Paul Roesler
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Paul Roesler is a former representative on the Iowa City Community School District school board in Iowa. Claussen was elected in the at-large special election on July 19, 2016 and resigned on August 25, 2020 to pursue other career opportunities. [1]
Roesler previously ran for an at-large seat on the Board of Education in the general election on September 8, 2015. He was defeated by Christopher Liebig.[2][3]
In 2015, the controversial closing of an elementary school caused district residents to question the board's 10-year facilities master plan.[4] Roesler explained his opposition to amending the plan to keep the elementary school in question open.[5]
Biography
Roesler obtained his bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa.[6][7]
Elections
2016
One of the seven seats on the Iowa City Community School District Board of Education was up for special election for a three-year term on July 19, 2016. The three candidates running for the vacant seat were J.P. Claussen, Paul Roesler, and Janice Weiner.[8]
Results
| Iowa City Community School District, At-Large Special Election, 3-year term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Paul Roesler |
51.07% | 2,938 |
| J.P. Claussen | 45.40% | 2,612 |
| Janice Weiner | 3.53% | 203 |
| Total Votes (100) | 5,753 | |
| Source: Iowa City Press-Citizen, "Paul Roesler wins school board seat," July 19, 2016 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||
Funding
Roesler reported no contributions or expenditures to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board as of June 15, 2016.[9]
Endorsement
Roesler received no official endorsements during the election.
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.[2]
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.[2][10][11]
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
Roesler reported $4,110.00 in contributions and $4,110.00 in expenditures to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, which left his campaign with $0 on hand in the election.[12]
Endorsements
Roesler received official endorsements from the Iowa City Press-Citizen[13] and the Iowa City Education Association.[14]
Campaign themes
2015
Ballotpedia survey responses
Roesler participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions.
Ranking the issues
The candidate was 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 this candidate's rankings from most to least important:
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Idaho. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Expanding career-technical education | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving college readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer 10 questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are in the left column, and the candidate's responses are in the right column of the following table:
| Question | Response |
|---|---|
| "Modifications are required before they are implemented." | |
| "No" | |
| "No" | |
| "No because all students don't learn or test the same." | |
| The candidate did not provide an answer to this question. | |
| "Students with behavior problems should be sent to alternative schools to remove them from their current environments rather than being expelled." | |
| The candidate did not provide an answer to this question. | |
| "No" | |
| "Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district." | |
| The candidate did not provide an answer to this question. |
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?" Roesler gave the following response:
| “ | To answer the question you have asked I would have to say no, not at this time. I am very much in favor of the current Facility Master Plan. The current plan touches all schools across the district, adding classrooms, multi purpose rooms and air conditioning amongst other things which is greatly needed. The FMP does not allow for renovations at Hoover without robbing another school of its planned renovations.
Absent significant changes in school funding, the school funding formula at the state level, or a major influx of students into the immediate Hoover geography, it is neither fiscally responsible nor possible for old Hoover to be maintained and operated. If the things I mentioned were to happen I would definitely take a second look at Hoover and how it fits into the FMP. [15] |
” |
| —Paul Roesler, [16] | ||
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.[4]
Issues in the district
| Position on amending facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary open[5] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 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.[17]
| “ | 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.[15] | ” |
| —Melanie Sigafoose, past president, Hoover PTA, [4] | ||
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.[4]
| “ | 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.[15] | ” |
| —Chris Lynch, school board president (2015), [4] | ||
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.[5]
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.[4][18]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Paul Roesler' '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 special election (2016)
- 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
- ↑ Iowa City Press-Citizen, "Roesler resigning from Iowa City school board to teach at Helen Lemme Elementary", July 22, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Johnson County Auditor's Office, "School Election Results," accessed September 8, 2015
- ↑ Johnson County, Iowa, "September 8, 2015 School Election," accessed August 3, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 KCRG, "Hoover Elementary parents seek more information on reasons for closing school," June 17, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Save Hoover, "Compilation: The School Board Candidates Respond to the Hoover Question," August 16, 2015
- ↑ The Gazette, "Iowa City native will seek two-year school board term," July 30, 2015
- ↑ Iowa City Press-Citizen, "Four candidates join race for Iowa City school board," July 28, 2015
- ↑ Johnson County, Iowa, "July 19, 2016 Iowa City School District Special Election," accessed July 23, 2016
- ↑ Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, "IECDB State/Local Campaign Disclosure Reports," accessed July 1, 2016
- ↑ 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 Press-Citizen, "Our View: DeLoach, Hemingway, Lewis, Roetlin and Roesler for School Board," September 1, 2015
- ↑ Iowa City Education Association, "2015 Press Release," accessed September 6, 2015
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 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
- ↑ Save Hoover, "Mid-summer campaign update," July 13, 2015
- ↑ The Gazette, "Iowa City school district changes Hoover plan, updates facilities timeline," March 28 ,2015
| 2016 Iowa City Community School District Special Election | |
| Johnson County, Iowa | |
| Election date: | July 19, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large:• J.P. Claussen • Paul Roesler • Janice Weiner |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
| 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 |
