Category: Living in Society

Major news outlets like the Iowa City Press Citizen and the Cedar Rapids Gazette have provided minimal coverage of the Nov. 5 Solon School Board election. There is a need for information about the election in our community. I’ve been working to fill that need.

The candidates on the ballot for two seats on the school board are Adam Haluska (incumbent), Lauren O’Neil, Carlos Ortega, Jennifer Stahle, Seth Wear and Jami Wolf.

Thursday the Solon Economist published candidate responses to standard questions beginning on page A1. The on-line newspaper is accessible by subscription only and people should subscribe if they live in the school district. It’s still only $30 per year. The Economist office on Main Street has copies for sale. If the Economist provided the only candidate information a voter had, a reasonable voting decision could be made.

Following are some considerations for choosing two candidates on or before Nov. 5. Hopefully my process will help readers with theirs.

There was school board turbulence this year.

With our daughter long graduated from Solon High School, activities of the school board and administration had fallen into the background. As long as there was no turbulence, I favored people I knew and incumbency during elections. I have also been willing to give newcomers a chance to be on the board if they made their case.

There was turbulence this year over the contract negotiation with the union, so much so the manner in which the negotiations were handled rippled through the community. At the public candidate forum it was asserted by a questioner that teacher turnover last year was the highest it has been in 40 years. This is cause for concern.

Throw the bums out?

Is turbulence created by acknowledged mistakes cause to vote out the three remaining incumbents who participated?

Three directors remain because Jim Hauer decided not to run for re-election and board president Tim Brown previously announced his plan to leave the board when his term is up in 2021. That leaves incumbents Adam Haluska, Rick Jedlicka and Dan Coons. The latter two have not announced their intentions for the 2021 election.

As much as I enjoy the scene from the Grapes of Wrath in which sharecroppers are being told to leave their land, prompting the question, “who do we shoot?” bum-throwing-out is not a universal sentiment. It is a maybe.

Statements like “throw the bums out” serve little purpose. What seems more important and often heard is “they support the administration more than employees,” and its variant “the administration supports X candidate.” Creating this division between staff and the board is the wrong approach because the progress and success of a board is dependent upon a close relationship with staff, including teachers and the administration. I witnessed this while covering the Iowa City Community School District board meetings for the North Liberty Leader. A school board relies heavily on the administration, in particular on those responsible for financial affairs and budgeting.

I spoke with a couple dozen voters since beginning this series of posts and the sentiment is Adam Haluska should not get a second term because of his participation in this year’s contract negotiations. I haven’t decided, however, it seems unlikely I will vote for him again.

If contract negotiations are an acknowledged error from which board members learned, the dynamic of the election changes. Instead of seeking remedy to grievances by removal of board members who were part of the fiasco, the better question is now that the district completed a major series of infrastructure projects, beginning with the high school, how do we make a board that will consider the needs of current and future students, the needs of every student and family? That must be a focus of our decision on Nov. 5.

Questions and some answers

Here are some questions I find myself asking about the candidates with short answers. My answers are subject to change as I continue to discuss candidates in the community:

Should Haluska be voted out because he was on the board during the contract negotiations? All of the people I interviewed said yes.

How will the candidate approach the work if elected? Being a candidate is about engagement with the community. To a large degree, being on the school board is too. Haluska and Stahle both touted the new district phone application at the public forum. They apparently don’t understand how this will, by its nature, exclude people from the conversation. A computer application is an easy answer that doesn’t fundamentally change what may be communicated. There has to be a better way.

Should the gender mix of board members matter? My position is we should elect the best candidates regardless of gender. Lauren O’Neil and Jami Wolf are standout candidates because of their approach to the election. O’Neil’s engineering background lent strength to her forum performance. Wolf is engaged with students and parents and seeks inclusion of every student in her current volunteer work with the district. There are risks and rewards with each of them, but both are credible candidates. In her own way, Stahle is also a credible candidate.

Who will protect the teachers? As a union member and teacher at Kirkwood Community College, Carlos Ortega would be a voice for teachers on the board.

Who has reached out personally? That likely differs depending on a voter’s level of engagement. The candidates seem very approachable, so a person could reach out to them if desired. The people I interviewed had not had much direct contact with candidates. Standouts for me regarding voter outreach are Carlos Ortega, Seth Wear and Jami Wolf. The Solon Economist article remains a main source of information for most voters.

What is the electorate that will determine election results? The coalition of long-time Solon families was important in it’s day. That era is fading as new families, many attracted to the school district, make the Solon area their home. There are more voters in the rural parts of the district than within city limits and it’s difficult to predict how they will vote. I believe voter turnout will be higher than the 498 who voted in the 2017 school board election. I also believe candidates can move their margin to victory by bringing a few dozen voters who don’t usually vote in a school board election to the polls.

Which candidate will bring diversity? There are no easy answers. The Solon community is less diverse than others in which I’ve lived. When considering all six candidates Carlos Ortega is a standout regarding diversity because he was raised in Mainz, Germany, studied foreign languages in college, and teaches in the International Programs Department at Kirkwood Community College. Jami Wolf assured me diversity was a priority. She worked toward inclusion of students in her involvement with the district and would continue if elected.

Most of my community of friends and neighbors is still in the process of deciding for whom to vote on Nov. 5. My questions and answers may not fit every voter and I’m fine with that. A lot depends upon electing two school board members who can take our district into an uncertain future while giving students the skills and experience to meet the challenges it brings.

Thanks for reading. To view the series of posts, click on this link to the tag 2019 SSB Election.

Most chairs at Palmer House Stable in Solon were filled with local voters ready to hear candidates for school board make statements and answer questions for 90 minutes on Tuesday. It is the only public appearance at a single venue by the candidates: Adam Haluska, Lauren O’Neil, Carlos Ortega, Jennifer Stahle, Seth Wear and Jami Wolf.

After spending time reading about and researching them I wanted to hear them in person. Little information is available to the public so attending the forum and reading the candidate survey responses in this week’s Solon Economist will serve as main information sources for voters.

Dean Martin, a neighbor and former school board member (2007-2015), explained the forum rules and asked the questions. Solon City Councilor Lauren Whitehead served as time keeper. I had a front row seat and recorded audio. My impressions of the field changed during the event.

If voters want the board to continue down the established path, based on the forum performance the clear choices would be Adam Haluska and Seth Wear. The two male candidates were articulate in demonstrating deep knowledge of school board activities and planned initiatives. Wear even released a budget analysis of the district prior to the forum as part of his campaign. Solon needs a more diverse school board to work with a more diverse student population. The male dominance of the current board should change this election. That means at least one of these two, and maybe both, should be sacrificed.

The current board botched implementation of the collective bargaining law signed by Governor Terry Branstad in 2017. They hired an attorney to ensure compliance, which in itself was a prudent decision. However, as one candidate said, there really was no contract negotiation between the board and the teachers union. The result of that misstep was the highest teacher turnover in the district in 40 years.

Bullying, intolerance, and mental health issues are real. Solon parents schooling children who are “different” outside the district is also a real phenomenon. Candidates mentioned budgetary constraints repeatedly when diversity, special education, and mental health were discussed. While most lauded the district as one of the best in the state, that may be true only if students follow a conventional path. From experience we know individuals fall through the cracks and the district is not as good as it could be. To their credit, most candidates acknowledged this.

Lauren O’Neil demonstrated poise, was knowledgeable, and offered viable approaches to problem-solving. Her work as an engineer would be a positive contribution to the board. My concern is how she would handle situations if her spouse is elected to city council when school district and city interests intersect. I emailed her the question.

Jami Wolf demonstrated a substantial ability to consider board decisions from the perspective of students and parents. That is her strength as a candidate and something lacking in the board actions around recent contract negotiations. Based on her performance she would be an advocate for diversity in the district. Whatever shortcomings she may have are more than made up for by what she brings to the table. As she mentioned in her closing statement, she has something different to offer the board.

Jennifer Stahle was confident and seemed competent. She mentioned her two-year participation on the School Improvement Advisory Board a couple of times. Her participation on that board gives her an inside track to ongoing initiatives like the phone application to improve district communication. She would be a candidate who could continue the current board ‘s direction.

Carlos Ortega disclosed a new bit of information. He is a union member at Kirkwood Community College. He is a neighbor and people I know who know him believe he is a strong candidate with a solid family life. He would be the sole union member on the school board.

The forum provided dimension to the candidates. They seemed more well-rounded and thoughtful. The event made the decision for whom to vote more difficult.

I spent more time understanding candidates this cycle than in previous school board elections. In a low information, low turnout election personal relationships will be important. The fact I have personal connections with several candidates will play a role in determining how I vote. Depending on how the rest of the week goes, I should be able to pick two by the weekend.

Thanks for reading. To view the series of posts, click on this link to the tag 2019 SSB Election.

Tonight will be the only forum in which six men and women running for two seats on the Solon School Board appear together in public and answer questions.

The forum begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Palmer House Stable, a small venue donated for the event. The forum is co-sponsored by the Solon Education Association and the Solon Parent Teacher Organization.

Last night I spent 90 minutes reading the responses to the questionnaire I sent to all six candidates. On the top of our lists, in alphabetical order, are Carlos Ortega (NP), Seth Wear (D), and Jami Wolf (R). On the bottom, also in alphabetical order, are Adam Haluska (R), Lauren O’Neil (NP), and Jennifer Stahle (R).

In alphabetical order, here is one sentence why the candidates were ranked as they are:

Haluska: The incumbent is not convinced a major change is needed on the board.

O’Neil: Her spouse is running for Solon City Council on Nov. 5 and she didn’t mention it or clarify how conflicts of interest between the city and school board would be resolved if both were elected.

Ortega: He recognized the need for diversity and better communication in the district and teaches at Kirkwood Community College.

Stahle: She was the only candidate that did not answer my email questions, referring me to the forum tonight and this week’s candidate comparison in the newspaper.

Wear: He recognized the rift between staff and the administration and would like to “begin to rebuild that trust and openness with the staff that is currently lacking.”

Wolf: She recognized the need for diversity in thought and perspective on the board, for better communication in the district, and has worked in the district previously while currently volunteering.

There is more to the story than one sentence. I want to emphasize that all six candidates have qualifications that would be important on the school board. This is a low-information, low-turnout election and what I received ahead of the forum from each candidate is an important part of how we ranked them. Tonight’s forum and the questionnaire expected in Thursday’s Solon Economist should enable us to finalize for whom we will vote.

Thanks for reading. To view the series of posts, click on this link to the tag 2019 SSB Election.