To prepare for the September 12 school board election, the Save Hoover Committee asked candidates: If you are elected, will you support amending the long-term facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary School open? You can read the candidates’ responses here. Based on those responses and on our evaluation of the candidates, we recommend voting for Laura Westemeyer, Karen Woltman, and Charlie Eastham, for these reasons:
For the four-year terms:
Of the candidates for the four-year seats, we support Laura Westemeyer and Karen Woltman, both of whom expressed clear support for keeping Hoover open.
Laura Westemeyer wants to see Hoover, a multi-million dollar asset, stay open to continue serving its thriving community. Beyond the Hoover question, Westemeyer’s professional experience, community involvement, and forthright nature will help her be an especially strong advocate for all children in the district.
Karen Woltman understands that school buildings are large capital investments and that destroying valuable capacity in a growing district will make it more difficult to meet capacity needs. Woltman’s legal training, extensive experience on state-level education committees, and professional demeanor position her as someone able to work effectively with the administration and help bridge divisions at the board table.
There are three open seats in this category; we take no position on how people should use their third vote. Candidates JP Claussen, Ruthina Malone, and Janet Godwin indicated either support for the closure or an unwillingness to reconsider the issue.
For the two-year term:
For the two-year term, we support Charlie Eastham. Eastham said he was undecided on the closure issue but indicated an openness to considering the question. He has a strong record of community involvement and independent thinking. His opponent, Shawn Eyestone, indicated a lack of interest in reconsidering the Hoover issue.
PLEASE VOTE! You may request a mailed ballot until Friday, September 8. Requests must be made by 5 p.m. that day.
Election Day is Tuesday, September 12. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can find your school polling place here. School polling places may different from your regular polling place.
Or, vote early at the Auditor’s Office, 913 South Dubuque Street, between 7:45 and 5:30 on weekdays. Monday, September 11 is the last day for in-person early voting at the Auditor’s Office. The Office will have weekend hours on Saturday, September 9, from 8 a.m. to noon, and Sunday, September 10, from noon to 5 p.m. Satellite locations for early voting are shown here.
Thank you for considering Laura Westemeyer, Karen Woltman, and Charles Eastham for ICCSD school board.
Monday, September 4, 2017
Thursday, August 31, 2017
The Board Candidates Respond to the Question of Hoover
In preparation for the September 12 school board election, the Save Hoover group has compiled candidate responses on the issue of Hoover. Below you will find two questions for each candidate and the candidates’ responses. The first question was asked at the candidate forum on September 29; the responses are transcriptions of the candidates’ oral responses. The second question was asked of each candidate by the Save Hoover Committee; the candidates provided written responses.
You can watch the full candidate forum here. The Hoover question starts at the 1:20:21 mark.
Two candidates, Laura Westemeyer and Karen Woltman, stated clear support for keeping Hoover open. A third, Charles Eastham, said he was undecided on the issue but indicated an openness to considering the question. Four others, JP Claussen, Shawn Eyestone, Ruthina Malone, and Janet Godwin, indicated either support for the closure or an unwillingness to reconsider the issue.
LAURA WESTEMEYER
Forum question: There has been considerable discussion and tension in our district about the district’s commitment to smaller neighborhood schools, much of this sparked by the closure of Hoover Elementary. What is your view on this topic?
I do not think we should be closing Hoover Elementary. It’s a twelve million, eleven million dollar resource. It’s a school that six hundred kids can walk to. You know, and we’re closing the elementary because we don’t really absolutely know what we’re going to do with the space yet, and we had an opportunity a few years ago to purchase some space – I guess it was a park that was open? – and we didn’t choose to purchase the park, which would have been a much more reasonable, would have been a better opportunity for us moving forward, and so I don’t support closing Hoover. I think that we, that’s one of the reasons why I find the bond difficult, because if we’re throwing out an eleven million dollar resource, and I just don’t think that that’s a very smart move on our part and as well we’ve had an entire community go through and get two thousand signatures and we’ve refused to allow it on the ballot, and again, here we are pushing back community comment when we keep talking about how important it is for the community to speak, and we’re again not allowing the community to have a voice. So again, I just, I feel, no, we should not be closing Hoover. We need to value our community schools, we’ve got to keep our community’s—you know, the people and the community of Hoover, they love their school and we need to let them keep their school.
Written question: If you are elected, will you support amending the long-term facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary School open?
Absolutely, 100%, I want to see this 11 million dollar resource in a thriving community stay open.
KAREN WOLTMAN
Forum question: There has been considerable discussion and tension in our district about the district’s commitment to smaller neighborhood schools, much of this sparked by the closure of Hoover Elementary. What is your view on this topic?
I don’t support closing schools in a growing district. We have a lot of capital invested in our buildings, and we just frankly need the capacity, and by closing schools, it just puts us further behind and trying to catch up. I do think that in doing the FMP process, we need to be planning ahead to make sure that all of our schools are being renovated and continue to be usable for our district into the future.
Written question: If you are elected, will you support amending the long-term facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary School open?
Yes. School buildings are large capital investments for the community and they need to be managed wisely to accommodate the current and projected needs for capacity in our district. Destroying valuable capacity in a growing district will make it that much harder to meet capacity needs throughout the district.
CHARLES EASTHAM
Forum question: There has been considerable discussion and tension in our district about the district’s commitment to smaller neighborhood schools, much of this sparked by the closure of Hoover Elementary. What is your view on this topic?
I definitely support the district maintaining, improving, and investing in smaller neighborhood schools, even some of the larger elementary schools which are basically elementary schools – schools that are new now will eventually become neighborhood schools. Neighborhood schools are important to almost every parent I’ve ever heard say anything at all about their local school. And they’re important to city government. All three governments are asking us to do more to provide neighborhood schools. In the case of Hoover, I haven’t made up my mind yet. I’m looking forward to perhaps a very vigorous discussion with newly elected board members and current board members. The expansion of City High is important. Exactly how that could be carried out, with or without the Hoover building in place, I think is something that I have to understand much more carefully – much more clearly before I’m going to be able to make a decision.
Written question: If you are elected, will you support amending the long-term facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary School open?
I believe that a brief response to your question regarding whether I would or would not support a motion to amend the Facilities Master Plan is such a way as to continue the use of Hoover Elementary as a District school is to say that I am still considering the matter.
The factors I am reviewing include:
• whether reconsideration of the previous Board decisions regarding Hoover can be done in a timely manner so that the currently planned additions, improvements, and renovations to City High can proceed as scheduled and;
• whether there has been a substantial change in circumstances or additional information has been developed since the previous decision either of which demonstrate that the proposed City High alterations can be completed in their entirety while Hoover continues as a school.
JP CLAUSSEN
Forum question: There has been considerable discussion and tension in our district about the district’s commitment to smaller neighborhood schools, much of this sparked by the closure of Hoover Elementary. What is your view on this topic?
First, I do support smaller neighborhood schools. I think that, you know, and having seen the plans, you know, for Lincoln, granted it’s over budget but that could be pared down. But I’ll tell you the intention there, that’s going to be there for fifty to a hundred years. You know, that’s not a cheap fix that’s just going to keep that school open for a few years. If they do what they say with Lincoln and with Mann and they’re already doing with Longfellow, I like that vision. I like, you know, because – smaller schools are more expensive, but that’s our community’s value, absolutely our community’s value. But we have to pay for that. It’s not the same cost, about a two-hundred-and-fifty-kid school is more expensive to run than a five-hundred-kid school, but that’s our value, and I share that value. You know I think the Hoover question’s, you know, very complicated for me, and I don’t know that my thinking has evolved since last summer, but I do think the process has moved on since last summer. I appreciate Charlie saying, you know, a vigorous discussion. I’m not a big fan of the process that got us here. I made that very clear last summer, and I had a lot of complaints with that, but here is where we are, and that’s why I support the bond, because that’s what in front of us, and that’s the opportunity we actually have. Every other thing about a smaller bond or different priorities is magic thinking, it’s not there yet, it may happen or it may not, but there’s no evidence saying it absolutely will. But we have this opportunity now that really puts a lot of money and vision into these neighborhood schools, so I think it’s our best bet. I really appreciated Mayor Throgmorton’s idea about City High, because yeah, the Hoover land will be used for City High. And moving forward, should that be the case after this vigorous discussion, I like the idea of, you know, putting some plans out there and really letting the community come together. If it includes Vo-Tech and a lot more career ed, I’m a lot more on board with that than a tennis court. I mean, I really, really believe that we need – and career and vo-tech takes money and infrastructure, and that’s a big reason why I’m behind this bond.
Written question: If you are elected, will you support amending the long-term facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary School open?
I am deeply sympathetic to folks who want to keep Hoover open, and at my core am in favor of keeping neighborhood schools open, but I am not in favor of amending the FMP to keep Hoover open. I am in favor of moving forward by examining what the over all plans are for that sight, and also for having a genuine community discussion about how utilizing that land will serve City High and the overall district community best. I think Mayor Throgmorton’s proposal to look at different plans and have community input on them is a good idea, as long as that process isn't rigged to favor a pre determined outcome. I have stated before, I don’t like the process that got us here, and I want cleaner, more transparent processes moving forward, but my perspective is that we need to move ahead with the current FMP.
SHAWN EYESTONE
Forum question: There has been considerable discussion and tension in our district about the district’s commitment to smaller neighborhood schools, much of this sparked by the closure of Hoover Elementary. What is your view on this topic?
Everybody loves their school, right? They all do, and nobody up here is stumping for closing schools. You know, Hoover’s been an issue for many, many years, and it’s a very unique situation. It absolutely is. It sits on a lot, you know, where a high school has kind of limited space compared to the other ones. It’s got plenty of other elementary schools around it that are close for the kids to get to. It’s very unique. Nobody wants to close schools. The bond does put money into some of our other smaller elementary schools, to renovate them, get them a little bit bigger even, and really are putting money into it, to not have to do this again. We don’t want to have this conversation every other year about this school and that school and the other school, right? Hoover is unique, and it’s been decided four years ago, and re-confirmed again, and, you know, if the petition gets on the ballot at some point, you know, we’ll have to address it at that time, but at this point I would, I’ve got to say that, you know, because it’s a unique situation, I think the fate of Hoover has been sealed, and we need to kind of move forward from that so we can keep working on the rest of our schools.
Written question: If you are elected, will you support amending the long-term facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary School open?
The Hoover issue isn’t a priority for me at this time and I do feel that we are getting to the point of no return on the future of Hoover. I would not likely bring the issue to the Board table myself. That being said, I will always be willing to discuss the merits of all sides of any issue brought to the Board table. With the bond vote on the ballot as well as the potential to have a Hoover petition on this or another future ballot, this issue has the possibility to come before the Board again. If that does happen, it is likely due to a great interest in keeping the school open. If so, I would welcome the discussion at the table.
RUTHINA MALONE
Forum question: There has been considerable discussion and tension in our district about the district’s commitment to smaller neighborhood schools, much of this sparked by the closure of Hoover Elementary. What is your view on this topic?
I too support smaller neighborhood schools, and that’s one of the reasons why I support our bond. I mean, I think once our community has the funds we need to invest in our schools, we can hopefully move past the conversation of closing some of our schools, because that’s, in my opinion, why we’re at this great divide that we’re in right now. With the passage of the bond, we can invest in our schools, and make sure that they’re twenty-first century schools that hopefully meet our kids’ needs. I too agree with JP that maybe if we can address some of our concerns and some of the divide that we’re faced with as a community on the decision of Hoover, if we have that open communication and dialogue with our community on what that space will be utilized for City High, that we know needs to continue to grow and expand to serve all those kids that will eventually leave elementary and junior high and end up at City High. We have to make sure that we’re investing in that neighborhood school just as much as well.
Written question: If you are elected, will you support amending the long-term facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary School open?
I empathize with parents and students who are facing the loss of their closest neighborhood school and share in their concern that we as a community must work hard to provide good walkable schools for our children. Since the start of my campaign in April, I have tried to make it clear that I support the General Obligation bond as well as our Facilities Master Plan (FMP). For a variety of reasons, I am against amending the FMP, unless there are significant budgetary or enrollment changes. Therefore, I am not in favor of revisiting the closure of Hoover at this time.
JANET GODWIN
Forum question: There has been considerable discussion and tension in our district about the district’s commitment to smaller neighborhood schools, much of this sparked by the closure of Hoover Elementary. What is your view on this topic?
I support the facilities master plan because a lot of the work in that plan is to invest into our small neighborhood schools, schools like Mann – I’m sorry, I’ll try to speak up – I support the facilities master plan because much of that work is dedicated to keeping neighborhood schools open and renovating schools like Mann, Lincoln, Longfellow, etc., our neighborhood schools that are getting heavy investment so they can remain strong schools for the next fifty years. I also support neighborhood schools that include high schools, and for me City High is a walkable high school that needs additional space for it to grow. There are a lot of plans in place for the way City High can expand to use the space that Hoover now occupies. City High needs an additional cafeteria, it needs an additional gym, it needs additional classroom space, it also needs air conditioning, it needs some sports facilities, tennis courts that are actually usable. The thing is that if we are able to expand City High, we’ll be bringing back career tech education to City High. We will be bringing forward automotive, engineering, architectural work, other kinds of construction, engineering, etc. Those sorts of programmings are going to be coming back to City High, and the principal at City High, working with the administration, is already outlining those plans. So for me, keeping City High a walkable high school in our neighborhood is critical for the success and ongoing health of the east side. You need City High to have space to remain competitive and on a par with the other high schools in our district, and so the only way to do that is for it to have the space to expand.
Written question: If you are elected, will you support amending the long-term facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary School open?
I support neighborhood schools, which include neighborhood high schools. I support the facilities master plan. I support seeking community and neighborhood input on the expansion of City High and would like to see space created for career tech programming.
You can watch the full candidate forum here. The Hoover question starts at the 1:20:21 mark.
Two candidates, Laura Westemeyer and Karen Woltman, stated clear support for keeping Hoover open. A third, Charles Eastham, said he was undecided on the issue but indicated an openness to considering the question. Four others, JP Claussen, Shawn Eyestone, Ruthina Malone, and Janet Godwin, indicated either support for the closure or an unwillingness to reconsider the issue.
**********************
LAURA WESTEMEYER
Forum question: There has been considerable discussion and tension in our district about the district’s commitment to smaller neighborhood schools, much of this sparked by the closure of Hoover Elementary. What is your view on this topic?
I do not think we should be closing Hoover Elementary. It’s a twelve million, eleven million dollar resource. It’s a school that six hundred kids can walk to. You know, and we’re closing the elementary because we don’t really absolutely know what we’re going to do with the space yet, and we had an opportunity a few years ago to purchase some space – I guess it was a park that was open? – and we didn’t choose to purchase the park, which would have been a much more reasonable, would have been a better opportunity for us moving forward, and so I don’t support closing Hoover. I think that we, that’s one of the reasons why I find the bond difficult, because if we’re throwing out an eleven million dollar resource, and I just don’t think that that’s a very smart move on our part and as well we’ve had an entire community go through and get two thousand signatures and we’ve refused to allow it on the ballot, and again, here we are pushing back community comment when we keep talking about how important it is for the community to speak, and we’re again not allowing the community to have a voice. So again, I just, I feel, no, we should not be closing Hoover. We need to value our community schools, we’ve got to keep our community’s—you know, the people and the community of Hoover, they love their school and we need to let them keep their school.
Written question: If you are elected, will you support amending the long-term facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary School open?
Absolutely, 100%, I want to see this 11 million dollar resource in a thriving community stay open.
**********************
KAREN WOLTMAN
Forum question: There has been considerable discussion and tension in our district about the district’s commitment to smaller neighborhood schools, much of this sparked by the closure of Hoover Elementary. What is your view on this topic?
I don’t support closing schools in a growing district. We have a lot of capital invested in our buildings, and we just frankly need the capacity, and by closing schools, it just puts us further behind and trying to catch up. I do think that in doing the FMP process, we need to be planning ahead to make sure that all of our schools are being renovated and continue to be usable for our district into the future.
Written question: If you are elected, will you support amending the long-term facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary School open?
Yes. School buildings are large capital investments for the community and they need to be managed wisely to accommodate the current and projected needs for capacity in our district. Destroying valuable capacity in a growing district will make it that much harder to meet capacity needs throughout the district.
**********************
CHARLES EASTHAM
Forum question: There has been considerable discussion and tension in our district about the district’s commitment to smaller neighborhood schools, much of this sparked by the closure of Hoover Elementary. What is your view on this topic?
I definitely support the district maintaining, improving, and investing in smaller neighborhood schools, even some of the larger elementary schools which are basically elementary schools – schools that are new now will eventually become neighborhood schools. Neighborhood schools are important to almost every parent I’ve ever heard say anything at all about their local school. And they’re important to city government. All three governments are asking us to do more to provide neighborhood schools. In the case of Hoover, I haven’t made up my mind yet. I’m looking forward to perhaps a very vigorous discussion with newly elected board members and current board members. The expansion of City High is important. Exactly how that could be carried out, with or without the Hoover building in place, I think is something that I have to understand much more carefully – much more clearly before I’m going to be able to make a decision.
Written question: If you are elected, will you support amending the long-term facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary School open?
I believe that a brief response to your question regarding whether I would or would not support a motion to amend the Facilities Master Plan is such a way as to continue the use of Hoover Elementary as a District school is to say that I am still considering the matter.
The factors I am reviewing include:
• whether reconsideration of the previous Board decisions regarding Hoover can be done in a timely manner so that the currently planned additions, improvements, and renovations to City High can proceed as scheduled and;
• whether there has been a substantial change in circumstances or additional information has been developed since the previous decision either of which demonstrate that the proposed City High alterations can be completed in their entirety while Hoover continues as a school.
**********************
JP CLAUSSEN
Forum question: There has been considerable discussion and tension in our district about the district’s commitment to smaller neighborhood schools, much of this sparked by the closure of Hoover Elementary. What is your view on this topic?
First, I do support smaller neighborhood schools. I think that, you know, and having seen the plans, you know, for Lincoln, granted it’s over budget but that could be pared down. But I’ll tell you the intention there, that’s going to be there for fifty to a hundred years. You know, that’s not a cheap fix that’s just going to keep that school open for a few years. If they do what they say with Lincoln and with Mann and they’re already doing with Longfellow, I like that vision. I like, you know, because – smaller schools are more expensive, but that’s our community’s value, absolutely our community’s value. But we have to pay for that. It’s not the same cost, about a two-hundred-and-fifty-kid school is more expensive to run than a five-hundred-kid school, but that’s our value, and I share that value. You know I think the Hoover question’s, you know, very complicated for me, and I don’t know that my thinking has evolved since last summer, but I do think the process has moved on since last summer. I appreciate Charlie saying, you know, a vigorous discussion. I’m not a big fan of the process that got us here. I made that very clear last summer, and I had a lot of complaints with that, but here is where we are, and that’s why I support the bond, because that’s what in front of us, and that’s the opportunity we actually have. Every other thing about a smaller bond or different priorities is magic thinking, it’s not there yet, it may happen or it may not, but there’s no evidence saying it absolutely will. But we have this opportunity now that really puts a lot of money and vision into these neighborhood schools, so I think it’s our best bet. I really appreciated Mayor Throgmorton’s idea about City High, because yeah, the Hoover land will be used for City High. And moving forward, should that be the case after this vigorous discussion, I like the idea of, you know, putting some plans out there and really letting the community come together. If it includes Vo-Tech and a lot more career ed, I’m a lot more on board with that than a tennis court. I mean, I really, really believe that we need – and career and vo-tech takes money and infrastructure, and that’s a big reason why I’m behind this bond.
Written question: If you are elected, will you support amending the long-term facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary School open?
I am deeply sympathetic to folks who want to keep Hoover open, and at my core am in favor of keeping neighborhood schools open, but I am not in favor of amending the FMP to keep Hoover open. I am in favor of moving forward by examining what the over all plans are for that sight, and also for having a genuine community discussion about how utilizing that land will serve City High and the overall district community best. I think Mayor Throgmorton’s proposal to look at different plans and have community input on them is a good idea, as long as that process isn't rigged to favor a pre determined outcome. I have stated before, I don’t like the process that got us here, and I want cleaner, more transparent processes moving forward, but my perspective is that we need to move ahead with the current FMP.
**********************
SHAWN EYESTONE
Forum question: There has been considerable discussion and tension in our district about the district’s commitment to smaller neighborhood schools, much of this sparked by the closure of Hoover Elementary. What is your view on this topic?
Everybody loves their school, right? They all do, and nobody up here is stumping for closing schools. You know, Hoover’s been an issue for many, many years, and it’s a very unique situation. It absolutely is. It sits on a lot, you know, where a high school has kind of limited space compared to the other ones. It’s got plenty of other elementary schools around it that are close for the kids to get to. It’s very unique. Nobody wants to close schools. The bond does put money into some of our other smaller elementary schools, to renovate them, get them a little bit bigger even, and really are putting money into it, to not have to do this again. We don’t want to have this conversation every other year about this school and that school and the other school, right? Hoover is unique, and it’s been decided four years ago, and re-confirmed again, and, you know, if the petition gets on the ballot at some point, you know, we’ll have to address it at that time, but at this point I would, I’ve got to say that, you know, because it’s a unique situation, I think the fate of Hoover has been sealed, and we need to kind of move forward from that so we can keep working on the rest of our schools.
Written question: If you are elected, will you support amending the long-term facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary School open?
The Hoover issue isn’t a priority for me at this time and I do feel that we are getting to the point of no return on the future of Hoover. I would not likely bring the issue to the Board table myself. That being said, I will always be willing to discuss the merits of all sides of any issue brought to the Board table. With the bond vote on the ballot as well as the potential to have a Hoover petition on this or another future ballot, this issue has the possibility to come before the Board again. If that does happen, it is likely due to a great interest in keeping the school open. If so, I would welcome the discussion at the table.
**********************
RUTHINA MALONE
Forum question: There has been considerable discussion and tension in our district about the district’s commitment to smaller neighborhood schools, much of this sparked by the closure of Hoover Elementary. What is your view on this topic?
I too support smaller neighborhood schools, and that’s one of the reasons why I support our bond. I mean, I think once our community has the funds we need to invest in our schools, we can hopefully move past the conversation of closing some of our schools, because that’s, in my opinion, why we’re at this great divide that we’re in right now. With the passage of the bond, we can invest in our schools, and make sure that they’re twenty-first century schools that hopefully meet our kids’ needs. I too agree with JP that maybe if we can address some of our concerns and some of the divide that we’re faced with as a community on the decision of Hoover, if we have that open communication and dialogue with our community on what that space will be utilized for City High, that we know needs to continue to grow and expand to serve all those kids that will eventually leave elementary and junior high and end up at City High. We have to make sure that we’re investing in that neighborhood school just as much as well.
Written question: If you are elected, will you support amending the long-term facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary School open?
I empathize with parents and students who are facing the loss of their closest neighborhood school and share in their concern that we as a community must work hard to provide good walkable schools for our children. Since the start of my campaign in April, I have tried to make it clear that I support the General Obligation bond as well as our Facilities Master Plan (FMP). For a variety of reasons, I am against amending the FMP, unless there are significant budgetary or enrollment changes. Therefore, I am not in favor of revisiting the closure of Hoover at this time.
**********************
JANET GODWIN
Forum question: There has been considerable discussion and tension in our district about the district’s commitment to smaller neighborhood schools, much of this sparked by the closure of Hoover Elementary. What is your view on this topic?
I support the facilities master plan because a lot of the work in that plan is to invest into our small neighborhood schools, schools like Mann – I’m sorry, I’ll try to speak up – I support the facilities master plan because much of that work is dedicated to keeping neighborhood schools open and renovating schools like Mann, Lincoln, Longfellow, etc., our neighborhood schools that are getting heavy investment so they can remain strong schools for the next fifty years. I also support neighborhood schools that include high schools, and for me City High is a walkable high school that needs additional space for it to grow. There are a lot of plans in place for the way City High can expand to use the space that Hoover now occupies. City High needs an additional cafeteria, it needs an additional gym, it needs additional classroom space, it also needs air conditioning, it needs some sports facilities, tennis courts that are actually usable. The thing is that if we are able to expand City High, we’ll be bringing back career tech education to City High. We will be bringing forward automotive, engineering, architectural work, other kinds of construction, engineering, etc. Those sorts of programmings are going to be coming back to City High, and the principal at City High, working with the administration, is already outlining those plans. So for me, keeping City High a walkable high school in our neighborhood is critical for the success and ongoing health of the east side. You need City High to have space to remain competitive and on a par with the other high schools in our district, and so the only way to do that is for it to have the space to expand.
Written question: If you are elected, will you support amending the long-term facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary School open?
I support neighborhood schools, which include neighborhood high schools. I support the facilities master plan. I support seeking community and neighborhood input on the expansion of City High and would like to see space created for career tech programming.
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Find your polling place
If you live in the Hoover area, you can find your polling place with this map:
The four polling places serving the Hoover attendance area are:
Our Redeemer Church (across from Hoover), 2301 E. Court Street (map)
Horace Mann Elementary, 521 North Dodge Street (map)
Lemme Elementary, 3100 E. Washington Street (map)
Mercer Park Rec. Center, 2701 Bradford Drive (map)
District-wide, you can check your polling place here. You can also call the Johnson County Auditor’s Office at 356-6004.
Election Day is Tuesday, September 12. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Same-day voter registration is permitted.
Early voting has already begun. To vote early, go to the Johnson County Auditor’s Office, 913 South Dubuque Street (map) on weekdays between 7:45 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday, September 11 is the last day for in-person early voting at the Auditor’s Office. The Office will have weekend hours on Saturday, September 9, from 8 a.m. to noon, and Sunday, September 10, from noon to 5 p.m. Satellite locations for early voting are shown here.
For more information about the election, click here.
(click to enlarge)
The four polling places serving the Hoover attendance area are:
Our Redeemer Church (across from Hoover), 2301 E. Court Street (map)
Horace Mann Elementary, 521 North Dodge Street (map)
Lemme Elementary, 3100 E. Washington Street (map)
Mercer Park Rec. Center, 2701 Bradford Drive (map)
District-wide, you can check your polling place here. You can also call the Johnson County Auditor’s Office at 356-6004.
Election Day is Tuesday, September 12. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Same-day voter registration is permitted.
Early voting has already begun. To vote early, go to the Johnson County Auditor’s Office, 913 South Dubuque Street (map) on weekdays between 7:45 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday, September 11 is the last day for in-person early voting at the Auditor’s Office. The Office will have weekend hours on Saturday, September 9, from 8 a.m. to noon, and Sunday, September 10, from noon to 5 p.m. Satellite locations for early voting are shown here.
For more information about the election, click here.
Friday, May 12, 2017
Q&A about the Hoover ballot question
What is the Hoover ballot question?
We are petitioning to put a question on the ballot about whether Hoover Elementary School in Iowa City should be demolished. The school board voted in 2013 to close the school as of 2019 and to demolish the building; this decision has remained controversial ever since. We hope that submitting the issue to the voters will finally resolve the controversy one way or another.
Why does the ballot question need petition signatures?
State law provides that people can have certain questions placed on the ballot if they gather a particular number of signatures.
Do I need to be a registered voter to sign the petition?
No. Signatures will count as long as you live in the school district and are eligible to register to vote here, even if you are not currently registered as a voter.
What will the Hoover ballot question accomplish?
If the ballot question passes, voters will have directed the district to move forward with the plan to tear the Hoover building down.
If the ballot question fails to pass, voters will have made a statement that the building should not be destroyed. Legally, the district will still have the right to close the school and even to dispose of the building. Politically, though, the voters will have sent a strong message against the closure decision.
Why does the ballot question focus on the demolition, instead of the school closure?
State law permits ballot questions about the “disposition” of a school building, but not about whether a particular school is closed or kept open. The only way to get the Hoover issue on the ballot is to put it in terms of whether the building should be demolished.
Does signing the petition mean that I support closing Hoover?
No. By signing the petition, you are simply asking that the question of demolishing Hoover appear on the ballot. We hope that people will sign the petition and then vote “No” on the demolition.
How does the Hoover petition affect the district’s bond proposal?
The Hoover issue and the bond issue will be two separate ballot questions. The district does not plan to fund the Hoover demolition using the bond money. Regardless of how you vote on the bond, you can vote separately on whether you think Hoover should be demolished.
Can I sign the petition electronically?
No. Only original signatures on paper will count. However, you can print the petition out, sign it, and send it to Save Hoover, P.O. Box 1653, Iowa City, IA, 52240-1653. Petitions must be received by Save Hoover no later than June 28.
When would the vote on the Hoover question happen?
As part of the regular school board election on September 12, 2017.
How can I help?
First, sign the petition! Then talk to your friends and neighbors. To volunteer to collect petition signatures, email SaveHooverIC@gmail.com. To donate to Save Hoover, click on the link in the sidebar.
Ten reasons Hoover should stay open
It’s been almost four years since the school board voted to close Hoover School as of 2019, but the reasons to keep the school open are as strong as they have ever been. Here’s why the board should reverse the closure decision and keep Hoover open:
1. The district should support the central, walkable, densely populated core of Iowa City; there is no reason to sacrifice a school there while adding capacity in areas with fewer students. Planning for future growth is good, but the district shouldn’t abandon its existing neighborhoods and the schools that help them thrive.
2. Closing Hoover is very expensive. The district plans to tear down Hoover—which can hold over 300 students—at the same time that it is asking the voters for money to build elementary capacity elsewhere, including at east side schools. It makes no sense to ask the voters for $192 million for facilities while throwing away a roughly $10 million asset.
3. Just three years ago, the district invested almost a million dollars in improvements for Hoover, including air conditioning, new carpeting and tile, roof repair, painting, and electrical wiring. The improvements are great and much needed. It makes no sense to tear a school down right after investing that much money in it.
4. The public has repeatedly expressed strong opposition to closing schools. The district needs public support to move forward with its long-term facilities plan. District policy should be driven by the values of the community, not those of unelected administrators.
5. There is no compelling reason to close Hoover. The board and superintendent have never identified a compelling reason for the closure. Minimizing operating costs is not a good reason to close an efficiently-sized school in a densely populated area; nor is creating additional parking or green space for City High.
6. Although it has a very detailed long-term facilities plan, the district is still unable to say what the Hoover property will be used for. Neighborhood residents very reasonably fear that the property will become a parking lot for City High. The bare minimum of transparency requires that the district identify how the property will be used before closing a school.
7. Bigger isn’t necessarily better when it comes to elementary schools. The district shouldn’t move toward having fewer, bigger schools, farther from where people live.
8. Four years ago, voters approved the Revenue Purpose Statement (RPS) to give the school district authority to spend tens of millions of dollars in tax revenues. Voters were told that the RPS would enable renovation of older buildings and new construction, not that it would lead to school closures. The district should follow through on the expectations it raised in the RPS campaign.
9. The planned project at City High does not require the closure of Hoover. At City High, the district plans to add six classrooms, expand the cafeteria, and add gym and wrestling space – yet the district claims that City needs the entire five-acre Hoover property as a result. Some of the district’s own scenarios showed that Hoover could remain open even after the work at City is completed. The two schools can co-exist, as they have for years, even after the City project is finished.
10. Hoover is an economically efficient school in a mixed-income neighborhood. It has more kids within a mile than almost any other elementary school in the district. It has successfully housed two autism classrooms for years, and now a preschool classroom. It’s a model for what we should want our schools to be.
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