Turner Elementary leaders encourage students to miss no more than 10% of school days per month. In December, 22% of students exceeded that threshold. (Vaughn Wheat/The Beacon)

Laws governing Kansas school boards set baseline requirements, such as mandating that districts open their meetings to the public unless they’re discussing specific topics such as legal issues. 

But school districts have quite a bit of leeway when they set policies for public comment, livestreaming meetings or providing access to recordings. Those policies can vary from district to district or even year to year. 

If you want to learn what your school board is doing, contact members or comment at a meeting, here’s an updated guide to several major Johnson and Wyandotte county districts.  

To jump to a specific school district, click these links: 

Blue Valley Schools

Regular school board meetings typically take place the second Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m. Doors open at 5:15. Board workshop meetings typically happen at 8 a.m. the same day.

Regular meetings are in the board of education room at the district office, 15020 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park. Board workshops are in the High Plains Room of the district office. Agendas and documents are available online. 

You can also view meetings live or recorded on the district’s YouTube channel. However, the livestream does not include the open forum, which happens before the meeting is called to order and can last up to 30 minutes. 

During the open forum, up to 10 people can make a public comment for three minutes each. 

The online request form to participate opens at noon one business day before a scheduled meeting. It closes at noon the day of the meeting or when 10 participants have registered. If you successfully register, you’ll get a confirmation email with more instructions. 

The district’s board clerk, Anna Sweeney, can be reached at amsweeney03@bluevalleyk12.org.  

The district’s website includes a list of board members with links to longer bios and email addresses. You can also email the superintendent and board of education at BOE@bluevalleyk12.org. 

Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools

The school board holds regular meetings at 5 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, with a few exceptions around holidays and breaks. A full schedule is available on the district website.

Meetings take place in the third-floor board room of the central office, 2010 N. 59th St., Kansas City, Kansas, unless otherwise noted.  

To watch a regular meeting live or recorded, tune in to the district’s YouTube channel. You can find links and addresses for regular and special meetings, as well as full agendas with linked documents, by clicking on the meeting date on the district’s page in BoardDocs. 

You can also view meetings on KCKPS-TV.

If you want to submit a community comment at a meeting, contact board clerk Leslie Smith by noon the day before the meeting is scheduled. 

She can be reached at Leslie.Smith@kckps.org or 913-627-2652. 

Comments are limited to three minutes and must be about policy issues or general concerns rather than criticism of specific individuals. 

Biographies and emails for board members are also available online. 

Olathe Public Schools

The school board generally holds meetings on the first Thursday at 5:45 p.m. Regular meeting dates and workshops for in-depth study of special topics are listed on the board’s webpage.

Check the Olathe BoardDocs page for any meetings the board adds to the calendar. It has reserved the third Thursday of the month for potential special meetings. Agendas and other documents for all meetings are available on BoardDocs. 

Unless otherwise noted, the board meets in the Education Center, 14160 S. Black Bob Road, Olathe.

You can also view live or recorded meetings on YouTube. 

To make a public comment, submit a request between midnight the Friday before the meeting and noon the day of the meeting. You can email Barbara Behm, clerk of the board, at bbehmec@olatheschools.org or call at 913-780-8049.

A registration card explains the process for commenting. Comments are limited to three to five minutes, depending on the number of commenters present. 

Phone numbers, email addresses and biographies of all board members are available on the district website. 

Shawnee Mission School District

The school board holds most of its meetings at 6 p.m. the second and fourth Monday of each month, with some exceptions. Public comment takes place in a separate session at 5:30 p.m. before the meeting. The 2024-2025 schedule is available online, as are agendas and documents for meetings. 

Meetings are held in the boardroom of the Center for Academic Achievement, 8200 W. 71st St., Overland Park.

The district also streams and posts board meetings on YouTube. 

Board clerk Shelly Trenholm, available at 913-993-6401 or shellytrenholm@smsd.org, is the contact person for public comment. 

To make a public comment, the district asks for requests by 3:30 p.m. the Friday before a board meeting to allow the district to research and potentially address concerns. However, the hard deadline to sign up for public comment is noon the day of the meeting. Comments are typically limited to three minutes.

Complaints about specific staff or students may be allowed if you have already been through the complaint process with district administration, but the board will hear them in a nonpublic session. 

Emails, phone numbers and bios of board members are available on the district website.

Maria Benevento is The Beacon’s education reporter. She joined The Beacon as a Report for America corps member. In addition to her work at The Beacon, she’s reported for the National Catholic Reporter,...