Grinnell

Newburg Board of Education: The local school board in Iowa functions as an

oversight board for the district, its main duties being hiring a super intendant, approving an
annual budget, and approving certain spending that goes over certain amounts. Their more
informal roles include receiving and relaying feedback from the community to the school
district, being active promoters of the public school system, and connecting constituents
with needed resources. Please find responses from all candidates running for the school
board, whether opposed or not and snippets of a sample ballot. In the G-N School District
every voter votes in each election regardless of district, those candidates must reside in that
district. The election will occur on Tuesday, September 12th and voting will happen in the
Elks Lodge Grinnell, 720 3rd Ave, Grinnell. Email [democrat] for more information or a
ride.

Meg Bair Jones

In 2015, I ran for the Grinnell-Newburg School Board for the District 3 seat. I was pleased
to be elected (uncontested) and had the pleasure of serving our schools until June of
2017. My family and I moved, within Grinnell, but out of District 3 so I could no longer
serve. Now, in 2017 I am running for the one of 4 year at large positions (for which
geography doesn't matter). Many have heard me say, that I believe, one of the most
important things a school board can do, is hire the best person to sit in the Superintendent
seat and we did that in 2016 with the hiring of Dr. Janet Stutz. The contributions that she
and her leadership team made, in her first year in the district, are impressive and are
instrumental in supporting teachers and staff so they can provide the best possible
education for the students in our school system. In addition to a wonderful Superintendent
and solid principals, we have excellent teachers and staff in our classrooms. They
consistently go above and beyond and those who attend school board meetings, get to
witness first hand, the recognition and celebration of their work and that of many students.


I am running again this year because I want to be part of the discussions and decisions
about the future of elementary education in our district, particularly K-4. Our physical
structures need attention and as a district we need to ask the question, how many resources
should we deploy to those efforts and where is the line between maintaining and
enhancing? Students today, learn much differently than those who came before them. The
lecture and memorization era has disappeared and we need to provide physical learning
environments for our students so that they can learn through collaboration, critical
thinking, exploration and the path that is best individualized for them. A single K-4 building
consolidates many functions currently being performed for each of the 3 elementary
schools (Bailey Park, Fairview and Davis), such as meal preparation, busing, grounds
maintenance and copying services, to name a few. A single building gives our students the
advantage of new learning spaces and brings teachers and staff together so they can interact
daily with one another.

I am asking for your support on Tuesday September 12th and if you have questions or want
to connect personally, please email jonesbair@gmail.com.

Barbara Brown
I have worked in the Psychology Department for the last 27 years and served on the school
board for the last 8 years. Ive always been a firm believer in public education and early
childhood education. I spent several years on the board of Grinnell Community Day Care,
our local non-profit child care center and preschool. As my own children got older, I paid
more attention to what was happening in their schools and decided to run for school
board. I am seeking another term on the school board because our district is in a really
good place right now, with strong district leadership, great teachers and staff, and a unity of
purpose. All of this contributes to good district functioning, and I want to help build on that
and move us forward in delivering an exceptional education experience to all of the children
in our schools.

Andy Steward
Hi, my name is Andy Steward and I am running for an at large, 4-year year seat on the
Grinnell-Newburg school board. I have been married to my lovely wife Danell for nearly 19
years and we have four beautiful children that attend the public schools in the Grinnell-
Newburg district. We also both graduated from Grinnell Community Senior High School,
class of 1997.

I am running for school board because I have four children going through the public-school
system and I want to see them receive the best education possible. Too many "real-world"
classes have been cut from the program and I would like to see them brought back. In my
opinion, our children are going to college and then on to their first job without those
necessary skills. To me being an effective board member requires collaboration and creative
thinking to ensure our resources are invested in our classrooms and that our tax dollars are
used effectively and efficiently. One of the most important skill sets I possess is my ability to
listen, which helps me to consider all information presented and then develop an action
plan.

In closing, if anyone would like to personally ask me questions about my candidacy, you can
contact me by email at steward.andy1023@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you
and serving the community on the school.

Dennis Phelps
I am writing this to you to inform you of my interest and qualifications as a candidate for a
seat on the Grinnell-Newburg School District Board of Education. I have been involved in
public education for over 40 years as a teacher, coach, activities director, principal. The
past decade, I have been a school district superintendent for several schools. As a principal
and especially as a superintendent, I have been directly involved as a working member of a
school board. Through this experience, I have gained a true understanding of the role of an
individual school board member and as a collective body. I have worked directly with
board members and board teams in maintaining the financial health of a school district,
developing and implementing policy, communicating with all stakeholders and providing a
positive and professional culture/climate. My wife, Jan, and I decided two years ago to
move back to Grinnell. It was where we spent the first 12 years as a professional educator
along with starting our family. We are blessed with three sons who are all married with
three grandchildren and another one on the way. Education has been a very important part
of our lives. All of our sons and their wives have advanced degrees. Two of our
grandchildren are attending elementary school in the Grinnell-Newburg School District. I
do not have a specific agenda or issue that would cause me to become a school board
member. I have served students, families and staff for many years and when approached to
be a candidate, I immediately agreed. I hope to continue to serve and feel my long time
service would be a positive asset as a member of the Grinnell-Newburg School District
Board of Education.


Laurel Tuggle
I grew up in Ames and moved to Grinnell in 2009 to attend college. I majored in History and
also completed the education program. I did my student teaching 9th semester in the fall of
2013 and taught 9th and 10th grade U.S. History with Dan Covino, who is a '10 grad and
current staff member at the CLS. Shortly after finishing student teaching I worked as a legal
receptionist at a downtown law firm and as an after school art teacher for the Grinnell Area
Arts Council. Each of these postgrad occupations helped me to understand the Grinnell
community outside of the college bubble. In 2014 I moved to Iowa City and worked as a
substitute teacher for a variety of subject areas from elementary to high school. After a year
I entered the University of Iowa Masters of Public Health program, focusing on Community
and Behavioral Health. Public health is more closely connected to education than many
realize and I feel grateful I was able to do my capstone project on mental health at the
Grinnell Middle School. I spent the semester surveying students, interviewing staff, parents,
and mental health providers, and researching school mental health resources in order to
make a mental health toolkit tailored to GMS. If elected to the school board, I intend to
prioritize student mental health, improving resources for teachers, and seeking out
community input in order to make the best decisions for Grinnell schools.



Helen Redmond
Local politics is so critical to the quality of life in the communities in which we live. Having a
well functioning and robust school system is critical to the continued vitality of our town.
Everyone benefits from that, including the Grinnell College students who may only be here
for a short four years. A strong K-12 school district enables Grinnell College to recruit the
best young faculty, who want to raise their own children here, confident they will receive a
good education. This in turn, ensures that the students choosing Grinnell College will get the
best education possible.

I am running unopposed for reelection to the board. I am finishing up the final two years of
a term I filled when the board member representing District 2 moved away. The year before
I was ran and was elected, I attended school board meetings in order to get involved, and
better understand the functioning of the district. My first year on the school board, I had an
opportunity to participate in a nationwide search for a new superintendent for the Grinnell-
Newburg school district. We were fortunate to hire Janet Stutz. This year, working with Dr.
Stutz to look critically at how we were doing business, weve been able to reduce our budget
deficit by about $500,000, yet increase our programming. Last year, for the first time, we
offered AP Computer Science Principles at our High School. This year, for the first time that I
can remember, we are offering Spanish in our Middle School. Weve also been able to
increase the amount of PE instruction our elementary school kids receive each week.
Communication and transparency continues to improve, and we are reaching out to, and
partnering with, more community organizations and businesses. We are working hard to
provide a relevant education to all of our students, in our changing and increasingly
technological world.

We have ongoing financial hurdles to tackle. We need to look critically at each of our
facilities to determine how to move forward, to provide the best teaching and learning
environments for our teachers and students. We need to be sure we are providing an
equitable education for all of our students, regardless of their individual backgrounds. I
want to support our teachers in whatever ways I can, making sure they have the resources
they need to do the best job they can. I am committed to working with the community in an
open and transparent way, and partnering with stakeholders in whatever ways we can to
advance the goals of our district.



Stephen Sieck
I am originally from Center Point Iowa, went to Loras College (01) majoring in
chemistry. Completed a Ph D in 2006 from the University of Kansas. Started working at
Grinnell College in the Fall of 2006 in the chemistry department. Lives in Grinnell with my
wife Mindy and three kids, Kayla (13), Jeffrey (11), and Katelyn (7).

I have served for 4 Years and Grinnell Community Day Care and Preschool (including 2
years as President). Currently, on the Grinnell Youth Baseball and Softball Association
(Little League) (President), Mid Iowa Football Club (President), and the Governors South
Central STEM advisory board.

I have served on the school board for the last year after being appointed due to a vacancy. I
want to continue serving after the progress the district has made in the last 12 months. As
a district we need to assess our facilities, decide what kinds of facilities are needed as
technology changes, and to continue to keep high quality staff who are engaged and
passionate about teaching by providing them with the resources the need to serve each
individual student effectively. Besides facilities, the district needs to continue finding ways
to balance its budget and facilitate more community involvement within the school.


Emily Guenther
Hi, college dems! I'm a Grinnell alum (class of '07), and have been director of the college's
Liberal Arts in Prison Program for the last 9 years, which I helped found as a student. I am
finishing a master's degree in Schools, Culture, and Society at the University of Iowa this fall.
I'm running for school board because I'm a strong supporter of public education. My father
was a middle school science teacher in Portage, Wisconsin, where I grew up and went to
school, and was active in leadership in the state teacher's union. I grew up hearing about the
issues that teachers face and the resources they need. I think that public education needs to
be continually supported and maintained by its community. I am seeking to support the
public schools generally, rather than focusing on a particular issue or agenda. I love Grinnell
and think civic engagement is important, and I hope to serve Grinnell by bringing my
dedication to education to the school board.