Residents Share Coffee, Ideas With Ankeny School Board Members

In the run-up to the Sept. 13 Ankeny school board election, voters had another chance Saturday to talk about issues with incumbents over coffee.

School board incumbents Aaron Johnson and Trent Murphy met with voters at the Saturday morning. Incumbents Andrew Martin and Leslie Petersen also met district residents at the nearby

The events were designed to give residents a chance to talk with school board candidates, and find out what their positions on the issues facing the Ankeny school board were, including the proposed second high school in Ankeny.

Voters have eight candidates to choose from in the Sept. 13 school board election, including four incumbents.

Retiree Trefor Munch, who stopped in to meet the candidates, admitted that initially he was opposed to the idea of splitting Ankeny into two high schools. However, the former substitute teacher said he’s changed his mind about the idea, saying it would give students more opportunities than the current system would.

“If we’re going to have an extracurricular program, we have a responsibility to open that up to as many students as possible,” Munch said.

What changed his mind was that a second high school would allow more students to participate in extracurricular activities. A second high school would mean a second football team, giving more students the chance to participate.

“The purpose of the education system is not to be the champion in football or basketball,” Munch said. 

For incumbent Trent Murphy, who’s running for his fourth term on the Ankeny school board, events like Saturday's coffee are only one of the ways he’s able to engage residents. Murphy said he tries to stay out in the community as much as he can.

“The most people that I meet are people who have a concern,” Murphy said. “I call them up and say, ‘let’s meet for coffee’,”

Owning his business, CJM Financial Inc. means that Murphy is often available to meet with local residents. As a former teacher, most recently at Valley High School in West Des Moines, and a parent, Murphy said he’s got a good grasp of school issues in Ankeny.

“I’ve got a strong commitment to taking my time to do something that’s more important, something that’s bigger than me,” Murphy said, when asked why he was seeking a fourth term.

However, the biggest reason Murphy cites for running for re-election is continuity. A strong supporter of the second high school in Ankeny, Murphy said he’s committed to staying the course until the project is completed. Murphy acknowledged that the second high school has long been the subject of contentious debate in Ankeny, but he’s adamant that it’s something that needs to happen.

“I ‘m running because there’s an underlying tone of some people wanting to change the course of Ankeny schools,” Murphy said.

Aaron Johnson, the other candidate who attended the meet and greet, said he agrees with Murphy on the question of the second high school. Johnson, who’s serving his first term on the Ankeny school board, said a change in leadership in the Ankeny schools would be a huge setback for the district.

“These things don’t happen by default,” Johnson said. “To change direction, to change leadership midstream, it changes everything,” Johnson said.

Johnson said he believes the majority of Ankeny residents want to see the school district transition to a second high school, and only a small, but vocal, minority that continues to oppose the change.

“I’ve talked to numerous people who’ve decided that it’s time to move on,” Johnson said. “This is a small minority trying to jump on a bandwagon of taxes and the economy to make their voices heard.”