Democrat flips state education board seat but GOP maintains majority control

TOPEKA — A Democrat in eastern Kansas flipped a state education board position previously held by a conservative Republican, shifting the board’s makeup to four Democrats and six Republicans.

Four Republicans were elected Tuesday to the remaining open seats on the Kansas State Board of Education, which oversees Kansas public schools. The winners filled five open seats on the 10-member board after current seat holders declined to run for reelection.

Amy Diediker, a Democrat and former elementary school teacher from Olathe, won a small eastern district near the Kansas City metro that has been held by Republican Michelle Dombrosky since 2019. Diediker leaned into defending public schools during her campaign.

“I think that there’s been a lot of work on the other side to undermine public education,” Diediker said.

Northeastern district

The northeast Kansas district elected Republican Amy Cawvey of Lansing, who beat her Democratic opponent Jennifer Lloyd by 10 percentage points.

Cawvey, the Kansas chair of the National School Boards Coalition, celebrated her win from Leavenworth at a Republican watch party. 

“I attribute this victory to voters who are ready to see real improvement in Kansas education,” Cawvey said in a text message to Kansas Reflector. “Kansans understand that simply pouring more money into education without seeing improved student outcomes is not the answer.”

During her campaign, Cawvey said she wanted to audit school’s special education spending records. But literacy is her main priority, she said.

“First, we must confront the literacy crisis facing Kansas students,” she said. “Far too many children are not reading at grade level, and that should concern every Kansan.”

Southeastern district

Republican Destry Brown of Fort Scott won the southeast district with 69% of votes, while Democrat Heather Guernsey lost by 37 percentage points.

Brown recently retired after serving 42 years as the Fort Scott school district’s superintendent and has worked in five different Kansas school districts. 

While campaigning, Brown and Guernsey agreed on multiple issues. They both said discussions of topics such as race and gender belong in classrooms and that the state board should set curriculum guidelines, not the Legislature. 

In the 2026 session, the Legislature attempted to impose an annual fitness test, a citizenship test, daily recess, and lessons on “the negative impacts of communist, fascist and socialist regimes and ideologies.” 

Brown said he thinks voters were drawn to his experience and his perspective on local control. His next step, he said, is to prepare.

He said he planned to “listen and learn and figure out what I need to do to get ready to start serving on the board.”

Western district

Republican Jean Clifford of Garden City will represent the board’s largest district. She earned 73% of votes and her opponent, Democrat Lorie Wood, lost with 27%.

Clifford, a retired Air Force attorney, served one term on the board from 2019-2023 and has served on her local school board.

She said voters elected her for her experience and interest in raising academic performance. 

“I believe the message that resonated most with voters was my focus on student achievement and outcomes,” she said in a text message to Kansas Reflector. “I also think voters understood that my strong background and experience in education and having lived in western Kansas for over 30 years and raised my family here showed that I had a deep understanding of the issues we have in education in rural Kansas.”

Eastern district

An eastern district that covers much of Johnson and Miami counties, elected Diediker, the Democrat who flipped a seat currently held by a Republican, and she earned 55% of votes over Republican Jim McMullen.

Diediker has never held or run for public office before. She worked as an elementary school teacher for seven years and more recently has volunteered around her community, including for the Johnson County Democratic Party. 

She said voters responded to her support for public schools.

“I think people were ready for a champion for public education and someone who would be a fierce supporter of public schools,” she said.

Leading up to the election, Diediker has said she wants to focus attention on middle and high school grade levels and promote bipartisan communication between state bodies. 

McMullen, a Johnson County attorney, served on the Blue Valley School Board from 2021 until he lost reelection. The board stripped his vice president role in 2022 over anti-trans social media posts. 

Central district

Republican Alana McWilliams of Abilene will represent central Kansas. She won 63% of votes and her opponent, Democrat Ann Zimmerman of Salina, lost with 37%.

McWilliams is an education advocate and founder of Designed to Learn, a Wichita-based reading tutor center for students with learning disabilities. 

Her campaign focused on advocating for improving Kansas public school’s reading curriculum. 

She previously said she homeschools her three children — two of whom have dyslexia — because public schools didn’t adequately teach them reading skills or accommodate their learning differences. 

“At nearly every forum and event, I heard the same concerns,” she said. “Parents know something isn’t working for their kids. Teachers want better tools and support in the classroom.”