Iowa City school board: Experience and a new perspective

Thank you for the opportunity to introduce myself … my name is Todd Fanning and I am the Chief Financial Officer at the University of Iowa Community Credit Union. I have been working here and living in North Liberty for the past three years. Previously, I held a similar position at a community bank in North Central Illinois for 22 years. I have been married for 31 years and have four children. While living in Illinois, I served for 14 years on school boards: eight at the high school level and six at the elementary level. This has led me to run for a position on the Iowa City school board.

I believe this election poses a tremendous opportunity for Iowa City area residents. With five new board members to be seated, I am the only candidate who possesses previous experience in dealing with school board issues (funding, budget cuts, monitoring student achievement, administrative relationships, forming a cohesive board team). With so much at stake in terms of the master facilities plan and funding, it is critical to have a board member who has been though many of these challenges albeit in a different district. It also will be critical for the new board to spend time together formulating a team approach to handle the work in the coming two years.

Additionally, I have over 30 years of financial experience in the banking/credit union industry with 14 years being spent on finance work at the school board level. In the wake of declining state aid, this is the area on which I can have the most impact. Any budget cuts need to be made as far away from the students as possible.

Finally, I support the Master Facilities plan and the efforts to pass the general obligation bond in 2017. While I understand the sentiments toward the current Hoover facility, I believe it is imperative to build the new Hoover School. This school will be located not too far from the current Hoover, and will allow the district to proceed with renovations at three neighborhood schools in the area that desperately need attention. This also allows improvements to be made at City High so that the campus facilities at all three comprehensive high schools can be better aligned.

A vote for me will be a vote for experience and new perspective. Thanks for the chance to help!

' More information: votefanning.com

thegazette.com/schoolboard2015