Megan Schwalm
Megan Schwalm 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. She was defeated by Christopher Liebig.[1][2]
The controversial closing of an elementary school caused district residents to question the board's 10-year facilities master plan.[3] Schwalm explained her opposition to amending the plan to keep the elementary school in question open.[4]
Biography
Schwalm is a diversity consultant and trainer. She has previous experience working as a political campaign consultant and as the diversity resources coordinator at the University of Iowa. She is active in organizations advocating for children. Schwalm obtained her bachelor's degree in women's studies. She went on to earn her master's degree in therapeutic recreation from the same school.[5]
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.[1]
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.[1][6][7]
Results
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 | ||
Funding
Schwalm reported $4,232.37 in contributions and $4,550.26 in expenditures to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, which left her campaign with $317.89 in debt in the election.[8]
Endorsements
Schwalm received official endorsements from resigning board member Tuyet Barauh, The Gazette, the Iowa City Federation of Labor[9] and the Iowa City Education Association.[10][11]
Campaign themes
2015
Position on school closing
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?" Schwalm gave the following response:
| “ | I think that changing the FMP, as a newly elected board member, would be divisive. If we reverse the decision right now, it will have a ripple effect throughout the district and probably jeopardize the bond passage. I am running for the school board to move the district forward. It is time that we focus on how we will transition the kids who currently attend Hoover.
Part of why I am running is my disappointment that communication and transparency have not been hallmarks of the district recently -- the experiences that Hoover parents have had over the past several years is one case in point. One of the major ways I would strive to hold the administration accountable is around the way they work with the Hoover students, parents, and staff during this transition. At this point, it is critical that the school district be communicative, transparent, and that they support the students, their families, and the staff at Hoover to ensure the transition is as smooth as it possibly can be.[12] |
” |
| —Megan Schwalm, [13] | ||
Campaign website
Schwalm explained her platform on her campaign website.
| “ | I have learned from school staff who are closest to the children to always start and end a decision making process by asking, “What is best for the kids?” I will do this as a Board member, and I will encourage more student engagement in our decision making processes. I will look for systematic ways to discern how students are experiencing school. This information is vital to achieving all three goals in the Board’s strategic plan, as it informs action plans and allows us to measure our successes and identify areas for growth.
To carry out the District’s strategic plan, the Board should be working as a team with the administration, but ultimately the Board must hold the administration accountable to our policies, expectations, and core values. We must be clear and transparent about those expectations and core values — which is one of the reasons for a strategic plan — and then we must make sure our administration lives up to them. When it comes right down to it, though, teachers, guidance counselors, paraeducators, and other staff in our schools are the ones who have daily contact with our kids. If our district wants to retain the exceptional staff we already have, we must focus on decreasing their stress and increasing morale. I will engage teachers and support staff in decision-making processes and ensure that their voices are heard. I am especially committed to ensuring teachers have autonomy in their classrooms and are given more pedagogical freedom and flexibility.[12] |
” |
| —Megan Schwalm's campaign website, 2015, [14] | ||
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.[3]
Issues in the district
| Position on amending facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary open[4] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 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.[15]
| “ | 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.[12] | ” |
| —Melanie Sigafoose, past president, Hoover PTA, [3] | ||
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.[3]
| “ | 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.[12] | ” |
| —Chris Lynch, school board president (2015), [3] | ||
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.[4]
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.[3][16]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Megan Schwalm' 'Iowa City Community School District'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
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
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Johnson County Auditor's Office, "School Election Results," accessed September 8, 2015
- ↑ Johnson County, Iowa, "September 8, 2015 School Election," accessed August 3, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 KCRG, "Hoover Elementary parents seek more information on reasons for closing school," June 17, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Save Hoover, "Compilation: The School Board Candidates Respond to the Hoover Question," August 16, 2015
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Megan Schwalm," accessed August 20, 2015
- ↑ Johnson County, Iowa, "September 8, 2015 School Election," accessed August 3, 2015
- ↑ Iowa City Community School District, "School Board Members," accessed June 23, 2015
- ↑ Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, "IECDB State/Local Campaign Disclosure Reports," accessed February 2, 2016
- ↑ Iowa City Federation of Labor, "2015 Elections," accessed September 6, 2015
- ↑ Megan Schwalm for School Board-Two-Year Term, "Endorsements," accessed August 20, 2015
- ↑ Iowa City Education Association, "2015 Press Release," accessed September 6, 2015
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Save Hoover, "Compilation: The School Board Candidates Respond to the Hoover Question," August 16, 2015
- ↑ http://schwalmforschoolboard.com/blog/ Megan Schwalm for School Board-Two-Year Term, "Week Two:My Platform," accessed August 20, 2015]
- ↑ Save Hoover, "Mid-summer campaign update," July 13, 2015
- ↑ The Gazette, "Iowa City school district changes Hoover plan, updates facilities timeline," March 28 ,2015
| 2015 Iowa City Community School District Elections | |
| Johnson County, Iowa | |
| Election date: | September 8, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large (four-year term): • LaTasha DeLoach • Shawn Eyestone • Todd Fanning • Phil Hemingway • Jason Lewis • Brian Richman • Lori Roetlin • Lucas Van Orden • Brianna Wills • Tom Yates At-large (two-year term): • Christopher Liebig • Paul Roesler • Megan Schwalm |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
