Currently there are four open seats on our school board. On Nov. 7 the election for who will take these seats will occur. The school board in Olathe consists of seven people that represent the Olathe Public Schools. Every school board across the country has the job of ensuring the district runs smoothly. 

Once a candidate is voted onto the school board they will hold that position for four years. The elections are staggered to ensure the whole board isn’t being replaced all at one time. 

All of the seats hold a position on the board; these positions are numbered one through seven. To keep it organized, Olathe is split into three districts with specific representatives. There are two school board members assigned for each district, the seventh seat on the board is the “at-large position.” The at-large position is not assigned a specific district of Olathe. The seats that are open to be placed are positions one and four from district one, position two from district two, and position seven, the at-large position.

The candidates are Dan Adera-Odhiambo, Mark Wingren and Stacey Yurkovich for member one, Brad Boyd and Jesse GIllam for member two, Claire Reagan and Holly Palacio for member four, and Jennifer Gilmore and Will Babbit for at-large.

Olathe West falls into district three, meaning we won’t be getting a new representative, however this doesn’t mean that the election won’t affect our school. All of the members of the school board work for the entire district in addition to representing their certain parts of Olathe. 

The Kansas City beacon sent a questionnaire out to all of the candidates to see their opinions on certain issues. Some of these issues were school funding/spending, book banning, and the treatment of LGBTQ+ students as well as being asked some open ended questions:

Some of this year’s candidates already have a standing with the board. Gilmore recently had a lawsuit against the Olathe School Board, and Yurkovich served on the board for some of the remainder of last year.

During a school board meeting, Gilmore appeared as a parent of a student in the school district to speak during the public comments section of the meeting. While speaking, she accused chairwoman Julie Steele of buying her seat on the board, Joe Beveridge then had Gilmore removed from the room. After this occurred Gilmore decided to sue the Olathe School Board for a violation of her freedom of speech. On Nov. 2, the jury declared that the school board had discriminated against her, and Gilmore won.

Yurkovich served on the board last year to fill a vacancy in position one. LeEtta Felter resigned last year after 12 years. In her absence Yurkovich stepped up, but as she was never voted onto the board she must officially run in this election to hold her position.

The importance of voting on election day can be felt throughout the district. The people voted onto the school board will be in charge of setting policies regarding students of the Olathe school district and deciding what resources they allow students to have for the next four years.