Who is running for Nebraska State Board of Ed? Learn about the candidate's values, endorsements and donors

The Nebraska State Board of Education will soon have four new members following the November election, marking a transformation of the eight-member board that oversees K-12 school systems and statewide education policy.

While board positions are nonpartisan, the current balance of conservative and liberal members could change depending on voters this fall. Most candidates have said they want to keep political ideologies at the door, but several have ties to parties either through endorsements, campaign donors or memberships to partisan organizations.

Political ideology has impacted the outcome of multiple hot-button issues such as banning library books and postponing health education standards. But in interviews with the World-Herald, candidates said what's most important is the wellbeing and achievement of students and school staff.

Below are priorities each candidate wants to bring to the State Board of Education if elected:

State Board of Education District 1 candidates

Kristin Christensen

Student success is at the top of Christensen's priority list if she's elected to the Nebraska State Board of Education, she said.

As a Lincoln Public Schools teacher, Christensen has experience in special education and academic intervention. She said her background has given her the insight to what students need to succeed in Nebraska. Christensen said there needs to be a statewide focus on improving student behavior and mental health along with research-based, high-quality curriculum.

"Students can't really get to the academics without having emotional and behavioral supports as well," Christensen said. "It is all connected and it all needs to be addressed so that we can increase student achievement."

Christensen said of she becomes a state board member, she would work to increase supports for teachers, such as access to more mental health resources. It's also important for educators to be a part of the Nebraska State Board of Education, she said, so board members can easily collaborate with teachers across the state.

"If we don't have highly qualified, highly trained, highly effective teachers in the classroom, then our students are going to suffer," she said. "We're losing teachers really quickly, and we are having a hard time recruiting new teachers into our teacher training programs. And so that's definitely a top priority for me."

Among her endorsements are the Nebraska State Education Association and Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird. Christensen's campaign donors include Dianne Lozier, one of the funders of The Lozier Foundation, the Nebraska State Education Association, former State Sen. Adam Morfeld and Women Who Run, according to records from the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission.

Liz Davids

Davids, founder of the conservative educational activism nonprofit Empower Nebraska, said she's talked to hundreds of voters this year as part of her campaign. Most, she said, of them have three common concerns: student academic achievement, teacher shortages and use of local property tax dollars.

While English and math test scores need to improve, Davids said families also lack resources to help their children who are struggling in school.

"I talk to parents all the time, especially special education parents and parents with students who have dyslexia and other learning disabilities, and there are so many resources that are out there that I don't think are widely enough known and are widely enough publicized," Davids said. "They could be getting to our students quicker and more efficiently, but they're just not. The teachers are not being trained, or they're not being given the resources as quickly as the students need them."

If elected to the state board, Davids said she would focus on improving transparency around the state's financial decisions and the Nebraska Department of Education budget.

"At least in Lincoln, we all got the pink slip that tells us we're giving more of our property taxes to our local school district," she said. "So there's a lot of frustration — it feels like we're not getting a good return on our investments for our tax dollars. So how can we manage our tax dollars efficiently and effectively?"

Among her endorsements are the Nebraska Republican Party and Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner. Davids' campaign donors include former State Sen. Suzanne Geist; Charles Herbster, Republican candidate for Nebraska governor and current chairman of its Rural Americans for Trump Coalition; and Protect Nebraska Children.

State Board of Education District 2 candidates

Linda Vermooten

Vermooten didn't return multiple requests for an interview, but she did answer The World-Herald's voter guide questionnaire.

In that survey, she said her top priority was "fostering academic excellence while empowering parents to play an active role in their children's education."

Vermooten has been endorsed by the Nebraska Republican Party and U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts. Vermooten's campaign donors include Protect Nebraska Children and Herbster.

Maggie Douglas

As someone with 15 years of teaching under her belt, Douglas said she believes it's essential for state board members to have classroom experience.

"The disconnect between practice and policy started becoming more prevalent to me when I was teaching," Douglas said. "Toward the end of my teaching career, I remember just thinking, 'If I want to help fix this, I need to leave the classroom.' That's not why I left the classroom, but it kind of just coincided with the calling to do more to help our schools."

Douglas worked at both parochial and public schools before leaving the field in 2021. She currently works as a mental health professional while teaching at Metropolitan Community College.

Teacher retention is also at the top of Douglas' priority list. She said she wants to help pass policies that attract and retain quality teachers while also making sure all educators have access to supportive resources.

Among her endorsements are the Nebraska State Education Association and Women Who Run Nebraska. Douglas' campaign donors include Lozier, the Nebraska State Education Association and the Nebraska Democratic Party.

State Board of Education District 3 candidates

Bill McAllister

Allister said if elected to the state board, he would focus on boosting the positive aspects of Nebraska's education systems instead of dwelling on controversial topics.

"I've been asked several times, what's your agenda? And I've been a superintendent for a long time, and I know board members who get on with an agenda sometimes aren't the best board members," McAllister said. "I'm not coming on with an agenda. I want to serve our schools and and our kids."

With 37 years of experience in education, including two stints as a superintendent, Allister said it's crucial for state education officials to help teachers who are currently spread thin by shortages.

"Last year, I was in South Sioux City, and we were maybe three math teachers short in high school. That means every other teacher had to give up their planning time and teach overloads," Allister said. "They were compensated for it, but that's not what they wanted. They wanted planning time so they could create and deliver great lessons. And soon those teachers are just looking over the fence, where they don't have to do that."

Allister has been endorsed by the Nebraska State Education Association and Patti Gubbels, a current State Board of Education member. McAllister's campaign donors include Lozier and the Nebraska State Education Association.

Lisa Schonhoff

Schonhoff teaches English language learners and is passionate about improving literacy rates in Nebraska. She said she wants to help the department of education reach its goal of increasing third grade reading proficiency to 75% by 2030.

Besides literacy and math, she also prioritizes classrooms returning to teaching the "classic fundamentals."

"I want to get back to really teaching civics, teaching American history, and just all of the things that our country was founded on. So the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, really putting that at the forefront," Schonhoff said. "I also want to get back to having our kids do cursive, because there is so much excellent brain research behind how positive writing and cursive is for brain development."

Schonhoff said it's important for classrooms to "get back to the basics" of teaching the main core subjects. While social emotional learning is important, she said educators shouldn't be tasked with teaching those skills or managing students' mental health.

Among Schonhoff's endorsements are Nebraskans for Founders' Values and the Nebraska Republican Party. Schonhoff's campaign donors include Ricketts, Herbster, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers and Kirk Penner, current State Board of Education member.

State Board of Education District 4 candidates

Liz Renner

While literacy and math rates are important to Renner, student behavioral and mental health are also top priorities.

"There's just a lot of behavioral issues in our schools, and I think that our teachers need backup in the form of more parent educators and paraprofessionals," she said. "Our students need backup in terms of more school counselors and opportunities to be linked to resources to work on mental health and behavioral health issues."

Renner, a local writer and film producer, said she's proud to be recognized as a 2024 Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate. She said it's because her platform is aligned with the values of promoting gun safety in schools and creating common sense gun laws.

Above all, Renner said the Nebraska State Board of Education should be a stabilizing force in the state's education systems.

"I am really hoping we can get a board in place for the upcoming term that is really willing to work on the real issues," she said.

Renner has been endorsed by the Nebraska State Education Association and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska. Renner's campaign donors include Women Who Run, the Nebraska State Education Association and Lozier.

LeDonna White Griffin

Parent choice in their children's education is a top priority for White Griffin, who founded her own private learning academy after leaving a career in a public district. She said it's important for families to be able to enroll their children in a different environment if their current school isn't working.

"If the parent is able to make a decision, that's best for their child. School choice is such a broad term, and we'll have to discuss and enter and engage in those conversations as they need be. But it's more focused on parent choice," White Griffin said. "The biggest thing is parents having that freedom to make the choice that's best for their child."

White Griffin also wants to break the school-to-prison pipeline. She said districts need to prevent children from solely passing through school to graduation without learning critical skills like literacy.

White Griffin left the Omaha Public Schools in 2019 after serving as a building administrator. She said the district ended her contract. OPS officials said the board approved a "separation of employment" in 2019.

The World-Herald did not find endorsements for White Griffin.

K-12 Education Reporter