Joe Jongewaard
Joe Jongewaard was an at-large member of the Des Moines Board of Directors. He was first appointed to the chamber in 2012 and lost re-election on September 10, 2013.
Biography
Joe Jongewaard resides in Des Moines, Iowa with his wife.[1] Jongewaard graduated from Jefferson-Scranton High School, which is not a part of Des Moines Public Schools.[2] He earned a B.S. in economics from Iowa State University.[1] Jong has spent nearly 16 years employed with Equitable Life Insurance, and has served as an aide to both former Governor Tom Vilsack and U.S. Senator Tom Harkin.[1] At the time of his tenure, Jongewaard was a project manager for the Iowa Department of Economic Development.[3] Jongewaard also volunteered on a committee that developed Downtown School in the school district.[1]
Elections
2013
Connie Boesen and Rob X. Barron defeated incumbent Joe Jongewaard and challengers Heather Ryan and Shane Schulte for two at-large seats in the general election on September 10, 2013.[4]
Results
| Des Moines Public Schools, At-large General Election, 4-year term, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Connie Boesen Incumbent |
24.4% | 2,838 | |
| Nonpartisan | Rob X. Barron |
23.2% | 2,699 | |
| Nonpartisan | Joe Jongewaard Incumbent | 22.9% | 2,671 | |
| Nonpartisan | Shane Schulte | 19.3% | 2,251 | |
| Nonpartisan | Heather Ryan | 9.2% | 1,076 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 1% | 120 | |
| Total Votes | 11,655 | |||
| Source: Polk County Auditor, "School Board Election," accessed September 14, 2013 | ||||
Funding
As of September 9, 2013, Joe Jongewaard reported $13,015.00 in donations and $5,294.82 in expenditures to the Iowa Secretary of State, which left him with $7,720.18 on-hand.[5]
Endorsements
Joe Jongewaard received endorsements for his campaign from the Des Moines Education Association and the local chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.[6][7]
Campaign themes
Jongewaard's re-election announcement highlighted his efforts to increase the number of teachers in the school district, to initiate an employee wellness program and to expand funding for English Language Learner students. He emphasized a desire to eliminate achievement gaps and distrust in the school district. Jongewaard also expressed that he would not support a settlement with former superintendent Nancy Sebring.[8] He advocated an increase in district spending to meet revenue, arguing, "We need to put the resources we have and put them towards the kids, we have 20 million dollars more in ending balance this year than we had last year. That money shouldn't be piling up in an account somewhere it should be in the classroom."[9] Jongewaard cited research statistics in support of keeping class sizes small, and on the subject of mental health, stated, "A first-grader does not learn to read if they have mental health problems, so that is something that we really need to pay attention to. The second thing is, we need to educate so that we can remove the stigma of mental (illness) so more people get the treatment that they need."[10][11]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Joe + Jongewaard + Des + Moines + School"
- All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Des Moines Public Schools, "Joe Jongewaard," accessed August 2, 2013
- ↑ Facebook, "Joe Jongewaard," accessed August 2, 2013
- ↑ The University of Iowa - Public Policy Center, "Joe Jongewaard," accessed August 2, 2013
- ↑ Mary Stegmeir, Des Moines Register, "Mix of incumbents, challengers to join Des Moines school board," September 10, 2013
- ↑ IECDB Web Reporting System, "DR-2 Disclosure Summary Page," accessed September 9, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ Mary Stegmeir, Des Moines Register, "Teachers union endorses candidates in Des Moines school board race," August 8, 2013
- ↑ Mary Stegmeir, Des Moines Register, "AFSCME endorses four candidates in Des Moines school board race," August 20, 2013
- ↑ Mary Stegmeir, Des Moines Register, "Jongewaard to run for D.M. school board," August 1, 2013
- ↑ Stephanie Moore, WHOtv.com 13, "SCHOOL BOARD: Three Incumbents Running," September 5, 2013
- ↑ Mary Stegmeir, Des Moines Register, "Des Moines forum addresses schools' class size," September 4, 2013
- ↑ Mary Stegmeir, Des Moines Register, "School board candidates call for more counselors," August 28, 2013
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