There are moments in public service that remind us school boards are about far more than budgets, politics, or bureaucracy. They are about people, families, and communities. One of those moments came during my service on the Lansing USD 469 School Board when we faced the heartbreaking loss of students before they had the opportunity to walk across the graduation stage with their classmates.

UPDATE (April 2026):
The Kansas Legislature has officially enacted new restrictions on student walkout protests after overriding Laura Kelly’s veto of Senate Bill 315. The Kansas Legislature voted 87–36 in the House and 27–12 in the Senate to include the measure within the state’s operations budget.