By Ben McCarthy
In Hickman Mills, four seats on their Board of Education are up for grabs, with five candidates on the April 7th ballot.
Three incumbents seek re-election, while one former Board member runs again after a 7 year absence. Local lawyer, Matthew Williams, is the only candidate on the ballot without having spent time on the Board, or in any public office capacity.
Evelyn Hildebrand seeks a seat on the Board, after being elected in 2016, and serving one term. Incumbents April Cushing, Irene Kendrick, and Byron Townsend all seek re-election.
Last summer, the Board fired Superintendent Yaw Obeng in July, and appointed Dr. Dennis Carpenter ( who had previously served as district superintendent from 2013 until his resignation in 2017, leaving for Lee’s Summit that same year) on an interim basis on August 1st.
The Missouri State Auditor’s office announced a full audit of the Hickman Mill School District after a whistleblower report. That audit is not yet completed.
The district is exploring school closures as a means of saving millions of dollars.
In December, the board extended Dr. Carpenter’s contract for two years, effectively removing the interim tag from his title. His salary is now higher than all other KC Metro area superintendents – and inches out Blue Valley Superintendent, Dr. Gillian Chapman. Chapman makes $290,000 per year, while Carpenter is set to collect $291,000 after a raise was agreed to by the Board in December.
On a positive note, the district is closer than it has ever been to receiving full accreditation after two to three successful years in a row.
Matthew Williams
Matthew Williams graduated from Ruskin High School and attended college at UMKC before receiving a law degree from Barry University. He moved back to Kansas City to practice law and take care of my mother as she battles MS.
Williams has already begun establishing partnerships with the community with meetings among local homes associations and co-ops like Loma Vista West Townhomes.
“The purpose is to within the first year have a full community partner advisory panel. They would meet with Board members, if not the full Board, on a quarterly schedule to address community and district concerns as well as plan events, discuss opportunities for collaboration, and identify assistance we can provide each other.”
He says it would include meetings with the PTA and Parents and Teachers with the Board. “We cannot ignore the need to change how parents are communicated with by the district.”
Williams feels it would fill in the communication gaps.
“A great example of gap filling that a structure like that could help just happened: the poor attendance to Ruskin’s Theater production of “Lend Me A Soprano.” This community, and indeed much of Kansas City heard about the low opening night turnout via a Facebook post and then local media coverage. The response? A surge in attendance from the community, as well as donations.”
Williams says a better informed community would help fix that form of problem. “Meeting people where they are instead of beckoning them to where we are is crucial. We can’t expect the administration, staff and faculty to do that if the Board itself isn’t.”
Williams promises to be transparent and clear, and be guided by the question: “Will this solution help or hinder our students and families?”
Byron Townsend (incumbent)
This is Byron Townsend’s fifth time seeking a seat on the Board. “I want to finish what needs to be completed. I want to make sure the community understands what’s going on.” He emphasizes that transparency” transparency without clarity is useless. “Our constituents need to understand what’s going on, not just be told what’s going on.”
He says he’s not certain whether the district will ever be fully accredited. “That system may be gone by next year– the Governor has recommended changing to a grading scale, from ‘A’ to ‘F.’”
Townsend says his number one priority is community engagement. He would like to see more Zoom meetings so people don’t have to leave their homes.
He is not worried about what the state audit will find. “The audit will find what it finds, but there’s not missing money. There’s been questionable spending whether it was school related or not. We had 47 credit cards [distributed in the district.]” He says he brought attention to the Board members on several items that he found questionable. “The Board felt they didn’t need to further investigate those items.”
He says the district needs to help students understand all the opportunities that Ruskin offers, particularly its partnership with Metropolitan Community College.
“We brought on Dr. Carpenter because of his experiences dealing with the entities the district was about to face, such as the audit. He had also helped Kansas City Public Schools as an adviser on their accreditation issue. We wanted someone in there that was used to this process and the scrutiny that comes with it. We extended him because we don’t want to keep switching people out.”
Irene Kendrick (incumbent)
Irene Kendrick was elected to the Board in 2020, during Covid. She was raised in the Hickman Mills area and is now raising three grandkids in the district.
Kendrick has introduced several initiatives before the Board, such as the Real World Learning Center, and a partnership with the Grandview Fire Department, which trains students as EMT’s.
Kendrick, who also serves as a Grandview Alderman, says the Board is collaborating with the Grandview Chamber of Commerce to provide students with invaluable paid internships. Additionally, students graduating from the T&L Welding School in Raytown are receiving OSHA-certified certificates and securing paid internships in various trades, earning an impressive $38 an hour right out of high school. “We have many other powerful initiatives that I am committed to advancing as a Board member.”
Kendrick says she is concerned about the staff reductions that are being made and eliminated positions. “Can we move forward toward accreditation with fewer staff members? We must find ways to provide additional services for students who need extra help in the classroom.”
She believes it can be done. “During Covid, we were able to implement additional services for our students,” she recalls. “Those kids were at home and fell behind. We had reading and math interventionists brought in, which ended in 2024 [when the funding ran out]. With the bond initiative, we will be able to bring those services back.”
She says the district is addressing violence in schools and helping teachers feel safe. “Unfortunately, these kids grew up through Covid and don’t have great coping skills. They’re experiencing trauma,” she says. “My hope is that teachers have resources to combat bad behavior in our classrooms.” Counselors are available.
“When the superintendent released Mr. Obeng last year I was surprised. Since then, I’ve gotten to know Dr. Carpenter and have grown to accept him after working with him. I don’t agree with the decision to offer him a pay increase in his December contract. It was not warranted. It was not the proper time.”
April Cushing (incumbent)
April Cushing grew up in the Hickman Mills district and married a Hickman High School grad. They returned to the community in 2001.
Cushing was on the Board in 2013 when Dr. Carpenter first came to the district. “We were in financial straits back then, and it’s apparent we’re there, again.” She says she is running again to help the students and the district get back on their feet.
Cushing says she has no political aspirations. She was appointed six months ago to fill a vacant seat. “I was over the moon, I’m happy to help.”
She says the ballot issues are necessary to keep the district solvent. “We’ve had to do a lot just to keep the doors open this year. We have to watch our budget. If we show extraordinary effort to keep things going in the right direction, the state will recognize us and help out.”
She respects Dr. Carpenter’s education and “heart-driven fervor” to help the district. “He was the most prepared candidate when he was first hired him in 2013. He’s the right captain of the ship to help us out of this storm. He’s got a real heart for the community.”
She says the Board’s only employee is the superintendent. “We can make suggestions to the schools, but the building’s principals all have policies and procedures. It’s not our position to tell any school official how to do their job.”
She says the district is trying to make the most conducive education environments it can. “We have to accept students for where they are. They all have different home situations.”
Evelyn Hildebrand (former Board member)
Evelyn Hildebrand is from Shreveport, Louisiana. She has been a substitute teacher in the Hickman Mills district since 2002, mainly at Wafford Elementary. Her two children are Mizzou grads. “I’m 70, I don’t have kids here in the district but this is my community.”
Hildebrand was elected to the Board a decade ago and served one term (2016-2019). “I was actually trying to take my name off the ballot, but it was too late. I even ran an ad and asked people to vote for the other candidate. God came to me and told me I still had to run.”
Her main focus in recent years has been setting up a reading program at Ingels, Symington, and Walford Elementary Schools.
“A light bulb came on when I saw the district’s huge deficit. Something told me to put your name back in the hat.”
She says the district can’t afford to have taxpayer dollars going to different countries. “I couldn’t stand seeing that. I can’t understand how we got here.”
Hildebrand agrees with Dr. Carpenter and his leadership team.
“This new leadership team – I call it the ‘dream team,’ they’re trying to unravel things from past administrations. They’re going to need more community engagement. We’re going to have to build trust back in the community and in the schools.”
She says she has been campaigning for the district’s bond and levy ballot issues. “If they do not pass, I can foresee more school closings. It would become chaotic.”
She doesn’t want the district to lean on provincial educators if they can’t get certified teachers. “I don’t have a way to fix it.”
She believes students who are disrespecting teachers should face consequences.”I would try to implement something like teachers aides or para professionals in the classrooms so that our teachers don’t have to deal with all of the behavioral aspects of what’s going on.”