If you haven’t cast your ballot for this year’s primary elections, Tuesday is your chance. Polls will be open at neighborhood precincts August 1 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Here’s a rundown of the candidates who will be on the ballots for two Shawnee Mission School District Board of Education seats.
Shawnee Mission School District Board of Education At-Large Seat
Incumbent Cindy Neighbor faces four challengers for the seat she’s held since 1997: attorney Mandi Hunter, attorney Heather Ousley, MPA student Robert Roberge and export representative Fabian Shepard.
- Hunter is endorsed by the MainStream Coalition and Education First. You can find her campaign website here.
- Neighbor is endorsed by the MainStream Coalition. You can find her campaign website here.
- Ousley is endorsed by the MainStream Coalition, Education First, Equality Kansas, the NEA-Shawnee Mission, and the Network for Public Education Action. You can find her campaign website here.
- Roberge is endorsed by Equality Kansas. You can find his campaign website here.
- Shepard is endorsed by Kansans for Life. You can find his campaign website here.
Shawnee Mission School District Board of Education At-Large Seat
Incumbent Craig Denny faces two active challengers for the seat he’s held since 1997: pastor Laura Guy and former district capital projects supervisors Christopher White.
- Denny is endorsed by the MainStream Coalition and Equality Kansas. He does not have a campaign website.
- Guy is endorsed by the MainStream Coalition, Equality Kansas and Education First. You can find her campaign website here.
- White is endorsed by the MainStream Coalition and the NEA-Shawnee Mission. You can find his campaign Facebook page here.
Candidate positions on the issues
We asked the candidates for both seats to answer a series of questions submitted by our readers as part of a written questionnaire. You can find those responses linked below:
- 1.) For years, the school board’s actions have been marked by little public discussion and almost entirely unanimous votes. Do you view this conformity among school board members as being positive or negative for the district? Why?
- 2.) Members of the school board will be charged with selecting a new superintendent in the coming months. What is the biggest challenge facing the district today, and what qualities will a new superintendent need to address it?
- 3.) What does the Shawnee Mission School District need to do to attract, support and retain quality teachers? Do you view the district today as an attractive place for teachers to make a career?
- 4.) In 2014, the district launched its “one-to-one” technology initiative, investing tens of millions to provide every student with his or her own Apple MacBook or iPad. Since the roll out, some teachers have expressed concern about lack of training opportunities on integrating the devices into lesson plans. Some parents have complained that their kids are spending a good deal of time of the devices for non-classroom activities. Do you think the one-to-one initiative has been a success? Why or why not? Does anything with the program need to change?
- 5.) If you are elected to the school board, what will your top priorities be?
The candidates also took part in two forums each, one put on by the Shawnee Mission Area Council PTA and one put on by the Shawnee Mission Post. At these forums, the candidates addressed a wide variety of issues.
You can find full video of the SMAC PTA at-large forum here, and of the SMAC PTA SM West area forum here.
You can find full video of the Shawnee Mission Post at-large forum here, and of the Shawnee Mission Post SM West area forum here.
