Shawn Eyestone

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Shawn Eyestone

Iowa City Community School District school board At-large

Tenure

2024 - Present

Term ends

2025

Years in position

1

Prior offices

Iowa City Community School District school board At-large

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Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

September 12, 2017

Education

Bachelor's

Luther College

Personal

Profession

Manager

Contact

Personal website

Shawn Eyestone is a member of the Iowa City Community School District school board At-large. He assumed office in 2024. His current term ends in 2025.

Eyestone ran in a special election to the Iowa City Community School District school board At-large. He won in the special general election on September 12, 2017.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Eyestone obtained his bachelor's degree in biology from Luther College. He has worked as the manager of the high throughput quality control department at DNA Integrated Technologies. Eyestone has been involved in the Parent Teacher Organization in the district.

Elections

2017

Four of seven seats on the Iowa City Community School District Board of Education in Iowa were up for at-large election on September 12, 2017. One of the four seats was a two-year term seat up for special election to complete LaTasha DeLoach's term after she resigned in July 2017. No incumbents ran to retain their seat, leaving four open seats.

Former candidate J.P. Claussen and newcomers Janet Godwin and Ruthina Malone defeated newcomers Laura Westemeyer, and Karen Woltman for the four-year at-large seats. Newcomer Charlie Eastham lost to former candidate Shawn Eyestone in the race for the two-year at-large seat.

Iowa City Community School District, At-Large General Election, 2-year term, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Shawn Eyestone	52.06%	6,405
Charlie Eastham	47.02%	5,785
Write-in votes	0.92%	113
Total Votes		12,303
Source: Johnson County, Iowa, "September 12, 2017 School Election - Official Canvassed Results," accessed September 18, 2017

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

Eyestone reported $1,140.00 in contributions and $1,140.00 in expenditures to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, which left his campaign with $0 on hand in the election.

Endorsements

Eyestone received official endorsements from The Gazette and North Corridor Parents..

Campaign themes

2015

Ballotpedia survey responses

Eyestone participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:

“	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)

Eyestone also included the following statement with his responses:

“	I think our district needs to do a better job seeking feedback from our teachers. We are good with seeking feedback from parents, but that isn't always a true picture of what our students need. We should also look at the possibility of a middle school system vs. our current 7th and 8th grade Jr. High.	”
—Shawn Eyestone (2015)

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

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
What is your stance on implementing Common Core standards?	"Modifications are required before they are implemented."
Should your district approve the creation of new charter schools?	"No"
Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system?	"No"
Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement?	"No"
How can the district ensure equal opportunities for high and low achieving students?	"Accessibility and awareness is key. High and low achieving students need different things. We need to get them access to those different things. We need to get extra resources into the schools with high numbers of low achieving students."
How should expulsion be used in the district?	"Expulsion should be used for serious offenses to ensure the safety of other students as well as the integrity of education at district schools."
If a school is failing in your district, what steps should the school board take to help the students in that school?	"The first step is to determine why it is failing and in what way. Then specific goals must be set forth as to what will be addressed first, second and then third. Decisions moving forward will then be made with those specific goals in mind at all times. Specific professional development for teachers in those areas. Aids for classroom teachers that specialize in that area. Other extra resources. Then we must frequently evaluate what is working and what isn't and adapt our plan accordingly."
Do you support merit pay for teachers?	"No"
How should the district handle underperforming teachers?	"Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district."
How would you work to improve community-school board relations?	"Transparency is a buzz word, but it is still valid. Giving the reasons behind every decision made by the board instead of just the final answer can help to achieve buy-in from the community. The board also sets the tone for the district. If they can't work together cohesively, then why should the community expect to do the same?"

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?" Eyestone gave the following response:

“	My straight answer to your question is no. At this time I don’t have enough evidence before me to want to alter the Facilities Master plan to keep Hoover open. With some very good friends as parents at Hoover, I know this runs the risk of creating some hostility. I hope that can be avoided by at least having some understanding of my thinking. However, I am very open to hearing a compelling argument as to why I should change my opinion. I truly understand the meaning that each of our schools and our school families have for us. I know that the buildings themselves can hold a lot of memories and a sense of nostalgia. But there is more to the school than just the building itself. It is the relationships our children build with each other. It is the rapport that parents have with their children’s teachers and school administrators. It is that sense of family that creates the strong bonds that make our district as great as it is. That is what I would be against getting rid of. I wouldn’t be in favor of splitting up the entire school and scattering them to the wind. I would like to see those families kept together as much as possible and the teachers and administrators have the chance to go with them. The building itself is a different matter. As a Board member, I would have the responsibility to best help the entire district from a top level as well as each student on an individual basis. As an elementary school parent I have to remind myself that every student means elementary, Junior High and High School. The Master plan lists several much needed additions to City High. These additions are to help make all of the high school students in the community have the same access to high quality programs. In order to complete these additions to the building, some of the current City High property and components will be displaced. The nearest and admittedly easiest place to gain back that lost ground is the current Hoover site. I believe Hoover is also being tasked as a swing school to help with construction at many other facilities around the district. This touches a lot of students’ lives around the district in a positive way. I know it touches the lives of the students at Hoover most deeply and not completely in a positive way. I can tell you that as a parent at one of the newer, larger schools in the district, I really do love it. I’m constantly amazed at what the staff is able to do utilizing the space to its fullest and the professional development work they accomplish as a team. My kids, the teachers and parents are quite proud of their school and I truly feel that Hoover parents, teachers and students will be just as proud of their new school. As I said earlier, I am willing to listen to arguments because I am not as completely educated on the topic as I should be. I can only speak from what I know. If the plan is to scatter all of the current families at Hoover to the wind I would like to hear more about that. I would also love to hear other proposals that show how these other great things in our district can be accomplished if Hoover does stay open. The couple of times I have had the opportunity to visit Hoover, I enjoyed the building very much. The same thing is true for all of the schools in our district. No matter how big, how small, round, square, tall or short, the students are all happy to be there. The staff loves their kids and we are providing a top notch education to all of them. My hope is that every decision the Board makes stays true to that statement and improves on an already impressive resume.	”
—Shawn Eyestone,

Campaign website

Eyestones' campaign website highlighted the following campaign themes for 2015:

All students are important

“	We need to ensure programming for all types of students. -Currently below grade level -Above grade level (ELP, AP classes) -Learning disabilities -Physical disabilities -ESL barriers	”
—Shawn Eyestone's campaign website, (2015),

Plan for the future without sacrificing the present

“	We need to plan for expected growth, but put effort into schools who are struggling with their current conditions. -Overcrowding -Too few resources for teachers to effectively address the specific needs of their student populations -Work for the passage of the 2017 bond vote to help ensure the district gets all that it needs -Have a Plan B: Are there steps we can take now to help mitigate future shortfalls so we don’t have a dozen incomplete projects?	”
—Shawn Eyestone's campaign website, (2015),

Keyword:Community

“	We forget that we are one community-- the Iowa City Community School District--struggling on a larger scale to ensure what's best for our kids. -Our community must fight against cuts to education funding and must be vigilant in finding solutions. -As funding dwindles, we must look for new ways to operate to make the best use of the funds we do have. -How do we make the schools run efficiently while still offering the top notch educational experience we have grown accustomed to? Collaboration between all board members can get the job done. -Calm, rational discussion is vital to moving forward -Effective communication is only accomplished when it goes both ways -Board member to Board member -Community to Board and Board to Community -Board to Administration and Administration to Board -Providing more transparency into the Board’s decision-making process will help parents and teachers understand the Board's decisions even if they don’t agree with them We are losing ground on state and nationwide scales because of in-fighting within our own district. We must be one community.	”
—Shawn Eyestone's campaign website, (2015),

Decisive and timely action

“	Follow the process we have set out: Seek public input, discuss the issue, and vote. -Have an agenda and stick to it -Don’t continue to table discussions to put off the decision Don’t let “perfect” get in the way of really good. -There is no perfect solution -Weigh the pros and cons: Which plan holds the most positive benefits? Which plan has the least negative impact? Stand by decisions, but be able to admit when the decision was wrong and move forward. Spending too much time concocting the perfect Plan A leaves little time for enacting the plan, and even less time for switching to Plan B when needed.	”
—Shawn Eyestone's campaign website, (2015),

Practicality of attendance zones

“	Don’t make kids who live across the street from a school go elsewhere. -Schools come in all sizes and student composition: that’s not always a bad thing Treating each school fairly does not mean treating them the same -If a school has a large population of students with special needs, ensure that the staff is designed to handle that -Don’t ship kids out of a comfortable area for them just to balance numbers -Any movement of students should come from a direct need for that student	”
—Shawn Eyestone's campaign website, (2015),

Providing a welcoming and stable community

“	We must stem the tide of parents opting to take their children out of our district. -People have left our community because of what they perceive to be poor decision making and inaction We are a growing community but we can't lose sight of the individuals and just see groups. -We need to make sure everyone feels they belong and are being considered in every decision -The individual schools and the the staff and PTO/PTA of those schools must take the lead -The board defines the culture of the district; if it isn’t a welcoming inclusive environment, the entire district will fall short of expectations	”
—Shawn Eyestone's campaign website, (2015),

See also

• Iowa City Community School District, Iowa
• Iowa City Community School District elections (2017)
• Iowa City Community School District elections (2015)

External links

Suggest a link

• Iowa City Community School District
• Campaign website
• Campaign Facebook page
• Twitter page