It’s Graduation Week in the Blue Valley School District. But did you know that the Blue Valley Schools’ Class of 2026 has NEVER received a fully-funded education during the past 13 years of schooling, K -12? Not ONE year. The Kansas Legislature is to blame for this, including some BV-area legislators, both past and present. Incredibly, even some legislators who have students IN BV Schools vote AGAINST our district. This dates back to the Brownback years, but continues as a s

Our neighborhood schools suffered real damage in the 2026 Kansas Legislative session. Unless community members are willing to run for the KS Legislature NOW, Blue Valley Schools stand to face irreparable damage. Despite the work of some legislators to protect our schools, the overall legislative body in Topeka is strongly anti-public education. The legislature is controlled by a supermajority of anti-public education state senators and representatives. This means even a veto

How did BV-area legislators vote on limits on voting rights and potentially overturning the US Constitution? Wait, WHAT? Kansas became the latest state to vote (via legislators) for a “constitutional convention” - purportedly to place term limits on the US Congress. Why do KS legislators - who don’t have term limits - care about them for US congress reps? Well, once such a Convention is called (by having 34 states pass the resolution), there are NO limits on what can come ou

How did BV-area KS legislators vote on 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 in 2026? We’ve already shared information from BV Schools about the dire situation the district is facing due to the KS Legislature’s failure to fully fund Special Education (as statutorily required). The funding shortfall has caused the district to pull MILLIONS of dollars from general funds and cash reserves every year since 2011 to meet student needs. This robs EVERY student through class

After passing a state budget that CUTS funding to public schools, extending government overreach, and attempting to restrict mail ballots, the KS Legislature has ended its 2026 session. But Blue Valley-area legislators didn’t vote for any of that bad stuff, did they? After all, every legislator in our area claims to “support” our neighborhood public schools. Remember: Don’t listen to what they say - watch how they VOTE. In some cases, their claims versus their votes don’t li

Blue Valley-area legislators 𝗞𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻, 𝗧𝗝 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝗲, 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝗳𝘁, 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗩𝗮𝗻𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻, 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗧𝗮𝗿𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗹 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 voted AGAINST parental rights when they voted to “prohibit students from using or accessing personal electronic communication devices during the school day, and require that all personal electronic communication devices be turned off and securely stored away from the student's person in an inaccessib

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 Kansas voter, whether registered with a political party or Unaffiliated, will have at least one important issue on their August 2026 Primary ballot: Whether to keep the Kansas Supreme Court appointment process as it is (Vote NO), or whether to change it to an election for KS Supreme Court justices (Vote YES). 𝗪𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗡𝗢 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲. Legislators who don’t like it when the Kansas Supreme Court requires them to uphold the state Constitution voted i

Q: I’ve heard that BV Schools may cut its 5th-Grade Strings program. This is terrible! 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀?! A: We completely agree that 5th-Grade Strings is a valuable program. (Some of our own kids have participated over the years.) Parents are right to be concerned about cutting it. The BV School Board has NOT made a decision on the program - or any possible cuts - yet. But what they HAVE made clear - and what BV parents need to kn

How did BV-area legislators vote on a bill to give 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 tax money to private schools, taking it from the state general fund and therefore from public schools and other public functions? Private schools pick and choose which students they want to take. They aren’t required to meet the needs of students with special needs, including intellectual and physical disabilities or giftedness. They can kick out any kid, for any reason, at any time. They aren’t required to follow an

School Board members and district Superintendents from all 6 Johnson County school districts made a plea this week to BV-area legislators: 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. (That is, to the legislators who attended the invitation - see below.) They distributed the attached handout which explains: In 2024-2025, districts transferred $1397 𝙋𝙀𝙍 𝙎𝙏𝙐𝘿𝙀𝙉𝙏 out of their general funds to cover excess Special Education costs Total Base State Aid per Pupil = $5378 (b

Budget cuts are coming to Blue Valley - unless the Kansas Legislature fully funds Special Education. This weekend we’re urging our members to email ALL Blue Valley-area legislators to ask for their support in fully funding our neighborhood schools, by fully funding excess Special Education costs. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻 if KsLeg does NOT fund SpEd? BV Schools has recently announced that it will have to 𝗰𝘂𝘁 $𝟭𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 from the 2026-27 budget

We highly recommend this recent podcast from Blue Valley Schools. Taking a walk? On your daily commute? Doing laundry? Take a listen! Search “BV Unmuted” wherever you get your podcasts. Link below to listen on your mobile device or laptop. In this episode, BV Schools Superintendent Dr. Gillian Chapman is joined by Board members Jan Kessinger and Clay Norkey, along with Chief Financial Officer Jeremy McFadden, to discuss the district's 2026 Legislative priorities. Like every y

Blue Valley Schools’ operating budget, which provides funding for class sizes, teacher pay, availability of specials classes, and many other factors that impact BV students, is determined by the Kansas Legislature. The 2026 KsLeg session starts tomorrow, Mon., Jan. 12. KsLeg is required by law to fund 92% of excess Special Education costs - that is, the excess money it takes to educate students with IEPs (gifted and disability). But did you know that KsLeg has actually FAILE

Johnson County Election Commissioner Fred Sherman, who’s held the position since appointed by Schwab in 2021, resigned this week with this statement: “I was given the option to resign or be terminated from the position, and I elected to resign.” Per the Post article: “Schwab did not give a reason for the decision to change the county’s top election leadership. But Sherman said Thursday morning that it amounted to a difference on an election policy issue that he did not want t

Can state legislators dictate exactly what curriculum Kansas public school districts must teach? Does this conflict with the State Board of Education’s role, and the authority of local School Boards? If legislators 𝗰𝗮𝗻 mandate curriculum, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙨 - if any? These questions are being asked by SUBV members following the KS Legislature’s passage of S Sub House Bill 2382 earlier this year. S Sub HB 2382 provided for a salary increase for members of

This article was originally posted 11/05/2025 on SUBV Facebook page. Congratulations to Dr. David Benson, Dr. Sonya Evans, and Gina Knapp. Mail ballots that were postmarked by Election Day and received by Fri. Nov. 7 will be counted as they come in daily. Provisional ballots will be added to the totals once they are confirmed. So while all votes are not counted yet, each of the pro-public education candidates SUBV endorsed are now ahead by thousands of votes. We greatly appre

Blue Valley parents have endorsed candidates for School Board who will keep our district doing what it does best: educating children. We’ve endorsed candidates who will put STUDENTS first - NOT extreme ideologies. Benson, Evans, and Knapp are the only candidates in this race with children or grandchildren currently attending BV Schools. They are personally invested in the success of our district. The candidates we’ve endorsed will protect taxpayer dollars with careful stewar

Blue Valley kids need your vote for School Board members who’ll make decisions based on what’s best for STUDENTS. Vote for 𝗗𝗿. 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗻, 𝗗𝗿. 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝘆𝗮 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗞𝗻𝗮𝗽𝗽 to keep BV Schools strong, and moving forward. Vote 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 (Fri., Oct 31) 9AM - 7PM, or 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄 (Sat., Nov. 1) 9AM - 3PM, at BV Hilltop and other convenient locations across Johnson County. 𝗠𝗼𝗻., 𝗡𝗼𝘃. 𝟯 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝟴𝗔𝗠 - 𝗻𝗼𝗼�

From the article; link to read the article is below. “Knapp points to the district’s leadership and strong parental involvement as key drivers of its consistent performance as the best in Kansas. “We are great model of what happens when a community and school district are partners,” she wrote in response to our questions...𝙬𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙂𝙞𝙣𝙖 𝙆𝙣𝙖𝙥𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙨𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙤𝙞�

In her 4 years in office, Gina Knapp has advocated for support and funding of our kids’ Blue Valley Schools by traveling multiple times to Topeka - and even to Washington, D.C. - to talk with elected officials about how their votes impact funding here at home. Her opponent, Steve Roberts, supports vouchers to divert funding from public schools to private ones. Knapp has a comprehensive understanding of school district finances after 4 years on the BV Board and is CFO of a maj

Moms For Liberty's Jim McMullen has voted against students and teachers as a member of the Blue Valley School Board. McMullen has 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘺 been the ONLY vote against Children's Mercy social workers in our schools. He has spoken out against providing health services in our schools. “It’s not positive, and I just don’t support it." This directly aligns with 𝗠𝗙𝗟'𝘀 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: "𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰