The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Iowa City School Board schedules special election

Iowa+City+School+Board+schedules+special+election

By Jake Slobe

[email protected]

Beginning today, candidates aiming to join the Iowa City School Board can place their name on the special-election ballot.

After Tom Yates unexpectedly resigned from his seat on the board on May 13, officials announced there would be a special election to fill the vacancy.

The board voted unanimously June 7 to fill a vacant seat by a special election rather than by appointment. Two people have currently announced bids: former West High School special-education teacher J.P. Claussen and Paul Roesler, who campaigned for the board’s two-term seat in September 2015.

Yates was one of five newly elected members to the board and is the third School Board member to resign in the past three years; the others were Sally Hoelscher in June 2014 and Tuyet Baruah in July 2015.

Yates cast the deciding vote in a series of tied votes relating to school boundaries at a School Board meeting May 10.

One of the primary reasons for choosing an election over an appointment came down to cost and convenience, said School Board Vice President Brian Kirschling.

“Who ever gets elected has to be ready to hit the ground running and understand all the intricacies of what we’re facing and dealing with right now,” Kirschling said.

The July election is expected to cost between $15,000 and $17,000. Had the School Board gone forward with an appointment, Kirschling said, holding an election in November would have cost the district around $75,000.

Leading up to the School Board meeting on June 7, board members had been given the impression that an appointed member would fill the role until the next scheduled School Board election in September 2017, he said.

But it was not until the afternoon of June 7, Kirschling said, that board members were given the new information that the newly appointed member would only hold the position until November of this year instead of September 2017.

“It came down to us having to pay for one of two elections, the second being much more expensive,” said board member Chris Liebig.

Another factor in the School Board’s decision to hold a July election over an appointment is that Iowa City school precincts do not align with general precincts, which would make for a complicated election come November, said Board President Chris Lynch.

“I think we’re going to be making some big decisions in the next four months before November, and I think it’s important to have the seat filled by the voters before we make those decisions,” Liebig said.

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