Seven candidates are running in the nonpartisan general elections for the Conway School Board in Arkansas

By

Lara Bonatesta

Seven candidates are running in the nonpartisan general elections for Conway School Board in Arkansas on May 13. Three of the board’s seven seats are up for election. The Conway School District consists of seven members serving five-year terms. During the 2023 school year, 10,251 students attended one of the district’s 16 schools.

This is the second Conway school board election since Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) signed the Arkansas LEARNS Act into law in 2023. The law made various changes to education, including creating the Arkansas Children’s Educational Freedom Account Program, raising the minimum salary for teachers from $36,000 to $50,000, and prohibiting certain content for certain grade levels, among other things.

The League of Women Voters hosted a forum with six of the candidates on April 11. Cummings, Marsh, Moses, Petty, Sandefer, and Walton participated. Kennedy did not attend. During the forum, candidates discussed communication with the community, academic priorities and student outcomes, millage priorities, and more. Click here to watch the forum.

At-large

Cummings is the senior vice president of development and former director of sales at the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce. He previously worked as a financial advisor. In 2023, Cummings was appointed to the Institute of Organization Management’s national board of trustees. Cummings’ campaign website says his priorities are to “Advance Academic Achievement”, “Build Community Confidence and Connection”, and “Create Conditions for School Success.”

Marsh is a realtor and a former teacher who taught for 21 years. On her campaign Facebook page, Marsh describes herself as conservative. In the candidate forum on April 11, Marsh said, “I left education in 2016 because I saw what it was like to be a teacher in the classroom and not have support from your administration. I have talked to teachers over the last seven, eight years that I’ve been out of education. The retention rate for our teachers is about three years. That concerns me greatly. … I want to support our teachers, I want to support our students.”

Moses is a small business owner, parent-teacher organization (PTO) member, and Secretary for the Conway Tree Board. Moses completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. In his response, Moses said his priorities are: “Fiscal Responsibility & Smart Budgeting”, “Building a Stronger Community,” and “Support for Students, Parents, and Teachers,” and that he is running because “students, parents, and educators deserve leaders who listen. I’ll work to keep our schools focused on learning, free from distractions, and equipped to prepare students for success.” Click here to see his full survey response.

Zone 1

Petty is running on his 12 years of experience in public K-12 education, which includes working as a seventh and eighth-grade math teacher in Conway public schools. He also worked as an elementary school counselor, Director of College Transitions, and Director of Data Management and Analysis in other school districts. According to his campaign website, Petty is also a member of the National Education Association (NEA) and Arkansas Education Association (AEA). Petty’s campaign website says his priorities include “Better Treatment of Students with Disabilities”, “Common Sense Communication with Community”, and “Improve Reading Comprehension and Application among Students.”

Sandefer is a local business owner, consulting manager, and former member of the Conway School Board. He was elected in May 2022 and resigned in May 2024 after his wife was offered a teaching job in the district. Sanderfer is also a deacon at Woodland Heights Baptist Church and a former board member for Conway KLife. Sandefer is running on his record and says he wants to use his skills running a technology business to “ensure we spend the budget efficiently, hire and retain the best employees, consider the best infrastructure needs and ensure all of our children have the best opportunities they can have, in a safe and welcoming environment.”

Zone 5

In October 2024, the board voted 5-1 to appoint Kennedy to fill the vacancy created after the death of the previous incumbent William Millburn. Walton was one of four other applicants who sought the position. Sheila Franklin was the only board member who opposed Kennedy. According to the Arkansas Times, Franklin voted for Walton to fill the vacancy.

Kennedy is a Lieutenant in the Conway Police Department and an Air Force veteran. In 2023, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) appointed Kennedy to the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission (JDDC). He is married to Cortney Kennedy, Sanders’ chief legal counsel. On his campaign Facebook, Kennedy says he is “committed to safer schools, supporting educators, and empowering students for success.”

Walton is a substitute teacher and local activist. She founded the Pine Street Community Backpack Project, which distributes backpacks filled with school supplies to students in the city of Conway and Faulkner County. Walton’s campaign website says she will “focus on ensuring teachers feel supported, classrooms are well-managed, and students have access to the resources they need to succeed.”

Background

While school board elections are nonpartisan in Arkansas, according to the Arkansas Advocate, the Conway School Board has received media attention in recent years “after the district became a battleground for ‘culture war’ issues, like transgender bathroom policies, book bans and parental rights.”

In October 2022, the school board unanimously approved a policy requiring every “multiple occupancy restroom or changing area” to be designated as for “the exclusive use of the male sex” or “the exclusive use of the female sex” as “identified on the individual’s original birth certificate.” The board also removed two LGBTQ-related books from school libraries.

In the May 2023 elections, candidates Sheila Franklin and Trey Geier defeated incumbents Jennifer Cunningham and William Millburn, who had received endorsements from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) in the year’s at-large and Zone 5 elections. In March 2024, Millburn defeated Geier in a rematch election in Zone 5