{"id":67236,"date":"2022-09-12T14:08:32","date_gmt":"2022-09-12T19:08:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=67236"},"modified":"2022-09-12T14:08:35","modified_gmt":"2022-09-12T19:08:35","slug":"hays-resident-set-to-take-district-5-seat-on-state-boe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=67236","title":{"rendered":"Hays resident set to take District 5 seat on state BOE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BY RAEGAN NEUFELD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With her win in the August primary, Hays resident Cathy Hopkins faces no opposition in the November general election and will represent 81 school districts on the state Board of Education starting in January.
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Hopkins<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Her victory marked a stark turnaround after what happened locally in November. Hopkins previously ran for a seat on the Hays USD 489 school board in November but lost by five votes. In a turn, she then ran in the District 5 state BOE Republican primary election and defeated incumbent Jean Clifford by a margin of 9.2 percent. 
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Hopkins said the concern she perceived from parents and teachers about the direction of education in Kansas is what propelled her to victory in the state board of education race in the primary.
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\u201cThey are hopeful a stronger conservative approach can make a difference,\u201d she said.
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As seen on her website<\/a>, one of the key issues for Hopkins is local control, which she discussed in a statement to Tiger Media Network.
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\u201cEverything occurring in Topeka for all Kansans does not work for all Kansas families,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need stronger local governments with engaged citizens to achieve what is best for local communities. This top-down approach has been ongoing for a long time, and many believe a shift must occur to see real change. It is my hope to help bring a different perspective to the BOE and see what can be accomplished to achieve this shift from Topeka-Washington, D.C., directives to more involvement on a local level in decision making for the children of District 5 and all of Kansas.\u201d
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In the local school district, the BOE consists of seven publicly elected members who set district policies. However, each BOE must follow policies set by the 10-member state board.
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\u201cThey make decisions in collaboration with the commissioner and the Kansas State Department of Education to set policies like (teacher and substitute) licensure,\u201d USD 489 Board President Craig Pallister said. \u201cEach local board sets the curriculum for their district, but the state board and the KSDE with the commissioner set up the testing programs to show how well the curriculums are working.\u201d
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