The Star recommends candidates in the Lee’s Summit school board race | Opinion

Three seats are open on the Lee’s Summit School District Board of Education in the April 7 general election. Three incumbents are among seven candidates running for the seats.

The trio, Regina Garrett, Kamile Johnson and Erica Miller, are on the ballot with former board president Rodrick Sparks, Matt Warton, Kirsti Martin and Christopher Thornton.

In February, Thornton suspended his campaign after The Star reported on a felony theft charge he faced in 2024.

Due to funding cuts at the federal, state and local levels, Lee’s Summit is facing a $6.5 million budget deficit, district officials have said. Some very tough spending decisions will have to be made to address the financial challenge the district finds itself in. At this time, cuts to some services and programs cannot be ruled out, according to officials.

And a measure known as Proposition C is on the ballot too. If approved, Prop. C would waive a required property tax rollback and could generate up to $4.5 million per year to pay teachers and staff higher salaries and benefits. But the extra revenue still wouldn’t solve the current budget problems, according to Superintendent David Buck.

“The Prop C proposes dedicating funds to salaries the way we have worded and promised,” Buck wrote in a budget update March 24.

Because of the tenuous situation the district is in, school board candidates must have a proven track record of having the best interest of all students and district patrons in mind when making tough decisions. In this race, we recommend incumbents Johnson and Miller, along with Sparks, the former board president, to do just that.

Kamile Johnson and Erica Miller

Johnson is a pharmacist who was first elected to the board three years ago. Miller, current school board vice president, was also elected in 2023. She’s a licensed family therapist and wellness manager at GEHA.

During the time both candidates have been on the board, several issues — none more so than two recent contract extensions for Buck — have exemplified the type of leadership these board members would continue to bring to the table, if elected.

Both have fully supported Buck’s most recent contract extensions and also voted to continue the district’s dignity and belonging work with consulting firm Dignity Consulting.

Buck has stabilized the superintendent’s position in Lee’s Summit since he started in 2020. Prior to that, each of Buck’s two predecessors resigned and left with six-figure buyouts. In the years since, the turmoil has mainly died down except for an occasional hiccup — for example, see how Buck’s contract saga played out last year.

Johnson and Miller were also among five board members that approved last year a contract extension for Dignity Consulting. Garrett and fellow board member Bill Haley were opposed. Equity work in Lee’s Summit has been a lightning rod for controversy but public schools have a responsibility to educate all students no matter their socioeconomic status, gender identity, race or mental and physical capabilities.

No one should be against that. With these types of initiatives in place, the district can better address the achievement gap between students on the fringe and their peers.

And based on their voting record — both support Prop. C — Johnson and Miller seemingly understand this.

Rodrick Sparks

Sparks, past board president, lost his reelection bid in 2024. In the time since, he said he’s stayed actively involved in district matters, supports district leadership under Buck, is unequivocally supportive of equity efforts there and favors a yes vote to roll back property taxes for better teacher pay.

Neither Garrett, Warton or Martin replied to several requests for endorsement interviews nor did either candidate respond to brief questionnaires sent to them.

As with any incumbent, we asked did Garrett do anything to raise a red flag about her candidacy? Last year, when the board initially voted not to renew Buck’s contract, the matter was revisited a few weeks later but Garrett abstained. Another valid critique against Garrett was her vote not to extend equity work in Lee’s Summit.

If the primary role of any school board member is to hire, evaluate, and when called for, fire the superintendent and to set district policy — and it is — we recommend Johnson, Miller and Sparks for Lee’s Summit school board.

This story was originally published April 2, 2026 at 5:08 AM.