Kansas City Public Schools logo. | File photo
Kansas City Public Schools logo. | File photo

Dorri Partain

Managing Editor

Kansas City residents within the Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS) District vote to select the members of the Board of Directors. This seven-member board is composed of representatives for five sub-districts and two at-large representatives.

These representatives are elected to serve a four-year term but on an alternate term schedule. For Historic Northeast voters, this means they will cast their ballots for one at-large candidate and the representative for Sub-District 3.

Boundaries for Sub-District 3 include all of Northeast and the City’s Westside neighborhoods.

Indian Mound neighborhood resident Tricia McGhee is running unopposed for the Sub-District 3 seat. McGhee is employed as the Director of Communication for Revolucion Educativa (RevED) and is a bilingual advocate for educational equality.

“While I’m committed to serving the entire district,” McGhee stated via email, “I’m especially focused on the historic Northeast and Westside — neighborhoods full of culture, community and multilingual learners whose skills are long-term academic strengths. Nationwide, we’re in a literacy crisis — but our local schools are making progress. I want to see continued increases in reading scores, and I believe one of the most powerful ways to get there is by deeply engaging parents as partners.”

“That’s why I’ve begun attending events like Kindergarten Roundup & science nights so families have direct access to their board representative, in both English and Spanish. Principals have welcomed this collaboration, and I’m committed to showing up, listening, and building the relationships our students need to succeed,” McGhee shared.

Sub-District 3 is currently represented by Robert Sagastume, who declared last December he was not seeking re-election. Sagastume is also a resident of Indian Mound.

Tanesha Ford and Joseph Nelson are candidates seeking the At-Large board position.

Ford was elected to this position in 2021 and is seeking re-election. During her first term, Ford sat as vice-chair of the board and chair of the finance committee. On her campaign website, (taneshaford.com) Ford states her experience in her quest for re-election.

“With four years of experience navigating complex decisions, I have built relationships, institutional knowledge, and a deep understanding of our district’s challenges and opportunities. At this pivotal time, KCPS needs steady leadership that won’t require a learning curve- someone ready to act on day one.”

Ford is a life-long resident of Kansas City, attended KCPS schools and has two young children enrolled in district schools.

At- Large candidate Joseph Nelson stated his goal is to make Kansas City a national model for public education excellence. Since moving to Kansas City from New York, he has worked with organizations such as Black Excellence KC, WEB DuBois Learning Center and the Entrepreneur and Small Business Council.

On Nelson’s website (nelsonforkcps.com), he states his belief that “strong schools impact workforce development, business success and quality of life.”