Swesey Selected as New Iowa City School Board President

Out with the old, in with the mostly new.

The Iowa City School Board is going to look a lot different than it has in previous years. Four brand new members took their seats on the board Tuesday night along with incumbent Patti Fields, and one of these new members, Marla Swesey, was unanimously selected by the board to serve as new board president.

Swesey takes over the position of president from Fields, who was elected vice president on Tuesday. Fields narrowly defeated her close challenger, Phil Hemingway, on election night.

Fittingly, the election for Fields to win the vice president spot was also close. She won the spot in a 4 to 3 vote over challenger and new board member Jeff McGinness.

The other board members who were sworn in were Sally Hoelscher and Karla Cook, who will serve a two-year term. Cook was elected unanimously to be the board's representative to the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB). Fields had to vacate her position as IASB representative because she is currently serving on the IASB board of directors.

Before the new members could take their seats, the previous board members had to leave their positions. Prior to taking their curtain call, the board members listed the years they had served on the board:

• Michael Shaw, three years.
• Ton Cilek, nine years
• Gayle Klouda, seven years
• Jan Leff, nine years

"I just want to thank the staff for being so collaborative and fun to work with," Cilek said before departing. "I just really appreciated the opportunity to serve."

Klouda seconded that emotion.

"It's been a real honor, and it's been a delight for me to know all the people on staff," Klouda said.

Member of Roosevelt Community Asks for More Time

During the public comment session, Lori Enloe, a member of the Roosevelt community and former president of the Roosevelt Elementary Parent Teacher Organization, asked the board for more time before the district sells the soon to be closed Roosevelt Elementary School building to a buyer outside the district.

Superintendent Steve Murley told the Roosevelt community last week that the district intends to sell the building as it currently has no use for it, possibily completing the deal as soon as next summer.

Enloe asked Murley if it would be possible to delay the sale and use the buillding for something else, such as storage, in the mean time, so the community could have more time to find the right fit.

"We want to find the right buyer for the neighborhood," Enloe said.