by Edgar Thornton and Jacob Potash

School board candidates convened at Hills Community Center last Thursday night to answer community members’ pressing questions. The event was the last of a series of candidate forums before Tuesday’s elections.

The elections, to be held on Tuesday, September 10, will determine three spots on the Iowa City Community School District board. Two of the nine candidates, Karla Cook and Tuyet Dorau, are running as incumbents.

At the final forum, candidates communicated their views and plans for a variety of issues. Barron, Hemingway, and Gerdes have pledged to keep Hoover elementary school open.  Candidate Phil Hemingway claimed the district could save $14.5 million by keeping Hoover open.

At a previous forum, held at ICCSD headquarters, the candidates unanimously expressed their openness to looking into magnet schools as an option for the district, but were split about on other questions, such as whether the district should install fences around all school facilities.

Candidate Greg Geerdes has promised to tackle problems of trust and transparency between the board and the public, an issue which has arisen regularly throughout the campaign. Cook and Dorau, the incumbents seeking reelection, have sought to emphasize the district’s unity, while their challengers have spoken of a broken community in need of healing.

Eli Shepherd ‘14 expressed disappointment with the candidates’ emphasis on facilities and resources.

“We spend all this time fundraising to put ‘Smart Boards’ in the classroom,” Shepherd said, “But we don’t spend a lot of time talking about what should we be teaching, how we should be teaching, and whether it’s effective.”

City High seniors can vote on Tuesday if they are at least 18 years old. Eligible voters can register to vote on the day of the election.

Also scheduled for Tuesday are renewal votes on the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy and Kirkwood instructional equipment levy.

“I have the ability to vote in something that directly affects me,” said Eli Shepherd ‘14. “[School board members] have control over the direction the district goes in.”

Polling places are open on Tuesday, September 10 from 7 am – 8 pm, or you can vote early at the Auditor’s Office at 913 S Dubuque St, Iowa City, IA 52240. School voting places differ from regular elections. To locate your polling place, go to https://ww1.johnson-county.com/Voter/PrecinctLookup/ZipCodeLookup, or call (319) 356-6004.

Readers can learn more about any of the candidates by visiting their campaign websites, listed below:

Karla Cook – http://electkarlacook.blogspot.com

Brian Kirschling – http://kirschlingforboard.blogspot.com

Jason Lewis – www.jasontlewisforiccsd.com

Tuyet Dorau – http://votetuyet.com/

Chris Lynch – http://www.votechrislynch.org

Sara Barron – http://barronforboard.wordpress.com

Greg Geerdes – http://gregggeerdes.wordpress.com/

James Tate -– www.facebook.com/TateForSchoolBoard