Lucas Van Orden

Lucas Van Orden

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Lucas Van Orden was a candidate for an at-large seat on the Iowa City Community School District Board of Education in Iowa. The seat was up for general election on September 8, 2015. He was defeated by LaTasha DeLoach, Phil Hemingway, Lori Roetlin and Tom Yates.

The controversial closing of an elementary school caused district residents to question the board's 10-year facilities master plan. Van Orden explained his opposition to amending the plan to keep the elementary school in question open.

Biography

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Van Orden is a co-owner and practice manager of Creature Comfort Veterinarian Center. He is pursuing his MBA at the University of Iowa.

Elections

2015

See also: Iowa City Community School District elections (2015)

Five of the seven seats on the Iowa City Community School District Board of Education were up for election on September 8, 2015. Four seats have a four-year term, and one seat has a two-year term. All seats on the board of education represent the district at-large.

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.

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

Funding

Van Orden reported no contributions or expenditures to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board in the election. 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.

Endorsements

Van Orden received no official endorsements during the election.

Campaign themes

2015

Position on school closing

See also: Controversial closing of elementary school included in facilities master plan

The advocacy group Save Hoover asked each candidate, "If you are elected, will you support amending the long-term facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary School open?" Van Orden gave the following response:

“	Given the heightened awareness and concern over the ongoing situation with Hoover, I would ask that a reader collectively take ALL of my thoughts that follow before drawing any conclusion. It is a shame when people will cherry pick a single remark out of context, and run. There are multiple factors that factored into the decision to close Hoover, and it does not boil down to a simple 10 word answer or tweet. The most common frustration I have heard raised by families over the Hoover closing relates to communication, and community education related to the decision. That is unfortunate, and serves as an example from which to take a lesson moving forward. My opinion of the circumstance related to Hoover is based on my understanding today. With that being said... 1. I spoke briefly at the board meeting on Tuesday July 28th, and expressed my opinion that the ICCSD School Board should move forward with the Facility Master Plan as previously approved. 2. It is a reality that that plan calls for the Hoover site to become part of the City High Campus over time. Knowing specifically how the site is to be used in the future is not a deal-breaker for me in the decision today. 3. The City High campus is landlocked, whose demand for expansion in the coming years is undeniable, and unavoidable. The district's options for City High are few, and the Hoover property makes logical sense as it is currently owned by ICCSD. 4. To phrase it bluntly... (and I apologize in advance) The fate of Hoover was determined by previous boards, and I am not prepared to advocate a plan that reverses the approval of the Facility Master Plan. Doing so would jeopardize significant projects depending on that plan advancing as previously approved. Seeing those projects successfully financed through general obligation bonds, and advancing is of the highest importance to thousands of students across the entire district. 5. The.... WHOLE Iowa City Community School District. 6. I additionally expressed my belief that accelerating the site use study only serves to consume the allotted ~480,000 cost, crafting a plan that will likely change in it's demand and final form, as the student load and use of City High evolves. From a planning standpoint, I feel that the district is best served by performing that study when the consultants advise it will provide substantive information. Doing so avoids the possibility of having to incur the cost a second time. 7. A concern expressed by some current board members, and members of the public is that the administration and board are somehow shirking their responsibility by failing to say what the intended use is going to be. If I were on the current board, my position to the public would be this: I don't know specifically what the use will be, and today... as part of moving the Facilities Master plan forward, I honestly don't need to know specifically. I only need to know that the plan to transition the students at Hoover is being handled in the best possible manner possible, and that in time, the City High campus will absolutely need the additional space at some point in the future. I believe both to be true. 8. There is no reason to believe we will see a significant change in student population and attendance in the Hoover neighborhood. (For example; if an additional ~150 kindergartners moved into the Hoover neighborhood). Only such a dramatic change in demographic would demand a reevaluation of the timing, but NOT the closure. As that is not likely to occur, the previously approved Facility Master Plan should move forward without substantive modification or delay. 9. A concern of mine I wish to share... I am perplexed, and troubled by individuals who run for any office, making promises they simply cannot uphold, simply in an effort to win an election. The question of Hoover's closing was researched, sought community input, debated publicity by previous boards, and is now a settled matter. A candidate who pledges to reopen the question of Hoover's closing, without bringing to the table substantive information showing how the decision making process was materially flawed, is in essence approaching the election with a far too narrow an approach to the ICCSD comprehensive needs. One cannot run simply on a platform pledging to overturn previous board decisions simply because they were contrary to their personal belief, or in an attempt to garner favor from a voting block. A candidate can only speak for themselves, and clearly not guarantee the action of a yet to be determined group of seven people. 10. The ICCSD staff and families they serve cannot develop substantive plans moving forward, if at every turn the school board pivots on previous policy decisions. 11. That all taken into account... The answer to your question as asked is no. Not based on the information at hand. I believe the study was well researched, and the previous board decision was proper. 12. However... Please continue reading below. I have watched in pain as the families in the Hoover neighborhood struggle as this process played out. I attended Central Junior High 1976 to 1979. That property (which was landlocked in downtown Iowa City) was rich in history and beauty. I anguished in frustration and sorrow as the site was deemed unsuitable for improvement and long-tern use, and became a parking lot for Mercy Hospital. It personally vexed me, yet I understood why the smart move (for the entire district) was for ICCSD to proceed as they did. To this day I hearken back to times of my youth as I drive by what used to be Seaton's grocery at Court & Muscatine Ave, or Watts Grocery 3 blocks away. I went to school with the Seatons, and miss their neighborly quality and influence in countless ways. Over the past 50 years, I have watched countless local merchants succumb to the inevitability of change. We watch as consumers flock to bigger retailers, in search of enhanced benefits, flexibility, and lower cost. We flock into Walmart or HyVee 24 hours a day, so easily having forgotten that by doing so, we abandoned the Seatons and Watts in the process. Don't ask me if it's progress... I honestly am not sure. But then again... I stopped at HyVee North Dodge for Folgers coffee and grapes on my way home from seeing Ricky Lee Jones at the Englert Theater. I could have stopped at John's Grocery (as they were open) but somehow drove on past their neighborhood store, as I was programmed by force of habit to practice what I frequently deride. I miss the Iowa City of my youth in many ways, and the schools I attended growing up. The schools of our youth help craft the foundation of who we become. As a parent, I see the great potential of where the Iowa City School District has been going over the years as my children work their way through the process. I attended Horace Mann for kindergarten, and then Shimek when it opened the following year. Mann, as an older building in the district has been slated for desperately needed updates as part of the Facilities Master Plan. I embrace that plan, and would far and away rather see Mann improved, then go the way of Henry Sabin, or Central Junior High. We are consumers of public education, in a manner very similar to our economic consumerism. We flock to the internet and buy from Amazon, while expressing lament over the loss of another local privately owner merchant. We embrace the seemingly endless opportunities that internet based education can provide, while somehow forgetting to sit at the kitchen table and review homework side by side with our children. I honestly think that somewhere... lost among the rancor and emotion of change is a workable balance. I believe our administration has been dedicated to finding equitable solutions to the very complex challenge of our district's ever changing growth. I also believe that we are blessed with dedicated and hard working individuals, who deserve to be engaged in a productive and open discussion. I was asked yesterday by a polite young lady from the Gazette in an interview what quality I bring to the ISSCD race as a 51yr old who has lived in the district my whole life. I guess my last two paragraphs lay that out fairly well. Every candidate offers a perspective that would prove beneficial to the 5 open seats on the board. One of my many contributions to this debate might be found in the phrase: "To know where you are... you have to know where you have been".	”
—Lucas Van Orden,

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.

Recent news

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

Lucas Van Orden - Google News

See also

• Iowa City Community School District, Iowa
• Iowa City Community School District elections (2015)
• Newcomers and incumbents share the victories in Iowa's largest school district elections (September 9, 2015)
• Analysis of incumbency advantage in the 2014 school board elections

External links

Suggest a link

• Iowa City Community School District
• Campaign Facebook page
• LinkedIn page