McCray-Miller, Davis will vie for Wichita at-large school board seat

Wichita Public Schools voters will decide in November whether Melody McCray-Miller, a former Democratic state legislator and Sedgwick County commissioner, or business owner Brent Davis will fill retiring school board member Sheril Logan’s at-large seat.

In Tuesday’s five-person primary race for the seat, unofficial results showed McCray-Miller received 54% of the vote and Davis received 23.8%. Of 26,267 votes cast, McCray-Miller got 14,178 to Davis’ 6,259.

The race is the only one that all voters in USD 259 boundaries get to weigh in on. The at-large contest was the only one that had enough candidates to require a primary.

McCray-Miller, who visited 61 of the district’s 88 schools in the lead-up to the primary, said in a Wednesday phone interview that she was humbled by the support voters showed her.

“I was able to create a network,” McCray-Miller said.

“They came out. They came out in numbers and supported me, and I was amazed. I’m just very pleased, very thankful for the turnout.”

In a statement, Davis said that he wanted to thank God and those who helped him as he campaigned.

“I have been raising student test scores and studying student achievement for 23 years, and I look forward to using my expertise to raise achievement for USD 259 students through its excellent teachers, administrators, employees, volunteers and parents and our new superintendent so that every single student can achieve everything they are capable of and graduate ready to provide for themselves and eventually a family.”

He said that test scores had been declining in the district for more than a decade and that he hoped to help stop that trend.

“Lower test scores mean lower lifetime earnings for those students, perpetuating poverty, and a depressed Wichita economy. Getting every student to grade level and above in English language arts, math, history and science is job one. Wichita public schools will be a shining light of hope for Wichita families.”

McCray-Miller cited teacher morale, school safety and how to move forward without federal pandemic relief money that dries up after 2024 as her top priorities if elected.

“Approximately $270 million — we won’t have that,” she said. “And that has provided programming that has been very beneficial. From additional teachers to specific programs that dealt with emotional and social issues and challenges that students have, parent engagement, academic challenges that we had.”

She said her past budget experience in state and county government and as a small business owner will help the school district navigate the uncertainty as it seeks solutions for continuing programs that students and families have come to rely on.

Some voters leaving the polls on Tuesday said that they considered the school board race the most important one on the ballot. Adam Barlow-Thompson, 39, said that he voted for McCray-Miller, who he said is experienced, involved with the community and someone he could trust.

“I’d say the school board is probably the one I’m actually more concerned about than any,” he said. “We have a kid in public school here, and we know that there’s a lot of candidates who have a very specific interest that are not always in line with, I think, the general interest of students.”

Brian Ducklinsky, 46, also said the school board race was important to him.

“As a conservative I’m really worried about stopping the woke agenda and making sure we get a good candidate on the school board,” he said.

Conservatives could claim an ideological majority on the school board by picking up any one of the three seats that will be decided this fall.

Logan had endorsed McCray-Miller, who teaches American government classes at Wichita State University.

Davis, who owns a tutoring and test-preparation business and ran unsuccessfully for the board in 2021, was one of three Republicans on the primary ballot. The others were Jacob Bakk, a retired aircraft mechanic and pilot and Harlan Bascombe, a retired code enforcement inspector with the city of Wichita.

The field was rounded out by Jesse Borosky, a clinical psychology doctoral student at WSU and a member of the Kansas Green Party.

Borosky was the third-place finisher Tuesday with 2,007 votes, followed by Bascombe, who got 1,999 votes, and Bakk, with 1,824 votes.

School board contests are technically nonpartisan, but they have increasingly been infused with partisan advocacy in recent years. In 2021, the Sedgwick County Republican Party fielded four candidates to run together on a ticket. Three were elected to the board — Diane Albert, Kathy Bond and Hazel Stabler.

Wichita board of education positions are unpaid. School board responsibilities include hiring and evaluating the superintendent, adopting policies for the district and overseeing USD 259’s roughly $1 billion budget.

Prior to this year, all school board members were elected at large. In 2022, voters overwhelmingly decided to switch to a district-specific representation model, meaning six of seven members will now be elected only by residents who live inside their district boundaries.

The other two school board races on the November ballot are in south Wichita.

Contributing: Lindsay Smith of the Wichita Eagle

This story was originally published August 1, 2023 at 6:45 PM.