tiffany McCalla, who is president of the Blue Valley Parent-Teacher Organization.
Like David Benson and Sonya Evans, Knapp was endorsed by parent political action group Stand Up Blue Valley. She was also endorsed by Moms Demand Action.
McCalla joined the race in response to the termination of Sunset Ridge kindergarten teacher Barbara Hart. She was among the write-in candidates to receive a total of 281 votes to Knapp’s nearly 16,000 votes.
Knapp told The Star Tuesday night that she plans to prioritize securing funding for special education programming and for students pursuing a career in the trades. She also said that she hopes to continue working on raising the district’s reading and math scores, which are still recovering post-COVID, with the help of a new curriculum.
“Thank you for trusting me for four more years,” Knapp said, addressing Blue Valley voters directly. “This is the best community in Kansas and the best schools in Kansas, and I can’t wait to keep working for them.”
David Benson clinches District 6
Former Blue Valley Superintendent David Benson will return to district leadership after winning the District Member 6 seat Tuesday night. Benson unseated incumbent Jim McMullen.
Benson, who helmed the district from 1993 to 2004 and won Superintendent of the Year in 2001, was an educator for 44 years and has worked in Kansas, Missouri and Iowa schools.
As a Kansas state representative from 2019 to 2020, Benson focused on education, joining the education and K-12 budget committees among others. Benson also has a history of intense civic involvement throughout Johnson County, serving on boards including the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce and earning endorsements from Stand Up Blue Valley and Moms Demand Action.
His opponent, Jim McMullen, previously served as board vice president but was removed in 2022 after a series of social media posts that many deemed anti-LGBTQ — specifically, transphobic.
Benson was not immediately available for comment Tuesday night.
Taylor O’Connor and Noelle Alviz-Gransee contributed reporting.
This story was originally published November 4, 2025 at 8:47 PM.
