Jim McMullen is contesting for the Kansas District 3 education board seat in the US midterms. The Republican won the primaries and is now set to face Democrat Amy Diediker in the November 3 race. Ahead of the elections, McMullen spoke exclusively to HT.com, sharing his views on education, the issues plaguing schools in his district and more.
McMullen has been a lifelong Johnson County resident. He is a father and grandparent. His campaign page notes McMullen is running for the state education board seat because ‘business and community leaders have an obligation to ensure that our schools are excellent in every way.’
Speaking to HT.com, McMullen shared his views on what schools should be like, and where he felt the education system had gone wrong.
Jim McMullen's push for scholastic excellence
McMullen shared his belief that schools had veered away from their foundational purpose. Some of the complaints the candidate shared was eliminating class rank and having inflated grades where most students get a 4.0 or above. McMullen called the entire move ‘crazy’, and advocated belief schools should return to focusing on scholastic experience.
“The hallmark of every great learning institution is a relentless commitment to its primary mission. This means returning our classroom focus to measurable, scholastic achievement in reading, mathematics, science, and history,” McMullen's campaign pitch reads, and his words echoed the same sentiment.
The Republican candidate went on to note that all of life is a competition, be it colleges, jobs, or just day to day living, and his belief is that schools should start preparing kids for the same at the earliest.
It's not just scholastic excellence and proficiency in subjects like mathematics, reading, history, and science, McMullen is also a fierce advocate for ‘critical reasoning and independent thought’. When pointed out that these qualities often lead an individual to raise questions to those in power, McMullen replied that it is in the nature of children to question their elders. However, the Republican believed that it was ‘for the adults in the room to set standards’.
“The purpose of a good school is to equip a young person with a deep and broad base of knowledge and ability to analyze and think about and apply that knowledge that they can achieve anything they set their minds to,” McMullen shared.
Jim McMullen on vocational training, amid Trump's push
President Donald Trump has pushed for vocational training across the US, but McMullen issued some words of caution on the matter. He warned that schools can ‘come to see themselves as job placement organizations’.
McMullen shared while vocational skills were great for high school students, it was critical to equip every student with a foundational knowledge in core subjects, which as per him, include math, science, reading, writing, and history.
Jim McMullen on gender issues in schools
Some schools in Kansas were recently investigated for Title IX violation as per the Department of Education. In May, Shawnee Mission refused to sign the Department of Education agreement amid the investigation into policies regarding students’ genders.
McMullen, who's been under fire before for his remarks on transgender communities, shared his views on the matter saying that the need of the hour was to ‘apply common sense’ and get away from these ‘hot button political issues’. However, the Republican, who's famously not changed his stance despite the past controversy noted that his views were conservative and remained so.
For McMullen, the matter extended to beyond headlines and the candidate told HT.com that schools needed to come up with a practical solution rather than locking horns with the federal government.
Ahead of the elections, McMullen seemed unworried about Democrats fielding candidates for the five Republicans not seeking reelection. Speaking about working with his political opponents, McMullen said he'd agreed on 80 percent of the issues with Democrats, when he was on the school board. “The key issue from a personnel perspective is seeking individuals who want to collaborate and come to solutions,” the Republican added.
He also shared a message for the voters, saying “The hallmark of every great learning institution is relentless commitment to primary mission - returning our classrooms to focus on measurable scholastic achievement in the areas of reading writing, math, science and history.”