Truelove, Jensen will challenge incumbents in Wichita school board race
Political newcomers Mackenzi Truelove and Amy Jensen will challenge incumbents Diane Albert and Kathy Bond in November for seats on the Wichita School Board.
Albert (696 votes) and Truelove (631 votes) were the top two candidates in District 1 in unofficial results posted on Tuesday. Bond (605) and Jensen (601) led in District 5.
Four seats on the seven-member school board are up for grabs in November. Voting districts 1 and 5 had enough candidates to have primaries — four candidates were competing in District 1 and five candidates were vying for the District 5 seat.
The top two vote-getters from each district will advance to the November general election. Candidates focused on a variety of issues from academic achievement and mental health to the district’s budget and facilities.
Albert, looking for her second term, is the board’s current president. She said she remains focused on test scores and other markers of student achievement in her push for reelection. Albert is ahead of her competitors in campaign donations, raining more than $7,200 as of July 28.
Truelove is a senior regulatory coordinator at the University of Kansas Medical Center, who says her background in public health would inform her priorities as a board member. She also wants to ensure a funding bond gets passed and work to prevent further school closures. Truelove has raised about $1,195 so far for her campaign.
“Thank you so much District 1 for your vote,” Truelove said in a statement to The Eagle. “The people of this state, city, and district have spoken and I’m humbled to carry their voices forward in creating a community that fosters hope and inspires change for the future of our students, teachers, and schools.”
Albert was not immediately available for comment Tuesday night.
Other candidates for District 1 were Sarah McMillen and Kyle Wiseman.
In District 5, five candidates were competing for the seat: Bond, Jensen, Michelle Cunningham, Philip Samuels and Caleb Smith.
Bond is a current board member. She also works as a substitute teacher and says that she wants to keep focusing on raising indicators of student success including graduation rates. Bond has raised around $3,799 so far for her campaign.
“I don’t take anything for granted,” Bond said Tuesday night after results came in. “I’ve got about three months left. I’m going to take the weekend and then get back to it. I’m excited to keep focusing on the students and graduation rates.”
Jensen previously worked for American Federation of Teachers, a union representing teachers and other school employees, and was a public school teacher prior to that. Jensen said she will begin a position as adjunct faculty at Butler Community College in the fall. She wants to prioritize increasing pride in Wichita schools and recruiting the best teachers and said her first-hand knowledge of the public school system will help. Jensen has raised the most of the District 5 candidates, over $4,944.
“I”ve always been a loudmouth for public education,” Jensen said Tuesday night. “We need people on the board that have experience in education. I think we’ve seen what happens when there are people put in positions to run our public education who have no idea about how schools work.”
Dixie Thomas, a former Wichita Public Schools teacher, said she voted for Jensen after Bond did not support a recent bond issue that failed in February.
“Several teachers that are still in the system are,” she told an Eagle reporter on Election Day.
Christopher Brown, another District 5 voter, said he didn’t know until late Tuesday that a school board election was taking place. He voted for Cunningham because her name appeared at the top of the list. His primary reason for voting was to oppose Bond, the incumbent.
“I literally didn’t even know this was going on until 20 minutes ago,” he told an Eagle reporter at a polling site in west Wichita.
District 2 and 6 are also up for election in November, but did not have primaries.
In District 2, incumbent board member Julie Hedrick, Valerie Most and Brent Davis will vie for the school board seat. In District 6, Amy Warren is challenging board member Hazel Stabler.
People could previously vote for any school board election. After voters approved a change in 2022, people can only vote for the district they live in. Find a map of the districts here.
The deadline to register to vote before the general election is Tuesday, Oct. 14. Register, find your polling place or apply for a mail-in ballot at sedgwickcounty.org/elections.
Contributing: Chance Swaim of The Wichita Eagle
This story was originally published August 5, 2025 at 7:42 PM.
