Our picks for C.R. school board

In the Cedar Rapids Community School District there are three contested races for school board seats.

Five candidates, Donald Taylor, Barclay Woerner, Richard David and incumbents Cindy Garlock and Jennifer Neuman are vying for two at-large seats. In District 1, Stacie Johnson is challenging incumbent David Tominsky. In District 4, Kaitlin Byers is challenging incumbent Dexter Merschbrock.

In the at-large race, we’re sticking with Neuman and Garlock. We endorse Tominsky in District 1 and Byers in District 4. The district has found a strong leader in Dr. Tawana Grover, who still is in her first year as superintendent. Important strategic and facilities planning is underway and we believe continuity is important. The board has gone through a challenging 18-month window and want to see the stability take root.

While we've seen improvement with the board in recent months, we also want to urge all members to be as transparent as possible.

Garlock, who worked as an educator in the district for 33 years, brings an important perspective on how board actions affect teachers. She believes teachers should be at the center of developing and implementing age-appropriate curriculum. Garlock also supports the expansion of career and technical education, providing students with ahead start by earning professional certificates and college credit.

Neumann wants to focus on addressing workforce shortages in the district among educators and support staff. She also wants to expand career education offerings to help students find “passions and pathways.” She sees educators and staff as the district’s main strengths.

In District 1, Tominsky said carrying out the district’s strategic action plan is a top priority. He calls the plan a “guiding document” for future district decisions. Tominisky also trusts educators to craft curriculum, while remaining open to parents’ ideas. And Tominsky emphasizes the importance of legislative advocacy, particularly on the issue of state funding.

In District 4, our editorial board faced a tough decision. Although we appreciate Merschbrock’s willingness to share information when other members have been less inclined, too often it appears to further his own agenda or causes mistrust with the board. These intentions are not constructive in building trust, and we'd encourage voters to try something new.

Byers has a background in elementary education. Among her priorities are creating equitable learning environments for teaching “student-driven real-world learning.” Byers wants to address staff shortages and support current staff. She would convene a small group of educators and administrators to advise her on how board actions will affect them. Byers’s third priority is safe schools, where favors the use of tools, technology and strategies to mitigate risks and wants to engage with community partners.

Two at-large candidates, Woerner and David, have received endorsements from Moms for Liberty, the conservative group that lobbied the legislature to remove books from school libraries and reduce the rights of LGBTQ students. We’ve opposed that agenda, so the endorsements were a deal breaker as we considered their candidacy.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com