Metro High School Cedar Rapids. Google Maps screenshot
Though the largest school bond in state history failed, three out of four sitting Cedar Rapids school board members kept their seats, with only the District 4 seat changing hands.
Seven board members serve staggered four-year terms. Four of those (two at-large as well as the District 1 and District 4 seats) were open this year, and all four incumbents in those seats ran for re-election.
Nearly 24% of registered voters turned out in Linn County.
Largest school bond vote in history
The $220 million bond referendum—the largest in state history—definitely brought people to the polls Tuesday.
No votes were the largest side, at 13,057 (61%), with 8,213 voting yes (38.4%).
The money would have gone toward building a new middle school, renovating Franklin Middle School, and more; read the details here.
District 4
In the District 4 race, Kaitlin Byers was the lone challenger to win, with 9,272 votes (43.3%) to incumbent Dexter Merschbrock’s 8,090 votes (37.8%).
Merschbrock was endorsed by the local teachers’ union as well as by LGBTQ advocacy group One Iowa.
At-large race
In the at-large race, both incumbents cruised to easy wins.
Current vice president of the board Cindy Garlock took the top vote, with 10,229 votes (23.9%), while incumbent board member Jen Neumann was right behind, with 9,553 votes, or 22.3%.
Both were endorsed by the local teachers’ union.
Richard A. David garnered 4,862 votes (11.4%), Barclay Woerner got 4,834 (11.3%), and Donald R. Taylor received 4,087 votes (9.5%).
David and Woerner were endorsed by Moms for Liberty.
David has used his campaign Facebook page to show support for SF 496 and book bans. He also used his page to falsely accuse the Cedar Rapids School District of collaborating with Planned Parenthood to secretly provide kids with hormone replacement therapy.
Woerner’s wife, Janice, is a Linn County Moms for Liberty member, and Woerner also accused the school district of secretly helping provide kids with hormone replacement therapy. Woerner supports book bans because he believes the “innocence of our children is no longer being protected as 30+ inappropriate books have been found in the libraries.”
District 1
In the District 1 race, incumbent David Tominsky won with 9,220 votes (43.1%) to Stacie Rae Johnson’s 8,079 votes (37.7%).
Tominsky was endorsed by the local teachers’ union.
Support Our Cause
Thank you for taking the time to read our work. Before you go, we hope you'll consider supporting our values-driven journalism, which has always strived to make clear what's really at stake for Iowans and our future.
Since day one, our goal here at Iowa Starting Line has always been to empower people across the state with fact-based news and information. We believe that when people are armed with knowledge about what's happening in their local, state, and federal governments—including who is working on their behalf and who is actively trying to block efforts aimed at improving the daily lives of Iowan families—they will be inspired to become civically engaged.
Trump nominates former WWE head, private school voucher advocate for Education secretary
McMahon is relatively unknown in education circles, although she has expressed support for charter schools and private school vouchers. The...
‘A stunning public rebuke’: When voters had the choice, they rejected private school vouchers
On Election Day, voters in Colorado, Kentucky, and Nebraska squarely rejected private school choice ballot measures, demonstrating how much voters...
Iowa competes with Florida for most book bans
Rightwing activists are going after books across the country. And in Iowa, the number of bans is near the top of the country. An analysis of book...
What problem is Iowa’s new school attendance policy addressing?
A new school attendance policy in Iowa is causing some confusion, and doesn't seem to address the cause of the problem it wants to solve. What do...
Guest post: New book ‘Education Wars’ adds to anti-voucher argument
A new book, "The Education Wars," show how private school vouchers further this country's divisions. This is a wonderful time of year in Iowa. We’re...
11 charter schools get grants from COVID relief fund
Gov. Kim Reynolds named the 11 charter schools that will receive nearly $4 million in federal dollars allowed for supporting students impacted by...
