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.
SHAMELESS PLUG
No other news outlet devotes as much attention to giving Shawnee Mission area voters a way to find out where candidates running for local office stand on the issues facing our community. If you value having a news outlet provide this kind of coverage, we hope you’ll consider becoming a subscriber if you aren’t already. Your first month of full access is just $1.
See who the candidates are
Member 1 (SM North area)
- Manager of philanthropic giving at Children’s Mercy Mario Garcia III
- Private school teacher Ronald Occhiogrosso
Member 3 (SM South area)
- Small business owner and incumbent board member Jessica Hembree
- Mark Tallent
Member 5 (SM Northwest area)
- Regional business director and incumbent board member Jamie Borgman
- Retired U.S. Navy veteran Lynn McLarty
Member 7 (At Large)
- Business owner and former chair of the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce David H. Westbrook
- Accounting and data analyst Logan Austin
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 forum for Shawnee Mission school board candidates on Thursday, Oct. 12, at Lenexa City Center Library.
Logan Austin and Mark Tallent did not participate.
You can watch the forum in its entirety in the 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. [4:14]
- If you are elected or reelected, what is your biggest priority or priorities going into the next four years in the Shawnee Mission School District? [11:50]
- Do you think the district’s current approach to diversity, equity and inclusion is on the right track? Why or why not? [23:35]
- As a board member, you may very well be faced with requests from some parents to review or even remove books or curricular materials from schools. What principles will guide you as you determine whether a book or other materials should be removed from a school library or classroom? [39:02]
- Are current achievement levels in Shawnee Mission acceptable to you? Why or why not? [53:38]
- What qualities do you consider are essential for an excellent teacher? List the specific ways you as an elected board member will support teachers and staff. [1:07:53]
- The Shawnee Mission School Board earlier this fall unanimously approved a new $580 million budget for the current school year that saw a nearly 14% year-over-year increase in spending. SMSD’s mill rate remains the lowest of any Johnson County school district, but is this extra spending, that expanding budget, necessary, in your opinion? Why or why not? [1:17:55]
- What is Shawnee Mission doing right with student devices and what should the district change or improve? [1:27:12]
- Closing statements. [1:35:01]
