KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the past year, local school board races across the country have attracted a lot of attention.
School curriculum and reading materials have become hot topics of debate.
In Johnson County, you could see the division on those topics with the candidates who ran.
In Tuesday's election, moderates won the day.
"I do feel like part of it was actually saying no to some more extreme rhetoric that had been amping up over the course of the year," said Jason Anderson with Freedom To Learn Kansas.
Most voters saw and heard the partisanship around school board elections.
Candidates saw it, too.
"In the last few years, we've just started seeing so much divisive rhetoric," said Claire Reagan.
Voters Tuesday night elected Reagan to the Olathe School Board.
The candidates who won Johnson County seats largely didn't echo the divisive rhetoric.
"The message that we are hearing back from our stakeholders and community was that they didn't want this sort of rancor and ugliness that was happening in other parts of partisan politics to creep into school boards," Anderson said. "For us it was a vote across the board that this should not be a partisan experience," Anderson said.
Reagan and Jodie Dietz are two examples in Blue Valley and Olathe.
"I'm incredibly proud of our community for paying attention," said Dietz, who won her school race Tuesday.
Dietz said it's a big victory for bridge builders like her who say level heads working to build a future on Blue Valley's foundation of success is the district's future.
"You build on it," Dietz said. "You make modifications, you get better. You don't throw the recipe out."
Reagan said her victory and other victories weren't attributed to repeating national rhetoric and vitriol.
Her key was supporting teachers and students.
That's what voters wanted.
"Just compare this election to the election in 21," Reagan said. "The margins of victory by common sense candidates. It's clear to me that the voters of Johnson County resoundingly said, 'We care about public education. We want people who support our teachers."
