KC Council candidates keep talking about education. Why not run for the school board?

During the last few weeks, the Kansas City Star Editorial Board interviewed candidates for Kansas City mayor and City Council.

In almost every conversation, they told us that education was a top priority. Kansas City’s problems with crime, employment and housing won’t be solved until school performance improves, they said..

They’re right. Quality schools are a key component of every successful community, and Kansas City has some distance to go to reach that goal.

So it’s extremely curious, and not just a little disappointing, that the candidates’ fix-the-schools attitude never extended to actually running for the school board.

Consider: All seven seats on the Kansas City Public Schools board are up for grabs Tuesday — two at-large seats and five seats in-district.

The two at-large seats aren’t on the ballot, though, because only one candidate signed up for each. The candidates for the 2nd and 3rd in-district seats are also unopposed, so you won’t seem them Tuesday, either. Under state law, these uncontested races are already settled.

In the 4th District, no one signed up to run. There’s only a write-in option (there are announced write-in candidates).

Of the seven available school board seats in the Kansas City Public Schools district, only two are traditionally contested. Two.

That is sad on its face. But it’s abysmal when you realize that candidates for City Council and mayor are talking incessantly about problems they can’t really solve — issues they could tackle on the school board.

The gap between rhetoric and real-world execution has consequences. The time and energy city candidates spent touting their views on school-related issues this spring took attention away from topics such as housing and public safety, which actually are within their purview.

That’s a loss for the community. And it confuses the public. Imagine the reaction if Kansas City Public Schools Superintendent Mark Bedell started telling Mayor Sly James how to fix potholes or reduce firefighter overtime.

We’re pretty confident the mayor would object. And he would be right to do so.

Does that mean city politicians should stay silent on school-related issues? Of course not. Like all Kansans Citians, council members and the mayor should want first-class schools and teachers. There’s nothing wrong with saying that a time or two.

And school board members want a partnership with the council as they address issues such as tax abatements and other development incentives. Their duties overlap.

But City Hall doesn’t run schools. School boards do. Candidates bristling with ideas about fixing schools should seek jobs where those views would make a real difference. Everything else is shouting from the bleachers.

We’ve met with school superintendents and school board members across the city to talk about Mayor James’ pre-K sales tax initiative. We were impressed with the educators’ understanding of the challenges they face and their plans to address them.

Fixing our schools will require renewed focus and energy in the coming years. There is much to do. Kansas Citians who want to be a part of that should call the school board and offer to help.