Voters will choose between 4 new candidates for Independence school board
Four candidates are vying for two spots on the Independence School District’s Board of Education.
On April 7, voters will choose two leaders for Independence School District 30, which serves 14,000 students in Independence, Sugar Creek, Blue Summit and part of Kansas City.
All of the candidates would be newcomers to the board, since incumbents Denise Fears and Blake Roberson declined to run. Terms on the seven-person board are six years long, though a Missouri bill to shorten the terms to three years passed the Senate and is working its way through the House.
ISD voters will also choose whether to allow a $60 million loan to completely renovate three elementary schools and make smaller repairs and upgrades to more than 20 other school buildings.
Last year, Independence voters chose to keep the district’s four-day school week, with more than 60% in favor.
Find more coverage of Jackson County on KansasCity.com.
The Star’s editorial board is endorsing candidates for the April 7 election. The Opinion staff is independent and editorially separate from The Star’s newsroom.
Justin Durham
Incumbent: no
Justin Durham works at Hollis + Miller Architects, which designs school projects such as Van Horn High School and Cassell Park Elementary. As part of his job, Durham said he has attended hundreds of school board meetings and deciphered school finance and curriculum. Durham’s campaign had neither earned nor spent money as of Feb. 23.
Durham said his priorities are keeping the district’s finances healthy and attracting more students to the district with expanded technical education in HVAC or plumbing through Career Academies.
He also wants to support ISD teachers by hiring paraprofessionals, special education specialists and counselors.
As someone whose employer contracts with the school district, Durham said he’d sit out votes that might present a conflict of interest.
Zac Harmon-McLaughlin
Incumbent: no
Zac Harmon-McLaughlin works as the assistant vice president of academic affairs at Graceland University and previously ran for the ISD board in 2024. He’s active in his elementary school child’s parent teacher association, in addition to the boards of the Community Services League and Centerpoint Medical Center.
As of Feb. 26, Harmon-McLaughlin had received more than $1,200 in campaign donations — the most of the four candidates — from teachers, retirees and co-workers.
Harmon-McLaughlin said he wants the ISD community to feel they have a say in the district, through listening sessions and town halls. He also wants to use surveys and other school data to guide ISD decisions and share that information with the public.
“I’m a student- and teacher-first kind of candidate,” Harmon-McLaughlin said.
The Independence teachers union endorsed him.
Jeff Jewell
Incumbent: no
Jeff Jewell is the fire and EMS chief of Inter City Fire Protection, the Blue Summit fire department. For 16 years, he managed school police officers in the Blue Springs school district.
Jewell worked as the Lone Jack police chief from 1992 to 2002, according to his LinkedIn, and quit after he was named in multiple lawsuits alleging sexual harassment and mishandled investigations, according to Star archives.
When asked about the allegations, Jewell said voters shouldn’t worry. ”Anytime you’re in public service, people can sue you for any reason,” he said.
As of Feb. 27, the only money donated to his campaign was from him.
Jewell said his top priority for ISD is to “make sure we are top-notch on school security.” This would include updating security cameras and giving officers in schools additional training and technology.
Although Jewell voted against the four-day school week in November, he now supports the policy after hearing how it helped his co-workers with children in the district.
Sarah Wimberley
Incumbent: no
Sarah Wimberley works as a pastor at Saint Mark’s United Methodist Church in Independence, where she runs a youth group with fifth through 12th graders. She comes from a family of educators. Wimberley’s campaign received money from herself and one retiree, as of Feb. 24.
The teachers union endorsed Wimberley, which is reflected in her top priority for the school board.
“I’d like to support the teachers to continue producing good, prepared adults,” she said.
Wimberley also said she wants to provide resources to immigrant and unhoused students and listen to the needs of families.
