Lee’s Summit voters will see seven school board candidates competing for three seats on their ballots. We asked them what they plan to do about the district’s most pressing issues.
Maria Benevento
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, Columbia Missourian and St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Her education reporting began in 2017, and she became a full-time Kansas City education reporter with The Beacon in mid-2021. She graduated from Creighton University in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in theology and American studies. In 2021, she graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a master's degree in journalism. She’s lived in Missouri most of her life and first moved to Kansas City in 2017.
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Meet the candidates for the Independence school board on the April 7 ballot
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Posted inElections
Meet the North Kansas City school board candidates on the ballot April 7
Three candidates are competing for two spots on the board in 2026.
Posted inElections
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Four candidates are competing for three spots in the April 7 election.
Posted inEducation
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Five candidates are competing for three seats on the board in spring 2026.
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North Kansas City Schools audit examines payments for ‘potential fictitious services’
Law enforcement investigates hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments made in recent years to a company linked to a former employee’s brother.
Posted inState Government
Some Missouri lawmakers want to push religion into the public school day
Ideas include posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms, history lessons that frame religion in a positive light and allowing students to leave school for religious education.
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Missouri ‘school choice’ bills to watch in 2026
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Posted inEducation
How a charter school board reacted when employees asked it to oust the executive director
Current and former employees said they’re frustrated with the level of response from the board after they raised serious concerns about KIPP Kansas City leadership.
Posted inEducation
This Kansas City charter school lost nearly 20% of its students in one year amid high staff turnover
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