Iowa City school facilities committee member running for school board

Gregg Hennigan

Jul. 8, 2013 12:21 pm

IOWA CITY – A parent who is a member of the Iowa City school district's facilities steering committee is running for school board.

Sara Barron, who also is community relations director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Johnson County, is seeking one of the three seats available in the Sept. 10 election.

Barron, 36, of 1903 Grantwood St. in Iowa City, is a member of a district committee that recently sent two recommendations to the school board for a long-term facilities plan. Both call for three new elementary schools and a new high school but differ on the closure of some elementary schools. The committee's votes were anonymous, but Barron said in a news release that she voted against closing schools.

She said her priorities as a board member would be to engage the community in more accessible ways, to promote the health and well-being of students and staff, to ensure equity in resources throughout the district and to boost achievement for low-income students and students of color.

Barron said her job has let her get to know families and community members from across the school district.

"I believe that the district has the opportunity and the obligation to make a big difference in children's lives, and I want to be a part of that,” she wrote.

Barron's wife, Melissa, is a special education teacher for the school district. Their two children attend Grant Wood Elementary School.

School board incumbent

Karla Cook and challengers