Betty Arnold
From Ballotpedia
Betty Arnold
Kansas State Board of Education District 8
Tenure
2021 - Present
Term ends
2029
Years in position
4
Predecessor
Prior offices
Wichita Public Schools, District 1
Elections and appointments
Education
Personal
Contact
Betty Arnold (Democratic Party) is a member of the Kansas State Board of Education, representing District 8. She assumed office on January 12, 2021. Her current term ends on January 9, 2029.
Arnold (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Kansas State Board of Education to represent District 8. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Betty Arnold earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Wichita State University in 1975.[1][2] Arnold's career experience includes working as the president of the Unified School District #259 Board of Education.[2]
Elections
2024
See also: Kansas State Board of Education election, 2024
General election
Democratic primary election
Republican primary election
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Arnold in this election.
2020
See also: Kansas State Board of Education election, 2020
General election
Democratic primary election
Republican primary election
Results
| Wichita Public Schools, District 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Ben Blankley |
49.86% | 7,766 |
| Betty Arnold Incumbent | 49.32% | 7,682 |
| Write-in votes | 0.82% | 128 |
| Total Votes | 15,576 | |
| Source: Sedgwick County Election Office, "November 7, 2017 General Election Official Results," accessed November 17, 2017 |
Funding
Arnold filed a statement indicating that she would not spend or receive more than $1,000 for her campaign. Because of that, she did not have to file additional reports.[3]
2013
| Wichita Public School, District 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2013 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Betty Arnold Incumbent |
94.4% | 7,573 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 5.6% | 453 | |
| Total Votes | 8,026 | |||
| Source: Sedgwick County Election Office, "April 2, 2013, General Election Official Results," April 8, 2013 |
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Betty Arnold did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Betty Arnold did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign website
Arnold’s campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
:Betty[4] |
” |
| —Betty Arnold’s campaign website (2020)[5] |
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Betty Arnold participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[6] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on July 17, 2017:
| “ | To support a quality education for ALL students is available.[7][4] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
|
Click here to learn more about education policy in Kansas. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| 1 | Balancing or maintaining the district's budget |
| 2 | Closing the achievement gap |
| 3 | Expanding school choice options |
| 4 | Improving education for special needs students |
| 5 | Expanding arts education |
| 6 | Improving post-secondary readiness |
| 7 | Improving relations with teachers |
| “ | I feel all of these issues are important and it is more than a challenge to put them in a priority.[4] | ” |
| —Betty Arnold (July 17, 2017) |
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer eight questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| Yes. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should defer to school board decisions in most cases. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. A snapshot only and does not reflect achievement or define an individualized educational plan. |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Offer additional training options. Offer additional training options. Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. Should be based on fair standards and not solely on intended outcomes. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| For punishable offenses. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Student-teacher ratio All of the above work in conjunction to ensure student success. |
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
| Kansas | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
| Kansas State Executive Offices Kansas State Legislature Kansas Courts | 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 Kansas elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 | Party control of state government State government trifectas State of the state addresses Partisan composition of governors |
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Betty Arnold for KS, "Meet Betty," accessed January 12, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 LinkedIn, "Betty Arnold," accessed January 12, 2021
- ↑ Sedgwick County Election Office, "Public Access Search," accessed December 18, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Betty Arnolds’s campaign website, “Meet Betty,” accessed October 6, 2020
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Betty Arnold's responses," July 17, 2017
