The Star’s recommendations on contested Blue Valley school board seats | Opinion
Voters in the Blue Valley school district will decide two contested seats on the board of education in the Nov. 4 election. While all four candidates in the race have solid relevant experience, there are distinctions that matter.
In recent years, the social media and cable TV culture wars have spilled into local public school policy debates far too often. That’s deeply problematic, and a major disservice to young learners. Our children deserve classroom environments that prioritize their educational well-being above all other concerns. Achieving consensus and blocking out irrelevant noise should be the goal of every member of this school board, and every other one in the nation.
Incumbent Gina Knapp and challenger Steve Roberts are competing for Blue Valley’s Member 5 seat. Incumbent Jim McMullen faces David Benson for Member 6. Incumbent Sonya Evans is unopposed for Member 4. All offices are nonpartisan.
Member 5 - Knapp versus Roberts
Gina Knapp, 47, was first elected to the Blue Valley Board of Education in 2021, in a race muddied by unnecessary fights over mask mandates as the entire world was learning on its feet during the most serious public health emergency in generations. The moderate Democrat supported the best advice science could offer at the time.
She is the parent of two students in Blue Valley schools now, and one graduate. She was elected by her peers to serve as board president during the past school year. Knapp points to the district’s leadership and strong parental involvement as key drivers of its consistent performance as the best in Kansas. “We are great model of what happens when a community and school district are partners,” she wrote in response to our questions.
We also agree with her advice that Blue Valley schools lean into basics such as math and reading, while also suggesting they develop partnerships with local trade programs to teach students real-life skills that will forever be in demand.
Steve Roberts, 67, is a licensed Kansas teacher with state endorsements in math, physics and earth/space science. He also holds a master’s degree in education and is backed by the Johnson County Republican Party.
His answer to what most needs to change in the district? “Groupthink. Having attended several meetings of the Blue Valley School Board, the votes are almost always 7-0, and occasionally 6-1.” He praised his friend Jim McMullen, a board member running for reelection, for being the lone voice there supporting a kindergarten teacher who was recently fired amid allegations of violating classroom policy while dealing with a student in distress.
We value and esteem independent thinking, and don’t disagree with Roberts’ statement that “commonsense efforts are too often thrown overboard for the sake of the rule book.” He’s also correct that the “current climate of violence and hate” is an immediate threat to our schools, and our society.
Steve Roberts is qualified for the job. But in the race for Member 5, we recommend reelecting proven leader Gina Knapp to continue the work she’s been doing to acclaim for four years.
Member 6 - McMullen vesus Benson
Current Member 6 officeholder Jim McMullen, 55, has lived in the Blue Valley district since 2003. (It’s important to distinguish him from the Jim McMullen who serves as deputy superintendent of organizational operations for nearby Olathe Public Schools.)
The former middle and high school English teacher also attended law school. We believe him when he tells us, “I bring a deep passion for the importance of advanced literacy instruction in our schools.” He has ideas worth considering about seriously curtailing the use of laptops and tablets among younger students, which he thinks interferes with their written language abilities. We also echo his strong support for Blue Valley’s Center for Advanced Professional Studies or CAPS program, which prepares students for independent living. He, too, has earned the endorsement of the Johnson County Republican Party.
His challenger David Benson, 75, has spent 44 years as an educator in Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. He served as superintendent of Blue Valley Public Schools from 1993 to 2004, when the district’s enrollment grew dramatically. He represented District 48 in the Kansas House of Representatives as a Democrat. He has advanced degrees from Kansas State University, Wichita State University and Pittsburg State University.
He’s obviously overqualified for the job. Yet we feel strongly that everyone concerned about the welfare of Blue Valley schools must vote for Benson over McMullen, who was stripped of his title as vice president of the board in 2022. McMullen had made a series of public social media posts widely viewed as anti-LGBTQ, including at least one sent from an official district account. The advocacy group Stand Up Blue Valley has documented his affiliations with far-right, dark money-connected Moms For Liberty, whose playbook injects highly partisan and often ginned-up conflict into local school elections across the country.
These artificial public spats over intensely private matters affecting only a tiny minority of students are nothing but a distraction from the only thing that matters: how we teach our kids. To be clear, we do not object to traditional conservative principles. But public schools are not a talk show scream-fest, and they’re not a boxing ring. We endorse David Benson for Blue Valley Board of Education Member 6.
This story was originally published October 29, 2025 at 5:09 AM.