The Facts and Lies About the ICCSD Go Bond

Captions: 1. From left to right, board candidates Laura Westemeyer (the only vote-no candidate); J.P. Claussen, (a vote-yes candidate); Shawn Eyestone (a vote-yes candidate); Karen Woltman (a won't-say yes or no on the bond candidate and an attorney); Charlie Eastham (a vote-yes candidate); Janet Godwin (a vote-yes candidate); and Ruthina Malone (a vote-yes candidate). 2. Hani Elkadi, PATV TV anchor, who helped moderate the forum with Holly Hines, Iowa City Press-Citizen reporter. 3. Laura Westemeyer talking to a fan after the forum. 4. Karen Woltman, an attorney, at the center of the photo with Mary Kate Pilcher Hayek at left and in the background of the photo.

Hani Elkadi of PATV and Holly Hines of the Iowa City Press-Citizen presented a candidate forum with two speakers for the $191.5 Iowa City Community School District bond, Mary Kate Pilcher Hayek and Mitch Gross; and two speakers against the $191.5 bond, Mary Murphy and Caroline Dieterle.

The first question was "Does the bond meet everyone's needs, including the Hills community?"

Mary Kate Pilcher Hayek (from now on to be referred to as MKPH for the sake of brevity) stated that the City High cafeteria is too small and that kids eat in the hallway. She also said that repurposing Hoover (by closing it and tearing it down) will make City High more competitive with other high schools, meaning West High, since all Tate Alternative High School will get out of the bond is a gym and one classroom. Of course, even those building gains by Tate may be more than City High gains from the bond, since rumor has it that Hoover will become a parking lot or athletic field for City High. She did not respond to the question about Hills, which is not part of the Facilities Master Plan.

According to retiring board member Chris Liebig, prominent bond supporter MKPH asserts that she has a map showing where career and tech and athletic facilities will go on the City High site. Liebig stated that he was naturally curious about this, so he emailed Superintendent Steve Murley:

“Hi, Steve. I notice that Mary Kate Pilcher Hayek says she has a map showing where career and tech and athletics facilities will go on the City High/Hoover property. She seemed to say that it was a district document. Is there such a document? If so, how do I square that with the response you gave me in May saying that the district would not be able to answer that question until after the first series of bonds is issued?

“Thanks for any information,

“Chris Liebig

“[Murley’s] reply:

“Good Evening Chris

“I am unaware of any map with any such designations.

“Steve”

We don't really know what City High will do with the "repurposed" Hoover. District administration is in effect telling us, "Give us the money and then we'll tell you what we're going to do with Hoover or the land that Hoover sits on. Deal?"

All I've heard is that City High will make the land that Hoover sits on into a parking lot or an athletic field. Without transparency, I'm dependent on rumor.

Furthermore, Joe Holland, the district’s attorney, made a spurious legal argument that a valid petition submitted with the requisite number of valid signatures necessary to put the question of whether Hoover will be demolished or not on the ballot should not be put on the ballot. The issue recently went to court, with attorney Gregg Geerdes representing the valid petitioners, but the matter has not been adjudicated yet to my knowledge.

MKPH also stated, “special education is one of the top priorities of the Iowa City Community School District.”

Really?! We have a superintendent who violated federal law regarding special education, a state Department of Education report alleging that the school district has a “retaliatory culture,” a threat from board director Brian Kirschling to a parent of a special needs child that if she criticizes the superintendent she could be subject to legal action, but “special education is a one of the top priorities of the school district”??

No. The facts speak for themselves. Special education is certainly not a priority at the ICCSD and will not necessarily be improved by voting yes on the bond. Caring about special needs children is about attitude and making the right choices, not money. Nothing in the bond language specifically guarantees that ADA compliance will be a priority or enacted.

Mitch Gross: "We have four high schools in the district. Tate Alternative High School will get a classroom and a gym. The Facilities Master Plan is balanced. [He made no mention of Hills Ele. School.] Coralville is the second largest city in Iowa without its own school district. Vocational and technical education have been pushed out because of space needs."

That is simply not true. Prioritizing vocational and technical education is a choice. Former shop teacher Steve Smith could tell you how, why, and when he and his classroom were pushed out of City High.

As Mary Murphy (a vote-no advocate) said, “We are a policy driven district. Only board members can adopt a specific plan. The superintendent is responsible for the implementing the plan. The bond language is a Trojan horse. No dollars are tied to specific projects. We're not voting on the Facilities Master Plan. There are no completion dates in the bond language. So if we consider what’s happened in the past and the bond language itself, the bond authorizes $191.5 million without accountability for what work gets done, how it gets done, or when it gets done. The board governs itself. There have been significant changes in the past. The bond language authorizes $191.5 million of spending, period.

“Chris Lynch [board president] actually recommended a smaller bond earlier. He thought at that time (2010) that a smaller bond would have a better chance of passing."

Caroline Dieterle (a vote-no supporter): “I'm very annoyed when the subject of equity is brought up. Equity should be equity for all of the schools. We’ve just heard [from MKPH] how City High needs to be made equal to Liberty High. Tate High is getting a gym and one classroom. Hills is left out completely.

“The Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA] was passed 26 years ago and we’ve had bonds before to achieve ADA compliance and we never seem to get it done. We've been in violation the entire time.”

Question: Please explain how your opinion on the bond has evolved over time. We'd like a yes or no.

J.P. Claussen: "My thinking has evolved, specifically on the Facilities Master Plan. I have concerns regarding the Facilities Master Plan. My resolve for the bond is stronger, although I agree we need more for Tate and Hills. What do we cut out now? Who do we put on the back burner? I don't know how we get to the magic 60% [required to pass the bond]. We need another school in North Liberty [for a total of two new elementary schools in North Liberty]."

Charlie Eastham: "My thinking has evolved. I intend to vote yes. I think parts of the Facilities Master Plan, the Facilities Master Plan, the school environment, air conditioning, making all schools accessible (many schools are still inaccessible), getting more classrooms wherever they're needed, including the Hills area. I would like another elementary school. Special education, Tate. I'd like to see vocational and career offerings.

Shawn Eyestone: "I've been a big proponent of the bond for the last four years. I was prepared to support the bond. I want to keep it together as one bond. We're putting all our eggs in one basket. Has my thinking evolved? I wanted more specificity. Specific capacity numbers would help; the growth numbers are not real consistent. Another bond six months from now is not a viable solution.

"I have trust in our administration, although I know some don't. I've seen them build nice buildings and I would like to rebuild trust where the administration has failed."

Janet Godwin: "My position has evolved. My resolve in supporting the bond has increased. I like Liberty High School. Once I saw it I decided to support the bond. They've done amazing work. It's an amazing facility. Adding English as a Second Language to Twain was not part of the plan but it happened anyway. The board will put together another bond if this one doesn't pass. I would like to know how the no-bond people would pass another bond."

Ruthina Malone: "I support the bond for selfish reasons. I have a husband who teaches art in the district and a daughter who's a senior at City High. I appreciate the fact that it's a lot of money. These things should have been done 20-40 years ago. Why wait? We need to address concerns in the North Corridor and Hills."

Laura Westemeyer: "I founded the Children's Therapy Center and sold it a year ago. I have a concern about the Shimek playground. The board voted 4-3 not to change the Shimek playground. So many errors. The superintendent said the equity director had reviewed the plans when the equity director didn't know he was responsible for ADA compliance and hadn't reviewed the plan. I'm not a political person but I was appalled. Playgrounds are considered classrooms under the ADA.

"Shimek playground is not ADA compliant. North Liberty is ADA compliant. New Hoover is not compliant. Alexander is not compliant; it has a 6-inch curb built around it. These are new projects."

Question: What programs will return to City High if Hoover is closed?

MKPH: "Vocational, architecture, and metals classes will be brought back to City High."

This is absolutely not true, as Supt. Murley told board director Chris Liebig.

Mitch Gross: "Board members hold the superintendent accountable. The bond vote is separate from the superintendent. The bond is for the kids. Don't punish the kids because you don't trust the superintendent. I don't know how we're going to come up with a new bond in six months when it took us four years to come up with this one."

In my opinion, the bond vote is not separate from the superintendent because the superintendent is the board's only employee, and the superintendent, who many of us have learned not to trust, will be spending $191.5 million if the bond passes. Physical plant director Duane Van Hemert hired McComas-Lacina after the board motion to hire McComas-Lacina for the Penn project failed. He was insubordinate yet remained defiant. He said, "I'll do whatever I have to do to create space for the students." The superintendent not only didn't discipline Van Hemert but backed him up. This is the team that we are entrusting millions of taxpayer dollars to. The board has not held the superintendent accountable in the past and we have no guarantee that new board members will in the future.

The question of the cost of the bond per $1,000 of assessed property tax value came up. MKPH asserted that the bond's cost, if passed, would be 98 cents. Mary Murphy said the cost would be twice that: $1.96. It would cost 98 cents plus 53 cents for the debt on the 2003 bond plus 45 cents for the levy rate for the debt for a total of $1.96.

Karen Woltman: "What I've learned is that we have real needs. Folks are worried about whether projects will get done whether the bond passes or not. If the bond passes, I'll work hard to implement it. If the bond doesn't pass, I'll work to get another bond passed. Hills and TREK are not on the Facilities Master Plan. The Next board has a huge job: building trust. If I'm elected I'll work to build fidelity."

Question for Janet Godwin: As a top executive of ACT, which is a vendor to the district, wouldn't you have a conflict of interest as a board member?

Janet Godwin: "I am very proud of my work at ACT. There are no current contracts between ACT and the district now. I'd recuse myself if ever the district needed ACT services."

Frankly, I could see other possibilities for conflicts of interest that would be indirect as opposed to direct. What if Janet Godwin were voting as a board member on priorities concerning vocational and technical education versus advanced placement classes where students are likely to take ACT exams as part of the process of applying to college? Would she recuse herself then? We've already seen a bias in the district toward college-bound students as opposed to students who can't afford college, especially as tuition costs continue to increase with a lack of state funding, and need to get a job out of high school.

In response to a question about ADA compliance or the lack thereof, board candidate Laura Westemeyer said, “Our district says one thing and does another. Not having trust in school administration is critical. The last four playgrounds built have not been accessible. We are not doing what we need to be doing to be ADA compliant. Alexander has a six-inch curb built around it. It's not ADA compliant.

“We need a smaller, more specific bond with built-in accountability. We need strong leadership. If we had good leadership, the bond wouldn’t be so controversial. The biggest question is trust.”

Question: What about armed police officers in the school? Would you support that?

Charlie Eastham: I will not support armed officers in the schools. I've talked to my friend Henri Harper [who is an Iowa City Police Community Service Liaison] and the Iowa City Police Department. Community officers can be a valuable addition.

Question: The bond is not perfect. What would you change?

J.P. Claussen: The bond will never be perfect. I love the special education accommodations at Liberty High School. That's as perfect as it gets.

Caroline Dieterle: "The policy governance adopted by the board in 2003 was invented for corporate boards, not for democratically elected boards. I don't think the board candidates have any idea of how little control they will have over the superintendent. It's an issue of trust. I can't believe that the superintendent will use the bond money wisely."

Mary Murphy: "The bond language is very vague. There's not much in the way of specifics. Physical plant director Duane Van Hemert hired McComas-Lacina without the approval of the board. He was insubordinate but the superintendent backed him up. There's a good chance that the penny tax will be passed by the state legislature for rural schools (SAVE). You can't put in vocational and technical education without a board vote. That hasn't happened yet."