LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. (AP) - A Kansas City suburb that had divided by racial tension has elected the school district’s first black school board member, giving her the most votes out of nine candidates.
Megan Marshall, a retired Marine, was elected Tuesday to the Lee’s Summit School Board with 21% of the vote, according to unofficial results, The Kansas City Star reported.
The vote comes nearly a year after the largely-white district’s first black superintendent, Dennis Carpenter, resigned in response to months of conflict with the board over his efforts to promote racial equity training in the district. The situation became so tense that at one point Carpenter was given police protection because of threats he received.
The school board at first approved implementing Carpenter’s equity plan but under pressure from many parents, rejected two attempts to hire a firm to lead the training.
Marshall has two children attending Lee Summit schools and one who graduated last year.
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