By Bill Cooney
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Five candidates from a field of 13 were elected to fill vacancies on the Iowa City School Board. Latasha DeLoach, Phil Hemingway, Tom Yates, and Lori Roetlin were elected to the four vacant four-year positions on the board.

Christopher Liebig was elected to the only two-year term on the School Board to replace Tuyet Baruah.

DeLoach, who received 18 percent of the four-year vote, said she wants to focus on cohesion among board members.

“We need cohesion on the board,” she said. “We need to able to work together and be good leaders for the community.”

Roetlin, who earned 12 percent of four-year votes, said she agreed with DeLoach.

“I think we need better cohesion both on the board and in the district,” Roetlin said. “We need to able to have open and honest communication.”

Hemingway, who has run twice before and gained 14 percent of full-term votes this time, said he hopes the candidates who were not elected stay involved with the School Board.

“I’ve been there twice, and I want to encourage them to stay involved,” he said. “Each of them brought their own valuable skills and ideas to the table.”

DeLoach said one of her main focuses will be on communicating with parents in the district.

“There are 13,000 kids that go to school in this district,” DeLoach said. “All of their families deserve to know what’s going on in the district.”

Liebig, who was elected to the vacant two-year position, and Yates, elected to a full term, could not be reached by the time of publication.

Hemingway said he is optimistic going forward.

“I think the voters really paid attention this time,” he said. “I think we can work together as a board and maintain the standard of excellence that is the norm in this district.”

DeLoach said being on the School Board would be a learning experience.

“I may not have all the answers, but I’m willing to find them out,” she said.