Who’s running for Wichita school board? Meet the 9 candidates for 4 seats

Nine candidates are seeking four seats on the Wichita school board. They are focused on issues ranging from student achievement to teacher support to whether to propose a new bond issue after one failed to win voter support in February. 

Seats in Districts 1, 2, 5 and 6 are up for election. 

Each of the races is contested, and two of the four had primary elections in August.

School board members, who do not receive pay, are responsible for the district’s policies and for managing the district’s nearly $1 billion budget. They hold their positions for four years. Wichita Public Schools is the largest school district in Kansas, with almost 47,000 students. 

School board elections are nonpartisan, meaning that candidates’ political parties do not appear on the ballot and parties do not nominate candidates or hold caucuses. 

Voters can choose from candidates only in the district in which they live. Previously, residents across the school district were able to vote for candidates in all board districts, but voters changed this in 2022.

Voters can find out which board district they live in by checking the Kansas Secretary of State’s VoterView.

District 1

District 1 extends from Central on the south to 69th Street on the north between I-135 and Webb.

Diane Albert

Position: School board president

Previously: Precinct committeewoman,owner of Home First Restoration

Education: Kansas State University

Party registration: Republican

Albert is finishing her first term on the board and running for reelection.

She said she’s staying true to her campaign points from her last race, such as raising student test scores and graduation rates.

“I come from the business world and bring that into the boardroom, so I expect not just to talk about change, but to expect to see it as well and so my focus is really on student achievement, and that’s ‘What do students know and what are students able to do?” Albert said. “I would say I’m running a very similar campaign. I’ve learned a lot in my term but my focus has not ever changed.”

Albert said she also wants to prioritize “staying focused on what the Board of Education is and the difference between the Board of Education and superintendent,” but said her main focus remains student outcomes and fiscal responsibility.

She supported the $450 million bond issue after initially expressing concern about its size. 

Earlier this month, an advisory committee told the district it shouldn’t seek another bond issue right away.

“I’m going to support the financial oversight committee in looking for efficiencies and providing some financial oversight and making suggestions for long term funding,” she said.

Albert said she wants the board to continue working toward the goals highlighted in its strategic plan.

“I’m committed to seeing Wichita public schools improve and become the district of choice that we want to be and lead the state in student outcomes.”

Mackenzi Truelove

Position: Senior regulatory coordinator at the University of Kansas Medical Center

Previously: Quality analyst at Advanced Clinical

Education: Bachelor of science in biological and biomedical sciences and master of health administration from Wichita State University

Party registration: Democrat

Truelove said she was motivated to run in part because of the $450 million school bond that narrowly failed a public vote in February.

“I’m not happy with the way that goes,” Truelove said. “I’m like, ‘These kids are my neighbors. These kids are going to grow up, and all of this impacts the way that they grow up and feel about this community.’”

Truelove said her priorities would be to communicate openly with the community, especially if another bond issue is put forth. She said she thinks a bond issue should be passed as soon as possible to maintain the district’s current property tax funding for buildings. It is set to expire in 2028.

“I’m really hoping that at least I can shed some light on it because I don’t want to see kids that are my neighbors now, I don’t want to see future people, growing up in an environment that’s constantly shifting. It’s just not very stable, and it’s not good for learning.”

Truelove doesn’t have children but she said her background as a Wichita resident of more than 10 years and a health care professional make her an ideal candidate for the board.

“I think that having somebody on the board with some background, with an understanding about how mental health and how public health and nutrition impact students and impacts their ability to focus and learn would also be a good thing,” she said.

District 2

District 2 includes parts of east and southeast Wichita. 

Julie Hedrick

Position: School board member

Previously: Division director of facilities for USD 259

Education: Kansas State University, Wichita State University

Party registration: Republican

Hedrick attended Wichita Public Schools and later went on to work for the district for nearly 30 years in the facilities division. After retiring as division director, she joined the school board in 2018. She served as the board’s vice president in 2020 and 2022. 

“Almost my whole lifetime, I’ve been, in some way or another, connected with Wichita public schools. And not only am I a huge fan of our district, I’m very much an advocate just of public education in general,” Hedrick said. 

Hedrick said one of her top priorities is advocating for teachers and other employees in USD 259. 

“I believe that the people who touch the kids the most and that make the most impact in their lives is our teachers and so I always am supporting — I’m always very much wanting to get their salaries as high as possible, make sure we stay competitive with our salaries, benefits, just all of the things that reward our teachers for their good work, plus also just making sure that they are the best teachers around,” Hedrick said.

Hedrick said she also wants to work to pass a bond issue to fund facility improvements. 

“Facility improvements aren’t meant to raise test scores, but facilities are important for kids and for teachers, for that matter anybody who’s in the building, to have adequate lighting and to have adequate technology,” Hedrick said. “It’s important to me that we do pass another bond issue in order to keep our facilities up and to continue to be able to make improvements to them.”

Brent Davis

Position: President of Complete Education, Inc.

Previously: Principal of American Academy 

Education: Wichita State University

Party registration: Republican

Davis owns a test preparation and tutoring business and said his top priority would be to raise student outcomes.

He ran for an at-large position on the board in 2021 and 2023.

“By any measure, a majority of studentsgraduating from 259 high schools are not prepared to enter a college or a highly competitive workforce,” Davis said in a text message. “While the administration brazenly touts higher graduation rates, they fail to mention that an overwhelming majority of 259 graduates cannot read or do math at grade level. The situation is dire and has to be reversed immediately.”

According to USD 259’s Kansas Report Card from the state’s Department of Education, around 67% of high school students in the district were at a level 1 in math in the 2023-2024 school year, indicating a “limited ability to understand and use the mathematics skills and knowledge needed to be academically prepared for postsecondary success.” For English language arts, 51% were at a level 1.

His second priority, Davis said, “is getting 259’s fiscal house in order.”

“I oppose any attempt to pass a school bond at this time,” he said. “That the administration is contemplating putting yet another bond issue before voters this year is telling. It suggests that the administration is not only tone deaf to voters but is also being led down an ominous path by consultants who see dollar signs. ....”

The Eagle reported in February that the school district spent $113,000 to hold the special election and paid Ohio-based consultant Woolpert $312,000 to manage an educational campaign about the bond issue.

Valerie Most

Position: Intern coordinator and field services coordinator at McCurdy Real Estate

Previously: Public school teacher for 31 years (two years in Dighton and 29 years at Wichita Southeast High School), Southeast High volleyball coach 

Education: Bachelor’s in business education at Fort Hays State University, bachelor’s in business administration and master’s in sports administration at Wichita State University

Party registration: Unaffiliated

Most said she wants to be on the school board to give back to the community. 

“I just want to give back and to help the next generation of teachers and students be successful,” Most said. “I really want to support them because I believe that when teachers and students are successful so is our community.”

Most said she supported the bond issue that failed in February because she has seen firsthand the conditions of the district’s aging buildings. She said she thinks another bond issue could be successful if the district is more transparent about its needs and costs. 

“I think that transparency is something that’s very important, and that would build confidence in the community, in the school district, and that’s kind of where I hold true, is being transparent,” Most said.

“Not truly letting people understand what really needs to be done and what’s really happening, I think that tends to make the public question where money is spent,” Most said. “And I think that if you can be transparent, have people walk through buildings, have an understanding of what needs to be done, that’s the transparency that needs to be done.” 

Most said she thinks instilling a love for learning is the foundation for a happy and successful life. 

“I believe in long-time learning,” Most said. “I learn all the time. I believe everybody should be long-time learners, and I think we need to encourage our kids to enjoy learning and to find their passion.”

District 5

District 5 extends north to 17th Street, south to 31st and from Meridian to 119th Street.

Kathy Bond

Position: Wichita school board member, substitute teacher

Previously: Business owner 

Education: Lutheran High School North, Wichita State University

Party registration: Republican

Bond has served on the board since 2022 and isalso a substitute teacher in the school district. 

She said student outcomes including graduation rates have been her priority and will continue to be her top focus if reelected.

“I’m happy to actually report that in the four years that I’ve been on the board, we have seen an increase in our graduation rate,” she said. “Attending the Northwest High School’s graduation I was just overwhelmed by learning that 97% of the seniors at Northwest High School graduated, and that was a total of seven did not walk and out of those seven, four of them were attending summer school to be able to get that diploma. So we are near 100% graduation rate for Northwest High School, which (if) you average out all the high schools, you’re going to have a lower number, but I’m thrilled with that. I’m just thrilled with that and I want to continue to see our academic success increase.”

Bond opposed the school bond issue last year. She was the only board member to vote against placing the issue on the ballot.

She said people in her district generally did not think it was the right time for a bond issue.

“My integrity is very important to me, and if I say I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it,” Bond said. “And the people of District 5asked me not to vote for it and my allegiance is to my district, but my priority is academic success.”

Amy Jensen

Position: Adjunct faculty at Butler Community College

Previously: Director of member services for American Federation of Teachers Kansas, public school teacher for 31 years (six years in Clearwater and 25 years in Maize school districts) 

Education: Bachelor’s degree in English and secondary education from Kansas Wesleyan University, master’s degree in teaching from Friends University.

Party registration: Democrat

Jensen spent 31 years teaching English.

Her top priorities are increasing local pride in the public education system, recruiting and retaining “the best of the best” teachers, and establishing “community schools” that focus on academics but also youth development, family support, health and social services.

She said she supported the bond issue that failed in February and that she would be in favor of a smaller bond issue in the future. 

“There needs to be some pride in Wichita Public Schools,” Jensen said. “We have some great schools in our community, and it’s unfortunate that we’re in a situation where we are having to close schools.” 

Jensen said her experience in the classroom and first-hand knowledge of public education make her the top candidate, especially given the current political climate in Washington, D.C., where the Trump administration has announced plans to shutter the U.S. Department of Education. Whether Trump can legally do so without authorization by Congress will likely be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. 

“There’s not going to be direction from D.C. telling us or guiding us. We’re going to have to figure it all out,” Jensen said.

“It’s going to take people who have had experience in education to make those hard choices and do that work,” Jensen said. “If you’ve never been in the classroom, or you’ve never been in education and you don’t know anything about it, it’s a lot.”

District 6

District 6 includes the area between I-135 and I-235, including downtown Wichita and Park City.

Hazel Stabler

Position: School board member, clothing designer

Previously: Para educator at Pleasant Valley Elementary School 

Education: Emporia High School, Highland Community College, University of Louisiana

Party registration: Republican

Stabler is running for reelection. She joined the board in 2022 and also works as a clothing designer, having shown her apparel at international fashion weeks.

Stabler worked as a para educator for three years. As a para, she said, she saw a need for more resources for special education.

“I actually worked with special ed — special education — and I saw the needs,” she said. “My husband would say, you need to run for school board.”

Eventually, she said, she took that advice, hoping her experience as a para educator as well as someone with a background outside of education would bring a fresh perspective to the board.

“I think outside of the box, and I see things differently than maybe the educators do, and so I think it complements decisions, and I bring something different to the table that’s unique,” Stabler said. 

Stabler previously expressed concerns about the timing of the school bond issue, though she said those concerns were addressed and she ultimately voted to place it on the ballot. She said she is waiting to decide if she would support another bond issue until the specific details of a proposal are determined.

“So until that happens, and how they plan to do it, will determine what how I feel, or how my support would be,” Stabler said.

Amy Warren

Position: Clerical substitute at Riverside Leadership Magnet Elementary School 

Previously: Volunteer youth basketball coach, dance instructor and Parent Teacher Organization president

Education: University of Kansas

Party registration: Democrat

Warren has three children in Wichita Public Schools. Last year, she served on the state board of education’s blue ribbon task force on cell phone use in classrooms. She also is on the Wichita school district’s strategic planning committee for technology. She said this experience motivated her to run for school board.

“That’s been kind of one of my main focuses over the last almost decade is trying to do advocacy work to reduce overuse of technology for kids and try to reduce harms associated with overuse of technology,” Warren said. “And kind of both those interests and the fact that I’m really involved at school dovetailed and so I wanted to try to get a parent on the school board and keep participating and taking part in the community that way.”

Warren said she would use this experience to “focus on policy that helps reduce distractions in the classroom.”

She said she would work to put forth another bond issue.

“I want to make sure that we can kind of continue to grow some support for another bond issue, and try to find a bond solution that’s a better fit, that more community members can get behind, because I think that’s pretty important, that we continue to fund the schools.” 

This story was originally published June 29, 2025 at 3:55 AM.