Early voting in Johnson County is in full swing and Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 7, is upon us.
As Johnson County residents head to the polls and mail in ballots, we’ve put together election primers for each of the local races in the Post’s coverage area to give readers and residents in those communities an easy way to find out more about the candidates and where they stand on the issues important to you.
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See who the candidates are
Member 1 (Northeast Area)
- Former state representative and incumbent board member Jan Kessinger
- Small business owner Christine Vasquez
Member 2 (Northwest Area)
- Lenexa Baptist Church business administrator Trisha Hamilton
- Attorney and incumbent board member Patrick Hurley
Member 3 (South area)
- Incumbent board member Jodie Dietz
- Stay-at-home mother Rachel Faagutu
Member 7 (At Large)
- Accountant and business executive Michael Huebner
- Attorney and current Blue Valley Recreation Chair Clay Norkey
Read what candidates say about key issues
- Diversity, equity and inclusion
- Removing books from libraries
- Teacher retention
- Student achievement
- Student mental health
Watch the Post’s candidate forum
The Post hosted a candidate forum for Blue Valley school board candidates on Wednesday, Oct. 4, at Blue Valley Library in Leawood.
You can watch the forum in its entirety in embedded video below.
Immediately following the video are the questions each candidate answered during the forum. Timestamps are included in bold to help navigate through the forum video.
- Candidate opening statements. [0:20]
- Patrick Hurley, Jodie Dietz, Jan Kessinger and Clay Norkey are running together on a slate they’ve dubbed “The A+ Team” and Mike Huebner, Rachel Faagutu, Trisha Hamilton and Christine Vasquez are running on a slate that they’re calling “Blue Valley Excellence.” Please explain why you’ve decided to publicly align yourself with these other candidates and how, if at all, that would impact your decisions and voting as an individual if you are elected to the board. [10:43]
- Each candidate’s stance on the district’s current approach to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. [20:13]
- School boards in Johnson County, including Blue Valley, have in recent years been faced with decisions about removing books or curriculum materials from libraries and classrooms. Some parents have asked or requested that these books be removed, usually because of the the materials of sexual content. What principles will guide you as you determine whether a book or other materials should be considered for removal or removed from a school library or classroom? [35:25]
- Explain where you think Blue Valley stands in terms of the current level of student achievement, and what that says about the district. [45:05]
- Do you support counselors, psychologists or social workers in schools? What do you suggest for meeting students with mental health needs? [54:33]
- What are your thoughts on the district’s budget? Is funding adequate to keep up with current expenses? Where, if at all, do you see areas to consider cutting? [1:04:10]
- If elected, how do you plan to advocate for safe schools? How do you want the district to address safety concerns? [1:13:56]
- Closing statements. [1:22:26]
