At-large candidate: Jeff Alden

I find it interesting that I am the only Coralville or North Liberty candidate in the Iowa City school board race. Have the previous redistricting battles made this constituency weary?

I am an Iowan by choice. My 14 years as an army physician with time in Korea, Kosovo and Iraq have taught me to value peace and appreciate Midwestern values that seemed antithetical to war zones. It was with some disbelief that I first witnessed the anger, distrust, and frustration at the meetings to guide our children's education.

I have four children attending the district schools and all attended preschool. I believe that preschool for 4-year-olds is necessary to prepare them for the expectations of elementary school. While expanding the state program so that all children can attend free is not an expense that we can afford now, funding for families who cannot otherwise afford preschool is an investment in the future.

As a military officer, I know both the value of comprehensive coordinated plans and the importance of staying skeptical of the same. If the state's blueprint for education reform empowers local schools to solve local problems for their students, great. But if it provides a one-size-fits-all solution, it is likely to be a costly failure.

Rather than the state implementing a comprehensive plan for running schools, they should be focusing on a more effective distribution of state funds. The 0 percent allowable growth enacted this year punishes growing districts like ours. We all need to keep our focus on the objective: the best education possible for students.

In a war zone, I have seen first hand what happens when strong beliefs turn to rancor and priorities shift from betterment for your children to the elevation of your tribe (whether that's Sunnis vs. Shiites or West side vs. East side.)

While training at the Mayo Clinic, the primary value of “the needs of the patient come first” was instilled into me. I would like to make the Iowa City school district's primary value: “The needs of the student come first.”

With that in mind, here are my beliefs: