Williams, Roesler, Eastham, Eyestone gain Iowa City School Board seats
Iowa City voters elected four people to serve on the Iowa City School Board on Tuesday.
The Iowa City Community School District sign is seen on Apr. 29, 2019.
November 6, 2019
In the first combined Iowa City City Council and Iowa City Community School District Board elections in history on Tuesday, Lisa Williams, Paul Roesler, Charlie Eastham, and Shawn Eyestone won the four available seats on the Iowa City School Board.
According to the district website, the school board’s role is to “act to establish policies that govern the operation of the Iowa City Community School District.” School Board members serve four-year terms and are elected at-large.
As previously reported by The Daily Iowan, the four available School Board seats are the result of expired terms of current members Roesler, Eyestone, Lori Roetlin, and Phil Hemingway.
Eight candidates had vied for the seats, including Stephanie Van Housen, Michael Tilley, Julie VanDyke, and Matthew Getz, all of whom did not secure a seat Tuesday.
Williams is a former attorney with the U.S. Army and a current prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Cedar Rapids. Williams is married to a high-school teacher and their children attend Iowa City schools.
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Roesler was one of two incumbents running in the School Board election. The University of Iowa graduate was elected to the board during a special election in 2016. His wife is a teacher in the Iowa City Community School District and his children attend Iowa City schools.
Incumbent candidate Shawn Eyestone ran for re-election this cycle for a seat he has held since 2017. Eyestone currently sings in a choir at Zion Lutheran church and volunteers at his sons’ schools.
The North Liberty native focuses on the need for programming for all students including English as a Second Language, above-grade-level programming such as Advanced Placement options, and programming services for students with disabilities.
Joining Iowa City City Council candidate Megan Alter at the Mill for her watch party on Election Night, Eastham took the stage to thank supporters and congratulate Alter on a “campaign well-run” after City Council candidates Janice Weiner and Laura Bergus won the two available at-large seats.
This is Eastham’s second bid for the Iowa City School Board. His efforts focus on racial and economic justice within the district, and he received the Isabel Turner Award from the Iowa City Human Rights Commission for his work to advance the rights of individuals to “fair and ethical treatment.”
“Thank you all so much,” Eastham said. “Megan, this isn’t the end — I’ll see you in two years.”
