KSHB 41 reporter Claire Bradshaw covers eastern Jackson County, including Blue Springs and Independence. Share your story idea with Claire.
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A Missouri state senator is pushing legislation that would cut Independence School Board terms in half, from six years to three years.
Sen. Joe Nicola, R-Grain Valley, prefiled Senate Bill 1351 for the upcoming legislative session after a similar attempt failed last year as an amendment to another bill.
"I think, too, maybe more people would be interested. Six years is quite a long time to make a commitment to that. Maybe some others would be interested in running, so that's kind of how that developed," Nicola told KSHB.
The Independence School District currently has the longest school board terms in Missouri, according to Nicola. If the bill passes, board members would serve three-year terms, aligning with many other districts across the state and region.
KSHB 41 News spoke with ISD's Interim Superintendent Dr. Cindy Grant, who said the district has no issue with the proposed legislation. However, she couldn't provide an explanation for why the current terms are six years.
"It's been that way since I can remember, and I've been here a long time. This is my 29th year, so it's been that way for quite a while," said Dr. Grant.
The bill would bring Independence in line with standard practices used by most Missouri school districts. If passed, it would go into effect anyone elected to the school board after August 28, 2026.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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