Note Which Candidates Would Revisit New Community Comment Policy

Captions: Left to right, Phil Hemingway, a school board candidate seeking a four-year term; Tom Yates, a school board candidate seeking a four-year term; Chris Liebig, a school board candidate seeking a two-year term (only one can be elected); Megan Schwalm, also seeking the same two-year term, vacated by Tuyet Boruah, who resigned. I have no photograph of Brian Richman (sorry, Brian).

Word Press blogger Mary Murphy has carefully documented which school board candidates would revisit the newly limited community comment policy, which lengthens community comments from three minutes to four, but which limits comments to the beginning of each meeting and does not allow community comment during the board’s discussion of the agenda itself, who is still thinking about it, and who would not revisit the new board policy.

https://marymurphyiowa.wordpress.com/2015/08/24/2015-iccsd-candidate-positions-on-comment-by-public-at-board-meeting-at-time-of-specific-agenda-items/

Board candidates Phil Hemingway, Tom Yates, Chris Liebig, Brian Richman, Megan Schwalm, and Lucas Van Orden favor community comment during school board meetings to address specific agenda items, which is currently not allowed under new board policy. Chris Liebig specified that he wanted unlimited comment at the beginning of each board meeting. If not, community comment should be allowed when agenda items are discussed. Both Tom Yates and Lucas Van Orden specified that yes, they wanted to revisit the new community comment policy and expand it, “subject to a level of decorum.” Phil Hemingway, Brian Richman, and Megan Schwalm favored a revisit of board policy without qualifiers.

Todd Fanning, Brianna Wills, Lori Roetlin, and Paul Roeschler would NOT revisit the board’s new policy of limiting community comment to the beginning of each meeting and eliminating community comment during discussion of the board’s agenda. To me this is a good reason not to vote for any of them. The current board has a record of failing to listen to the community, which is why that board needs to be turned out. Do we want to elect new board members who’ve already decided they want to listen to the community less, or who want to listen to the community in a short session at the beginning of the meeting but not while actual agenda items are discussed and voted on?

Even worse, some candidates are too timid to commit to an opinion, even at this late date, and those include candidate Jason T. Lewis, who also refused to commit to an opinion regarding whether Hoover Elementary School should be kept open or closed; Latasha DeLoach; and Sean Eyestone.

Such wishy-washiness or cowardice on the issues is not a selling point with me. Why should I vote for candidates who can’t or won’t be clear about where they stand on two of the most important issues facing the school district? I need to know who I’m voting for, because who gets elected to the Iowa City Community School District Board of Directors is important. As candidates for four-year terms, candidates like Lewis, DeLoach, and Eyestone can choose to keep me and other voters guessing, but I’d rather vote for someone who has thoroughly studied the main issues facing the school board and is ready to commit to a stance on those issues.

And remember, only board candidates Phil Hemingway, Tom Yates, Brian Richman, and Chris Liebig have committed to saving Hoover Elementary School.

They’ve all got the guts to commit to clear stances on the issues. And remember, “no guts, no glory.”