Iowa City Community School District elections (2015)

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2015 Iowa City Community School District Elections
General Election date:
September 8, 2015
Table of Contents
About the district Method of election Elections What was at stake? Key deadlines Additional elections External links
See also
Iowa Iowa City Community School District Johnson County, Iowa ballot measures Local ballot measures, Iowa

Five seats on the Iowa City Community School District Board of Education were up for general election on September 8, 2015.

There were four seats available with four-year terms and one seat available with a two-year term. The candidates for the four-year term seats were LaTasha DeLoach, Shawn Eyestone, Todd Fanning, Phil Hemingway, Jason Lewis, Brian Richman, Lori Roetlin, Lucas Van Orden, Brianna Wills and Tom Yates. Incumbents Patti Fields, Jeff McGinness, Marla Swesey and Orville Townsend did not run for re-election. DeLoach, Hemingway, Roetlin and Yates defeated Eyestone, Fanning, Lewis, Richman Van Orden and Wills for the four seats.

Board member Tuyet Baruah resigned from the board leaving an open seat with a two-year term. The candidates for the vacant seat were Christopher Liebig, Paul Roesler and Megan Schwalm. Liebig defeated Roesler and Schwalm for the seat.

The closing of an elementary school in the district caused parents and potential board members to question the 2013 facilities master plan.

Two of the thirteen candidates in this election participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 school board candidate survey. Check out the "Ballotpedia survey responses" section to see the candidates' answers.

About the district

See also: Iowa City Community School District, Iowa

Iowa City Community School District is located in Johnson County, Iowa.

The Iowa City Community School District is located in eastern Iowa in Johnson County. The county seat is Iowa City. According to the United States Census Bureau, Johnson County was home to 142,287 residents in 2014. In the 2012-2013 school year, the Iowa City Community School District was the fifth-largest school district in Iowa and served 13,019 students.

Demographics

Johnson County outperformed the rest of Iowa in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found 51.1 percent of the county residents aged 25 years and older attained a bachelor's degree compared to 25.7 percent of state residents. The median household income in the county was $53,424 compared to $51,843 for the state of Iowa. The poverty rate in the county was 17.7 percent compared to 12.4 percent for the entire state.

Racial Demographics, 2013
Race	Johnson County (%)	Iowa (%)
White	86.3	92.5
Black or African American	5.5	3.3
American Indian and Alaska Native	0.3	0.5
Asian	5.5	2.0
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	0.1	0.1
Two or More Races	2.3	1.6
Hispanic or Latino	5.4	5.5

Presidential Voting Pattern, Johnson County
Year	Democratic Vote (%)	Republican Vote (%)
2012	67	31
2008	70	28
2004	64	34
2000	59	34

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Voter and candidate information

The Iowa City Community School District Board of Education consists of seven members elected to four-year terms. The school board members are elected by the district at-large. There was no primary election, and the general election was held on September 8, 2015. Five seats were up for election in 2015.

School board candidates had to file for this election with the Johnson County auditor by July 30, 2015. To vote in the election, residents had to register by August 28, 2015.

Four-year term candidates

LaTasha DeLoach	Shawn Eyestone	Todd Fanning	Phil Hemingway	Jason Lewis
Community project specialist, Johnson County Social Services Bachelor's degree, University of Iowa Master's degree, University of Iowa	Manager, Integrated DNA Technologies Bachelor's degree, Luther College	Senior vice president and chief financial officer, University of Iowa Community Credit Union Bachelor's degree, Illinois State University	Owner, Phil's Repair, LLC.	Director of the writing and humanities program, University of Iowa Bachelor's degree, West Virginia University Master's degree, University of Iowa
Brian Richman	Lori Roetlin	Lucas Van Orden	Brianna Wills	Tom Yates
Director of the Hawkinson Institute of Business Finance, University of Iowa Bachelor's degree, University of Pennsylania Master's degree, University of Iowa	Social worker, University of Iowa Hospital and Clinic Bachelor's degree, Hesston College and Bethel College Master's degree, Case Western Reserve University	Practice manager, Creature Comfort Veterinarian Center	Bachelor's degree, University of Alabama	Retired educator Bachelor's degree, University of Iowa Master's degree, University of Iowa

Two-year term candidates

Christopher Liebig		Paul Roesler		Megan Schwalm
	Professor, University of Iowa College of Law Bachelor's degree, Yale University Juris doctor, Harvard University Master's degree, University of Iowa		Events and community donations leader, Scheels All Sport Bachelor's degree, University of Iowa		Diversity consultant and trainer Bachelor's degree, University of Iowa Master's degree, University of Iowa

Elementary school boundaries map

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Junior high school boundaries map

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High school boundaries map

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Election results

This election was held September 8, 2015.

Iowa City Community School District, At-Large, 4-Year Term, General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
LaTasha DeLoach	17.5%	4,316
Phil Hemingway	14.1%	3,469
Tom Yates	13.8%	3,403
Lori Roetlin	12.5%	3,065
Brian Richman	10.6%	2,598
Jason Lewis	10.3%	2,538
Todd Fanning	7.5%	1,833
Brianna Wills	6.4%	1,574
Shawn Eyestone	5.4%	1,337
Lucas Van Orden	1.9%	469
Total Votes		24,602
Source: Johnson County Auditor's Office, "School Election Results," accessed November 12, 2015

This election was held September 8, 2015.

Iowa City Community School District, At-Large, 2-Year Term, General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Christopher Liebig	39.0%	2,669
Megan Schwalm	31.4%	2,150
Paul Roesler	29.5%	2,020
Write-in votes	0.19%	13
Total Votes		6,852
Source: Johnson County Auditor's Office, "School Election Results," accessed November 12, 2015

Endorsements

The following is a list of endorsements made in the Iowa City Community School District Board of Education election. Four-year term candidates Lucas Van Orden and Brianna Wills were not included in this table as they received no official endorsements in this election.

Candidate endorsements
Four-year term
Endorsement	LaTasha DeLoach	Shawn Eyestone	Todd Fanning	Phil Hemingway	Jason Lewis	Brian Richman	Lori Roetlin	Tom Yates
The Gazette
Iowa City Education Association
Iowa City Press-Citizen
North Corridor Parents
Save Hoover
Iowa City Federation of Labor

Candidate endorsements
Two-year term
Endorsement	Christopher Liebig	Paul Roesler	Megan Schwalm
The Gazette
Iowa City Education Association
Iowa City Press-Citizen
North Corridor Parents
Save Hoover
Iowa City Federation of Labor

Campaign finance

Candidates received a total of $33,514.11 and spent a total of $27,950.04 in the election, according to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board. Any candidate spending, receiving or incurring debt in the amount of $1,000 or less was not required to file the disclosure form for campaign finances.

Past elections

Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right.

2013 Iowa City Community School District, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2013 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Tuyet Dorau Incumbent 16.1% 3,738      Nonpartisan Chris Lynch 13.5% 3,121      Nonpartisan Brian Kirschling 13.1% 3,041      Nonpartisan Phil Hemingway 12.7% 2,936      Nonpartisan Karla Cook Incumbent 11.5% 2,671      Nonpartisan Sara Barron 11.1% 2,563      Nonpartisan Jason Lewis 10.3% 2,392      Nonpartisan Gregg Geerdes 8.7% 2,019      Nonpartisan James Tate 2.8% 659      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.2% 53 Total Votes 23,193 Source: Johnson County Auditor, "September 10, 2013 School Election Results," accessed January 8, 2014

What was at stake?

2015

Five seats were up for election in 2015. Four of the seats came with a four-year term, while one seat had a two-year term. Thirteen candidates ran for the five seats, and no incumbents ran for re-election. Five new members joined the seven-member board.

The 10-year facilities master plan was an ongoing topic for candidates. The closing of a local elementary school was the most controversial aspect of the master plan, and many citizens are calling for alterations to the plan to keep the school open.

Issues in the district

Position on amending facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary open
Click on the candidates' answer to see their full statement regarding the issue.
Candidate	Position
Four-year term candidates
LaTasha DeLoach	Oppose
Shawn Eyestone	Oppose
Todd Fanning	Oppose
Phil Hemingway	Support
Brian Richman	Support
Lori Roetlin	Oppose
Lucas Van Orden	Oppose
Brianna Wills	Oppose
Tom Yates	Support
Two-year term candidates
Christopher Liebig	Support
Paul Roesler	Oppose
Megan Schwalm	Oppose

Controversial closing of elementary school

In 2013, the Iowa City Board of Education decided on a 10-year facilities master plan that included the closing of Hoover Elementary School. The school was located in the middle of a mixed-income, residential area. Hoover is set to close after the 2018-2019 school year.

The 2013 facilities master plan called for a new Hoover Elementary School to be finished in 2017. At that time, the new school building will be used as a transition school and house students from other areas while other new elementary schools are being built. In 2019, it would open as a traditional school for the students that previously occupied Hoover Elementary. The plan called for the building to be located further away from the current location at the center of the community.

The advocacy group Save Hoover, spearheaded by candidate Christopher Liebig, raised over $4,000 and collected 800 names on a petition opposing the school closing as of July 2015. Opponents of the school closing felt that the school is essential to the community, and the district did not fully explained the reason for closing it. Residents became more aware of the issue as the closing date of the school drew nearer.

“	I think the top concern is retaining the current quality of the Hoover teachers. Giving teachers the incentive to stay, as long as Hoover is open.	”
—Melanie Sigafoose, past president, Hoover PTA,

School board president, Chris Lynch

School board president Chris Lynch responded to concerns that moving schools like Hoover Elementary away from the center of Iowa City would discourage growth in the inner city. He stated that the idea of schools encouraging sprawl on the outskirts of the city is not necessarily true. He reiterated the district's commitment to the core of Iowa City.

“	You’ve never seen an investment like right now. You’ve never seen a school board commit to more investment in inner Iowa City than this school board right now. There’s no reason that the schools on the outside of town need to take away from the schools on the inside of town, if we can drive growth across the district.	”
—Chris Lynch, school board president (2015),

Yates, Hemingway, Richman and Liebig are in favor of altering the current facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary open. DeLoach, Fanning, Lewis, Roetlin, Van Orden, Wills, Roesler and Schwalm support the facilities master plan as it is.

The new school construction, as well as other renovations in the facilities master plan, could be part of a possible bond package that is expected to be presented in 2017.

Ballotpedia survey responses

Two of the thirteen candidates in this election participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates as of August 25, 2015. The following sections display the responses to the survey questions from Shawn Eyestone and Paul Roesler.

Top priorities

Shawn Eyestone

When asked what his top priorities would be if elected, Eyestone stated:

“	Focus on improved student achievement. We have done a great job so far in improving the facilities for our entire district. It is time to work out a detailed plan for better student learning.	”
—Shawn Eyestone (2015)

Paul Roesler did not answer the question regarding his top priorities.

Ranking the issues

The candidates were asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays the candidates' rankings from most to least important:

Issue importance ranking
Issue	Eyestone's ranking	Roesler's ranking
Balancing or maintaining the district's budget	6	6
Closing the achievement gap	1	7
Expanding arts education	4	3
Expanding career-technical education	3	2
Expanding school choice options	7	1
Improving college readiness	5	4
Improving education for special needs students	2	5

Positions on the issues

The candidates were asked to answer 10 multiple choice and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. Links to the candidates' responses can be found below.

• Shawn Eyestone survey responses
• Paul Roesler survey responses

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for the Iowa City Community School District election in 2015:

Deadline	Event
July 6, 2015	First day for candidates to file
July 30, 2015	Candidate filing deadline
August 4, 2015	Candidate withdrawal deadline
August 28, 2015	Last day to register to vote in the election
September 8, 2015	Election Day

Additional elections on the ballot

See also: Iowa elections, 2015

This election shared the ballot with elections for the Kirkwood Community College Board of Trustees.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Iowa City Community School District Iowa. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Iowa City Community School District elections (2015) - Google News

See also

Iowa City Community School District	Iowa	School Boards
Iowa City Community School District elections (2013) List of school districts in Iowa	Iowa school board elections, 2015 Public education in Iowa Local ballot measures, Iowa	School board elections, 2015 School board elections, 2014 School board election data analysis, 2015 School board election data analysis, 2014

External links

Suggest a link

• Iowa City Community School District
• Johnson County, Iowa