Most candidates for the Blue Valley school board think the district should keep being strict about students receiving vaccines required by the state.
But they have different ideas about how the district should handle teacher pay, using students’ preferred pronouns and school spending.
On Nov. 4, Blue Valley voters will see five candidates on their ballot, all hoping to serve a four-year term on the board. The district covers 91 square miles of southeast Johnson County, including parts of Overland Park, Leawood and Olathe.
Incumbent Sonya Evans is running unopposed for the Member 4 seat. For the Member 5 seat, incumbent Gina Knapp faces challenger Steve Roberts. And for the Member 6 seat, incumbent Jim McMullen faces challenger David Benson.
Evans, Knapp and Benson are endorsed by Stand Up Blue Valley, a nonpartisan political action committee that says its mission is to support public education in the district. They’re also listed on the Johnson County, Kansas, Democrats’ 2025 Candidates webpage.
Roberts and McMullen are listed on the Johnson County Republican Party’s 2025 Candidates webpage.
All of the candidates responded to a Beacon survey asking about their positions on various issues and their priorities if elected, though Roberts skipped some of the multiple-choice questions.
Here’s what they had to say. Responses have been edited for grammar, clarity and AP style.
Click on a link to jump to a section of the questionnaire:
- School spending
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in schools
- Teacher pay
- Vaccination policies
- Transgender students
- Technology in school
- What are the three biggest challenges that your school district is facing?
- Name up to three specific things you would do on the board to address the most important issues facing the district.
Meet the candidates
Member 4
Sonya Evans (incumbent)
Occupation: Education and business strategy consultant
Background and qualifications: Experience: Business, financial industry, AVP of fund administration, FINRA licensed. Sold annuities, mutual funds, stocks, bonds. Underwriter, compliance manager, financial planner, risk manager and executive director.
For more information: Blue Valley Board of Education Meet the Board website
Favorite school event: Blue Valley Educational Foundation Surprise Squad
Member 5
Gina Knapp (incumbent)
Occupation: Chief financial officer, YMCA of Greater Kansas City
Background and qualifications: I have a master’s in finance and entrepreneurship and have spent the past 20 years working in nonprofit youth development.
Campaign website: https://www.knappbenson4bv.com/
Social media: https://www.facebook.com/KnappBenson4BV
Favorite school event: Friday night lights
Steve Roberts
Occupation: Teacher, tutor, engineer and rideshare driver
Background and qualifications: I have been blessed in this life to have done a wide, wide variety of things to make my way.
Campaign website: www.robertsforeducation.com
Favorite school event: A well-run math class is the best.
Member 6
David Benson
Occupation: Retired educator/superintendent of schools
Background and qualifications: 44 years as a teacher/administrator, including serving as Blue Valley superintendent from 1993-2004. Doctoral degree from Kansas State.
Campaign website: https://www.knappbenson4bv.com/benson
Social media: https://www.facebook.com/KnappBenson4BV
Favorite school event: I started on the varsity basketball team for two years.
Jim McMullen (incumbent)
Occupation: Investment banker and attorney, owner of Royal Blue Capital
Background and qualifications: I began my career after college as a classroom teacher before moving into law and finance.
Campaign website: https://jim4bvschools.com/
Social media: https://www.facebook.com/mcmullen4bvschools
Favorite school event: I love watching Blue Valley Southwest wrestling.
Multiple-choice questions
School spending
In my district…
- We’re spending too little on schools, at the expense of students.
- We’re spending too much on schools, at the expense of taxpayers.
- We’ve struck the right balance on taxes and school spending.
Evans: The key indicators of achieving the right balance on taxes and school spending are improved student performance/achievement, increased property values and long-term economic growth.
Knapp: Blue Valley has been very intentional on balancing what we levy and what our needs are as a district. Of course we would love to pay teachers more, but we largely don’t have the ability to increase taxes for operating costs.
Roberts: To submit the survey I was required to choose one Goldilocks option: A) We spend too much. B) We spend too little. C) We spend the right amount. Really? We spend a lot of money and not enough of it goes to our professional teaching staff.
McMullen: Our capital budget (for buildings and technology) has been too large for several years, particularly in light of the fact that the student population in Blue Valley has not grown over the last five years.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in schools
If Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials show up at a school, my district should…
- Cooperate as much as possible without getting into legal trouble.
- Cooperate as little as possible without getting into legal trouble.
- Other (please explain)
Evans: Federal law, decisions of the Supreme Court and educational ethics confirm educators/schools have a strict duty to protect students, their rights to public education and confidentiality of records/immigration status.
Knapp: My district would and should inform district administration to ensure all laws are followed.
Roberts: What are the circumstances? Drug dealers? Law-abiding family friendly folks just trying to assimilate? Blanket answers to questions like this often do more harm than good. Let us come together, please.
Benson: Cooperate while assuring all students have supervision and a safe place to go after school hours.
McMullen: Schools, like all public institutions, should cooperate with law enforcement agencies. Fortunately, in the Blue Valley School District, we have school resource officers who are police officers with our local police departments.
Teacher pay
Teachers in my district…
- Need a significant pay raise.
- Are paid too much already.
- Are making about the right amount.
Evans: The Blue Valley School District is ranked in the top 1% in the nation. The district needs to maintain the competitive advantage of hiring only exemplary educators to work in the district and must be able to offer a very competitive salary.
Knapp: We will continue to have teacher shortages as long as we are not paying them a wage that reflects the level of talent, competence and professionalism it takes to teach at all levels.
Roberts: Again, blanket statements too often overlook what is right in front of us. Our professional staff should be paid as professionals. This means more than raising pay for all teachers. It means paying better instructors better salaries.
Benson: Teachers and other staff are generally underpaid.
McMullen: The Blue Valley school board has approved material salary increases every year I’ve been on the board, a move that I absolutely support. I’d like our district to institute merit pay for our best teachers.
Vaccination policies
My school district…
- Is strict about students receiving required vaccines, and should stay that way.
- Is strict about students receiving required vaccines, and should be more flexible.
- Is flexible about students receiving required vaccines, and should be more strict.
- Is flexible about students receiving required vaccines, and should stay that way.
- I don’t know my school district’s vaccine policies.
Evans: Strict vaccine policies prevent outbreaks of many diseases, provide protection to vulnerable students, scientific evidence based data and reduce absenteeism.
Roberts: What vaccines are we talking about? The rushed-to-market COVID formulations? Or time-tested polio vaccines? Mandates are not all equal.
McMullen: If a vaccine is required by state law for enrollment, then the school should comply. It is the responsibility of the state legislature to make changes, if any, to these requirements.
Transgender students
If a student under 18 years old requests that a teacher call them by a name and/or pronouns that don’t correspond to their gender assigned at birth, the teacher should:
- Always agree.
- Agree only with parental permission.
- Never agree.
- Be free to decide whether to agree, based on personal beliefs.
Evans: Kansas Senate Bill 76 aims to prevent schools from using pronouns inconsistent with a birth certificate without parental consent. However, it didn’t clear the 2024 Senate committee session. Legal counsel should be consulted for full clarification.
Roberts: Answers to questions like this will be tailored to actual circumstances we find in front of us. Generally, parents need to be involved in their children’s schooling.
Benson: School districts should consult with parents whenever possible regarding highly controversial topics.
McMullen: This question presumes that an individual can pick whether they are male or female, which is false. Gender ideology is a noxious doctrine that should not be foisted upon students.
Technology in school
My school district:
- Doesn’t do enough to prevent harmful and distracting uses of technology in school.
- Is too restrictive about how new technologies are used in school.
- Neither.
Evans: Balanced screen limits for specific educational interactive simulations and educational podcasts. Social activities/critical thinking are vital for student growth/performance.
Knapp: We have implemented policies surrounding cellphone use at school that have proved to be very beneficial.
Roberts: In general, we need less technology in primary schools and more technology in secondary schools.
Benson: Districts should follow the Children’s Internet Protection Act as I believe Blue Valley School District does at this time.
McMullen: The one-to-one device for learners program has zero academic benefit. In fact, it has contributed to the degradation of advanced reading and writing skills of students. Additionally, it costs an inordinate amount of money to fund the devices.
Short answer
What are the three biggest challenges that your school district is facing?
Evans: 1. Academic excellence.
2. Students using AI responsibly.
3. Safe schools.
Knapp: 1. Budget implications with the formula rewrite at the legislative level.
2. Adapting to technology — AI, all other as well.
3. Increasing number of students needing special education services, while continuing to not get funding from the state.
Roberts: 1. Recognize that the nature of work is changing rapidly.
2. Recognize that some teachers are far superior to some others.
3. Recognize that limited government is generally the better way to govern.
Benson: 1. Funding to support a great instructional and student support system.
2. Teaching appropriate usage of technology.
3. Assuring a safe and secure learning environment.
McMullen: The biggest challenge for our school district is elevating the rigor, especially in core subject areas, for students who are not enrolled in advanced classes. We must have very high
expectations of all students, as they will rise to the occasion if it is asked of them.
Name up to three specific things you would do on the board to address the most important issues facing the district.
Evans: 1. Hire exemplary educators possessing the intellectual acuity to discern the skills, tools and instruction to compete globally.
2. Educators must continue to teach students to use critical thinking skills and teach them how to use AI responsibly.
3. More proactive school safety approach.
Knapp: 1. Continue advocacy at the state and national level for funding of special education.
2. Continue to examine the effects of tech on all areas of learning, implementing policies as appropriate (communication, learning, teaching).
3. Advocacy for the expansion of workforce development in the trades.
Roberts: 1. Initiate better feedback opportunities for students to rate their teachers.
2. Create much smaller classes for primary schooling.
3. Welcome families to select the teachers and classes they deem appropriate for their children.
Benson: 1. Be active with the legislative representatives, to educate them about district needs.
2. Advocate for technology that meets Children’s Internet Protection Act requirements.
3. Continuing an emphasis on safe school environments.
McMullen: 1. All students would have one class be a small-group writing seminar every year from sixth grade on.
2. All students would need to produce an extensive capstone research project as a graduation requirement.
3. There would be a public speaking course requirement to graduate.
