Polling locations will open at noon today for area school board elections, and the outcome of a heated contest for three open seats on the Carroll Community School District board will be decided by the end of the day. There are five candidates for those three open seats and each has detailed the assets they bring and their focus through various interviews and a local forum appearance. Julie Gore said she believes the purpose of the board is to do what is best for the students and to identify areas that need attention.
She said her priority is bringing focus into the classroom and giving the students and teachers better educational feedback. Candidate Jon Sampson has two sons attending school in the district, and says that is what has really brought him face-to-face with school issues. He added that a lack of experience is not necessarily a negative when it comes to serving on the school board.
He said he is not completely inexperienced as his eyes were opened to school finances while working to pass the Instructional Support Levy last year. Gina Badding also believes a fresh set of eyes can be beneficial to the board, and she, like her fellow candidates, is concerned about state funding and the issues this causes for the district.
Badding has served on several boards and committees, saying this gives her a good base of knowledge. Another candidate, Brad Jorgensen agrees that an understanding of school funding from his experience within the system as an educator and administrator is an important asset for the district. He too sees the funding issues as one of the biggest problems facing our schools.
Kim Tiefenthaler is the only candidate that has served on the board and he says that his 16 years of experience in everything from school funding to negotiations are an asset that is essential to board dynamics.
The polls will be open until 8 p.m. tonight . We will bring updates on all area elections as polls close this evening.
