A recent opinion column drawing a link between a lag in Blue Valley schools’ test scores to the district’s budget strategy received considerable pushback from district Superintendent Gillian Chapman and a parent political action committee.
It also created an election year talking point for candidates running for Blue Valley school board on Nov. 4.
Candidates at a forum in late September hosted by the Johnson County Post defended the district’s use of budget reserves, saying that even with a pandemic-related lag in test scores, the district still provides an excellent education.
Op-ed writer criticized BVSD’s reserves
Patrick Tuohey stirred things up last month with a column in the Kansas City Star suggesting Blue Valley students’ academic performance was slipping while the district was sitting on reserves that could be put to better use for education.
Tuohey, a frequent Star contributor and senior fellow at the nonprofit St. Louis-based Show Me Institute, cited flat enrollment and ACT scores trending downward from 25.9 in 2016 to 22.8 in 2024. He coupled that data with questions on how the district uses its unencumbered fund balance.
The Show Me Institute bills itself as a Missouri think tank “dedicated to promoting free markets and individual liberty.”
He suggested the district has one-third of its $315 million total reserves flexible and available for day-to-day needs, an assertion that was later described as inaccurate by Chapman in a response column, and by district spokesperson Kaci Brutto in an email to the Post.
Tuohey also claimed a $20.3 million contingency fund was available.
“This isn’t a funding problem,” Tuohey wrote.
He concluded the column by saying, “The Blue Valley Schools enjoy reserves most districts would envy. Put them to work. If the district is right that these balances safeguard taxpayers and students, it should be easy to show how much protection is needed and when the umbrella can be closed. Until then, the safest place for taxpayer money isn’t necessarily a bank account — it’s a classroom.”
Superintendent responded with column of her own
Chapman clapped back with an opinion piece of her own, noting legal requirements limiting how reserves may be spent.
She also pointed out that the unrestricted amount as of June 30 was more like $16 million, which is less than the district needs to cover a month’s worth of salaries and benefits and is a decrease of about $7 million from a year ago.
She added that last school year, district officials transferred $16 million to support a state funding gap in special education services.
Tuohey questioned whether the reserves amounted to “stockpiling” and said excessive monies left over ought to be returned to taxpayers unless the district could outline a specific plan for them.
Chapman noted the district gets less in state and federal funding than other Kansas districts and that it has been spending $8.1 million a year since 2020 on school security systems.
“The commentary did not just get the facts wrong,” Chapman wrote, “it inserted itself into a conversation it does not fully understand.”
Parent group, board candidates also weigh in
Chapman was backed up by Stand Up Blue Valley, a group that describes itself as a nonpartisan parents political action committee.
On its Facebook page, the group questioned the agenda of someone involved in the Show Me Institute.
“What agenda might that author have? We’re guessing NOT one supporting excellence in public education,” the unsigned post said.
The candidates who participated in the Post forum on Sept. 26 also unanimously defended the district’s educational standing and its current use of tax dollars.
“I think Blue Valley is one of the best-run public entities I’ve observed,” said Jim McMullen, an incumbent board member running for re-election. His opponent, David Benson, a retired public schools superintendent, also said the district has been responsible with its spending.
“If we’re going to continue the excellence this district has been known for for a number of years, we need to make a critical investment in staff,” Benson said.
Later in the forum, Benson said taxpayers get “outstanding value” from the school district. “We have great kids, great teachers and we’re getting positive results,” he said.
Gina Knapp, who is also running for re-election for a different board seat, said the taxpayers are “absolutely” getting good value for their investment in the school district.
“One of the reasons why a lot of people move to Blue Valley is because of the schools,” she said.
Knapp’s opponent, former Kansas State Board of Education member Steve Roberts, did not participate in the forum and did not respond to the Post’s request for comment for this article.
Student performance data has dropped in recent years
Like Chapman, the candidates acknowledged a sag in ACT scores in Blue Valley.
The average scores for Blue Valley high schoolers dropped from 25.9 in 2016 to 22.8 in 2024, according to figures available through the state.
That’s still well above the national average of 19.4 and the statewide average in Kansas of 19.3 last year.
In her response column, Chapman noted that Blue Valley schools produced 51 National Merit semifinalists and 169 students that earned the state Seal of Biliteracy for proficiency in a second language.
Blue Valley officials and board candidates listed several factors that may be responsible for the dip in ACT scores.
Brutto, the district spokesperson, said the COVID-19 pandemic has had a lingering impact. But testing has also expanded to a larger pool of applicants — since it is now free — and colleges have also shifted away from requiring the tests, “which has affected how some families and students approach the test,” Brutto said.
“They’ve fallen everywhere,” McMullen said of test scores during the Post forum. “I don’t necessarily blame Blue Valley, but I do think it’s incumbent on us to respond. The district has taken positive steps by re-introducing phonics and starting a new math curriculum. We’ve done some very good things, but it takes a long time to see their way through.”
Flat enrollment in recent years also has many possible reasons, Brutto said.
Enrollment in 2023-2024 was 21,760, which is about where it has been since the pandemic. In 2019-2020, it was 22,251, according to the district’s enrollment report.
Brutto cited declining birth rates, affordable housing issues and higher mortgage rates as possible contributors. The district does have building capacity to accommodate increased enrollment in future years if those trends are reversed, she said.
