Voters on April 2 chose three women for three seats on the Springfield School Board. Two of the women are incumbents, Danielle Kincaid and Maryam Mohammadkhani, who retained their seats.
But the big winner and top vote-getter was newcomer Susan Provence, who defeated Scott Kreize's re-election bid and won three vacant seats.
The three women also defeated challengers Landon McCarter, Kyler Sherman Wilkins, and Chad Rollins.
The election results are likely to remain split 4-3 on key issues such as Superintendent Glenita Lathan's contract extension. Kincaid and Kreis were part of the majority (along with Judy Brunner and Shrita Thomas-Tate), while Mohammadhani was part of the minority (along with Steve McCoskey and Kelly Byrne).
Mr. Provence was expected to go along with Mr. Kincaid's majority, while Mr. McCarter and Mr. Rollins (if he won) were expected to go with Mr. Mohammad Khani.
The board will meet on April 9 to swear in new members and elect next year's officers. The most pressing issue facing the new board in its first few meetings is approving a budget for the 2024-25 school year. The budget he needs to be finalized and approved by the end of June.
Here are the latest vote totals for the three board seats, according to unofficial results posted on the Greene County Clerk's website: Candidates are listed in order of voting.
Reported by 58 out of 58 regions | vote | percent | |
✔ | Daniel Kincaid (current position) | 12,255 | 16.89% |
landon mccarter | 10,986 | 15.14% | |
✔ | Susan Provence | 13,082 | 18.03% |
Scott Kreis (current position) | 7,181 | 9.9% | |
Kyler Sherman Wilkins | 6,923 | 9.54% | |
chad rollins | 10,730 | 14.79% | |
✔ | Mariam Mohammadkhani (current position) | 11,306 | 15.58% |
candidate
Seven candidates are running for the three open seats on the board, with incumbents Daniel Kincaid, Scott Kreise and Mariam Mohammadkhani competing against challengers Landon McCarter, Susan Provence and Kyler Provence. He faced Mr. Sherman Wilkins and Mr. Chad Rollins. The term for each seat is his three years. Board of Education officers are volunteer positions and do not receive compensation.
• Mr. Kincaid, 39, is currently Chairman of the Board, an attorney, and a partner at Elder Law Group.
• Mr. McCarter, 39, is an entrepreneur, including co-founder and former owner of Secure Agent Marketing. He was also a candidate for the 2023 school board election, finishing third with a margin of 274 votes.
• Ms. Provence, 70, is a retired teacher and basketball, volleyball and softball coach at Parkview High School.
• Mr. Kreis, 58, currently serves as executive vice president and gas plant operations manager for Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc.
• Sherman Wilkins, 34, is an associate professor of sociology at Missouri State University.
• Rollins, 47, is a pharmacist and director of operations for Health Direct, an Ozark-based pharmacy. He was also a candidate for the 2023 school board election, finishing last among four candidates.
• Mohammadkhani, 53, is a member of CoxHealth's board of directors and a former pathologist.
As the votes were counted throughout the night, Provence, Kincaid and Mohammadkhani made it to the top three spots and never gave up their spots. McCarter and Rollins surged towards the end for Mohammadkhani's position, but it wasn't enough to get on the board.
Behavior, discipline is the most important issue
One of the most prominent issues throughout the election revolved around behavior and discipline in the classroom, including the new use of positive behavior interventions and support systems. Although they all advocated increased behavioral training for teachers, their overall approaches differed.
Candidates raised more than $430,000
Seven candidates raised more than $430,000 in their campaigns, according to a report filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission eight days before the election. The final total will be known when candidates file their final reports for the election cycle, due May 2.
This amount far exceeds last year's record alone, when four candidates raised more than $210,000.
Mohammadkhani raised the most money with $82,865.77, followed by Sherman Wilkins with $29,700.09.
independent politics
Political action committees also participated, raising more than $160,000 to support candidates.
The race began with two groups playing duel picks. United Springfield, a newly formed PAC with both Republicans and Democrats in leadership positions, endorsed Kincaid, Kreis and Provence. The company made a donation to the trio and also paid for the production and airtime of a separate TV commercial supporting them.
United Springfield was formed in response to the rise of partisan groups seeking to influence nonpartisan elections. One of those groups is his Back on Track America PAC, which funded his negative mailer supporting Mr. McCarter and Mr. Rollins in 2023.
This year, Conservative PAC partnered with Christians United for Political Action and supported Mr. McCarter, Mr. Rollins and Mr. Mohammad Khani. Back on Track printed voting guides supporting the candidates and paid for radio ads supporting the candidates.
Spokespeople for both groups continued to focus on conduct and discipline in interviews with the Springfield Daily Citizen, but voters' guides for supporters and allies also highlighted considerations for transgender students. , allowing transgender students to compete on athletic teams, and also highlighting the three organizations' positions on allowing transgender students to compete on athletic teams. Racial disparity education — a key issue in the larger culture wars.
Other groups that have expressed support include:
• The Springfield NEA, the union representing teachers and other school staff, was the first to endorse Sherman-Wilkins. McCarter and Mohammadkhani were also selected.
• The Springfield chapter of the Missouri Teachers Association supported Kincaid, Provence and Sherman-Wilkins.
• Teamsters Local No. 245, the union representing bus drivers in the district, supported McCarter, Provence and Sherman-Wilkins.
• Vote 417, a group calling for open elections, endorsed Kincaid, Provence and Clyze.
• The Springfield branch of the NAACP gave Kincaid and Sherman-Wilkins the most favorable reviews, as did Provence.