“The Kansas State Board of Education often goes unnoticed, both by voters and the media, in the hurly-burly of state politics. It would be a mistake to overlook these races this fall. The future of our schools — and the young Kansans they educate — is at stake.”
“The Kansas State Board of Education is often ignored by voters. There are exceptions. Most Kansans can remember two decades ago, when the board’s then-conservative majority brought international embarrassment to the state by pushing a proposal to teach creationist ‘intelligent design’ theory in the state’s public schools. The measure was an obvious backdoor method of introducing religious beliefs into classrooms, and just as obviously a rejection of science itself…
“Four of its current members are conservative Republicans who have campaigned against ‘wokeness’ in public education. Three moderates who served as a counterweight — Deena Horst (R-Salina), Ann Mah (D-Topeka) and Jim McNiece (R-Wichita) — are leaving the board. Five seats overall are up for election in November. Some observers fear a right-wing takeover which could turn the policymaking board into yet another culture war battleground that ill-serves the state’s young people. We have seen how that turns out…
Read more at: