NewBoCo’s David Tominsky to run for Cedar Rapids school board

CEDAR RAPIDS - David Tominsky, an entrepreneur with the New Bohemian Innovation Collaborative, will seek a seat on the Cedar Rapids school board in the fall.

As chief relationship officer at NewBoCo, Tominsky has a background in human resources and staffing. His experience, according to a news release from his campaign, lends to 'critical skills needed for hiring the next superintendent.”

How to best select Brad Buck's replacement likely will be a top issue in the school board election, which is set for Nov. 5.

Buck, who spent four years as the head of the Cedar Rapids Community School District after serving as director of the Iowa Department of Education, resigned this summer for the superintendent job in the Waukee Community School District.

The Nov. 5 elections will be the first combined city and school elections in Iowa, a legislative change intended to boost turnout in the school contests and decrease costs.

Tominsky intends to run in District 1. The incumbent, Mary Meisterling, has been on the board since 2002 and most recently was re-elected in 2015 after running unopposed.

Meisterling has not announced whether she will run for another term and did not respond to several Gazette requests this week.

The filing period for school board elections begins Aug. 26, according to the Linn County Auditor's Office.

In addition to Tominsky's role at NewBoCo - a Cedar Rapids nonprofit with an education initiative focused on technology and coding literacy - he is board president of both the New Bohemia Group and the Friends of Warrior Baseball, and a board member for the Boy Scouts of America Hawkeye Area Council.

He and his wife, Ellen, have two children in Cedar Rapids schools.

'Strong public schools are a catalyst for thriving communities,” his campaign noted in the release. 'Ensuring that schools are fully funded, safety remains a top priority, and every learner has a pathway to success are issues that are important to Mr. Tominsky.”

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