By Tom Ackerman
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Iowa City will vote in the School Board election today, and the results will likely play a large role in the future of Hoover Elementary.
Five out of the seven positions on the board are available, with board members Jeff McGinness, Patti Fields, Maria Swewsey, and Orville Townsend stepping down. Tuyet Baruah will resign this month as well.
Several candidates have been endorsed by Save Hoover, a group created by parents and city residents hoping to save the school from closing.
1) Shawn Eyestone
Shawn Eyestone, 43, a manager at Integrated DNA Technologies, is running for a four-year term on the board. Eyestone hopes to continue working on issues such as the Facilities Master Plan, which he helped contribute to. He is a father of two in the School District and would focus on increased teacher feedback and improved student achievement.
2) Todd Fanning
Todd Fanning is running for a four-year term. He has 14 years of experience serving on school boards in Illinois. Fanning joined the district’s budget advisory committee in 2012; he is currently the chief financial officer at the UI Credit Union. Fanning believes a new Hoover Elementary School should be built. He is in favor of neighborhood schools and supports the Facilities Master Plan and the proposed 2017 bond issue.
3) Megan Schwalm
Megan Schwalm, 35, is running for a two-year term. She is currently working to finish her dissertation in educational policy and leadership studies at the UI. Schwalm is also is an independent diversity consultant and trainer for the UI. She thinks that changing the Facilities Master Plan would be divisive.
4) Paul Roesler
Paul Roesler is running for a two-year position. He is a member of the Iowa City Parks and Recreation Commission and hopes to focus on creating educational opportunities for all students and be in direct contact with administrators and faculty. He also favors the Facilities Master Plan. He has two children in the district and hopes to serve in order to give back to the community.
5) Brianna Wills
Brianna Wills is running for a four-year term. She is the director of development and community relations at the Iowa City Salvation Army, as well as the co-president of the District Parents’ Organization. She is a former president of the Hoover Elementary Parent Teacher Association. Brianna has four children in the School District and served on various district committees. Wills hopes to look for approval of a planned 2017 bond referendum, look for alternative redistricting options, and promote more collaboration at board meetings. She said she also agreed with the board’s process for developing new attendance zones.
6) Chris Liebig
Chris Liebig is running for a two-year position. He teaches legal analysis, writing, and research at the UI. Liebig is running in hopes of gaining greater community input in school decisions. He also wants to keep all schools open, and he encourages faculty to speak publicly about district policy. Liebig wants to see more attention given to special-education students and their families.
7) Tom Yates
Tom Yates is running for a four-year term. Yates worked as a teacher for 31 years, including at the UI. He believes his experience will help him understand curriculum development and its implementation. He is also a former Iowa City Education Association president. He said the district might place too much focus on test-related data, and reducing that will save money. Yates is for keeping Hoover Elementary open.
8) Lucas Van Orden
Van Orden, 51, is running for a four-term position. Van Orden is the founder and manager of Creature Comfort Veterinary Center in Iowa City. He wants educators to have more control over their classrooms. Van Orden, who has experience as a business owner, does not favor the district making modifications to the Facilities Master Plan prior to the bond referendum.
9) Lori Roetlin
Lori Roetlin is running for a four-year term. She currently coordinates a foreign-language program at Coralville Central Elementary and has experience as a social worker. Roetlin hopes to focus on low-income families. She wants to explore multifaceted options for issues such as achievement gaps and budget concerns. Roetlin has experience as a social worker and hope to work toward having greater cooperation between board members and administration.
10) Brian Richman
Brian Richman is running for a four-year term. Richman also ran for a position in 2014. He teaches courses at the UI business college. He believes his 25-year background in public finance would help with finance issues ranging from hiring to programming and thinks a strategy needs to de developed for upcoming financial challenges.
11) Phil Hemingway
Phil Hemingway, 55, is running for a four-year term. This is Hemingway’s third time running. He hopes to bring perspective to the board in having a different background. Hemingway, a frequent and vocal presence at School Board meetings, owns and operates Phil’s Repair LLC, an Iowa City business.
12) Jason Lewis
Jason Lewis is running for a four-year term. He is a former Twain Elementary Parent Teacher Organization. Lewis is a UI staff member. He favors the Facilities Master Plan and neighborhood schools. He has more than two decades of experience as a teacher and administrator. He has also served on a design committee for Alexander Elementary and has served on the district’s magnet school task force. Lewis ran in 2013 and received about 27 percent of the vote.
13) LaTasha DeLoach
aTasha DeLoach is running for a four-year term. DeLoach a social worker. DeLoach has served on local and state committees and task forces in juvenile justice, affordable housing, child-abuse prevention, and other areas. She hopes to bring a low-income family perspective to the board. DeLoach favors the Facilities Master Plan and believes some redistricting has been more upsetting than necessary.
