School board candidates answer questions at public forum

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

Their differences were minor. They essentially agreed on most of the issues, and they all have deep ties in the community.

The public had the opportunity to question and evaluate the three candidates for the Charles City Community School District Board of Education Wednesday night at a candidates’ forum, hosted by the Charles City Chapter of the American Association of University Women and the Charles City Area Chamber of Commerce.

“I’m not afraid of work, I’m not afraid of a challenge, but I don’t like to waste time,” said Janiece Bergland, a retired music teacher who worked in the Charles City School District for many years. “I like to get on with things and get it done.”

The three candidates — two retired educators and the current school board president — will contend to fill two seats on the board on Election Day, Nov. 5.

“I’ve lived in Charles City for over 40 years, and throughout that entire time, I have worked to make the lives of our youngest citizens better,” said candidate Patricia Rottinghaus, a retired school counselor. “I’m running for the school board because I’m passionate about education and care deeply for the students of Charles City.”

Yolanda Van Ausdall moderated the event, and each candidate had one minute to answer questions submitted by the 50-60 audience members. The candidates each had 90 seconds at the end of the forum for closing remarks.

“I believe our students deserve every opportunity we can give them, being fiscally responsible,” said incumbent Robin Macomber, who has served on the board for six years and is currently school board president. “I have knowledge of where we have been, I am mindful of the present, and have a parallel vision to our district for the future.”

More than 25 questions were asked of the candidates. They took turns answering, and it was rare to have any disagreement between them.

All three favored expansion when it came to offering skilled labor classes in the curriculum. All three also favored expansion in academic competitive activities, such as a debate team or robotics team, and talked about how students succeed better when they participate in extracurricular activities.

Bergland, however, went beyond that with her answer.

“Those kinds of extra school activities are really important. However if you expect a leader to invest a lot of time and energy and expertise, they really need to be compensated for it,” she said. “Otherwise, why would they do it year after year?”

Bergland also noted that those types of activities need parental support.

One question was in regards Charles City High School’s now inactive swimming program, and whether the candidates would support resurrecting it.

“I was just at the swimming pool area and I think it would be very difficult to have a team in there,” Bergland said. “It’s empty, it’s leaking. I think it would be great to have a swim team again, if it could be done, and we could afford it.”

Macomber talked about the $500,000 budget cuts the district had to make during the 2016-17 fiscal year.

“It was a very difficult time,” she said. “There was, at that time, six girls swimming, and no male swim team left. We had to do what was in the best interests of all our students.”

She said that the Charles City swimmers now swim at Mason City, and that might be for the better.

“It’s my understanding that their opportunities are better than here, because they are more challenged and it is a bigger team,” she said.

Rottinghaus said that resurrecting the pool would be an enormous, expensive undertaking.

“We do have students who go to Mason City to swim, and they seem to be fine with it at the moment,” she said. “I would like to have every opportunity we can for kids in the district, but some of them are too cost prohibitive at this time.”

Fiscal responsibility was a key issue for those in attendance, as several questions revolved around how well the candidates would handle taxpayer money.

“As a member of the school board, one of your main responsibilities is to be a fiduciary,” Rottinghaus said. “That means watching over the taxpayers’ dollar. It means you can’t always have everything you want, and that’s sad but true. I would be responsible in that area, without shorting the kids as much as possible.”

Macomber agreed, and talked about her experience on the board with money issues.

“Being on the school board for six years, it probably took me four years to completely understand school finances,” she said. “It is the most complicated maze of funding categories I have ever seen. We have one of the best business managers in the state (Terri O’Brien.) Every year that I’ve been on the board, we’ve passed our audits with flying colors.”

Bergland said she agreed entirely.

“I’m willing to learn,” she said. “There’s a lot I don’t know, and I haven’t had the experience Robin has had, in knowing what goes on.”

When asked what they thought were the biggest issues the board would be facing in the next three years, Rottinghaus and Macomber both said maintaining enrollment and rebuilding/remodeling the high school, while Bergland said maintaining enrollment and maintaining a positive climate with staff.

All three thought the working and learning climate in the school district was good.

“The key to that is good leadership. In order to have a successful education you need excellent teachers, and those teachers need support from their administrators,” Bergland said.

“One of the biggest responsibilities a school board has is hiring a superintendent,” said Macomber. “Culture and climate was our No. 1 priority as a board when we hired a superintendent (Mike Fisher). I feel we hired the right candidate.”

Rottinghaus, who substitute teaches in the district, said, “I know the climate has improved greatly in the last couple of years. I think you maintain that through open, honest, transparent communication. It’s really hard to work in an environment where people aren’t appreciated.”

It was clear that Rottinghaus was appreciated by the other two candidates for her work as a school counselor, when a question was asked regarding the importance of school counselor certification and training.

“This is why I’m so excited that Pat Rottinghaus is running for the school board,” Macomber said. “Right here is a woman with immense knowledge in that area, who will bring great things on our board.”

Bergland didn’t answer the question, instead conceding her time to Rottinghaus, citing her expertise.

“You have to have counselors who are highly experienced and highly educated,” Rottinghaus said. “To be a school counselor, you are not only counseling students, but you are there to help teachers understand how to work and be successful with different students.”

With her extra time, Rottinghaus talked about the importance of properly dealing with mental health issues.

“Anxiety and depression are the No. 1 things affecting teenagers these days,” Rottinghaus said. “It’s imperative to also have mental health counseling in the schools, right in the building, so they can get the help they need and still get right back into the classroom.”

The other two candidates nodded in agreement as Rottinghaus continued.

“Counselors are extremely important, not only for academic guidance and career information, but for that social and emotional component that our kids need these days,” Rottinghaus said.

In her closing remarks, Bergland said she was persuaded to run for the school board by several community members, and she decided to run as a way to give back to the community.

“This community has been so good to us, and to our kids,” she said. “From the very beginning, when I started teaching school here, I felt like this was just a great community that really cared about the arts, and that’s what I care about. It might be manual arts, it might be sports arts, or science arts — but that really matters to me.”

Rottinghaus said she had no other agenda other than to “ensure that all students are provided with the best educational opportunities to learn and grow academically, personally, and be well-prepared for the world beyond graduation.”

“I believe this is best done through having a great superintendent and administrative team, who maintain an excellent staff who are appreciated and compensated for the great work they do educating our students,” she said, and added that she is uniquely aware of the challenges staff and students face on a daily basis.

Macomber said she wanted to complete her vision for the future of the school district.

“I’m seeking re-election to continue our journey of growth, to insure our schools are the best place for our children to learn and thrive, and for our staff to teach and pursue their passion for education,” she said. “I’m a product of the Iowa public education system, and I believe that every student should graduate with an education that allows them to transition smoothly into adulthood, the job market or into college.”