Angie Blint uses PTA experience in new school board role

Angie Blint was elected in November 2019 to the Mt. Pleasant Community School District's board of directors. The Union sent her a list of questions to answer so that the community could get to know her better. The questions appear in bold.

Can you tell us about your background, such as where you grew up, where you went to school, and how long you've lived in Mt. Pleasant?

I was born and raised in Mt. Pleasant, graduated from Mt. Pleasant Community High School and Iowa State University with a degree in Industrial Engineering. I have lived in Iowa almost by entire life - except for a year I lived in Virginia after college. I have worked for HNI Corporation for 20 years and am currently the Material Managers at Hearth & Home Technologies in Mt. Pleasant.

Can you tell us about your family, such as your parents, siblings, spouse and/or children?

My parents are also both from Mt. Pleasant, my husband, Anthony, is from rural Mt. Pleasant, he also graduated from Mt. Pleasant Community High School, he works for the Iowa Department of Transportation and is also the Head Wrestling Coach at MPCHS. We have two children, Abby and Aiden, who both attend school in Mt. Pleasant, one in elementary school and one in high school.

What sort of activities are you involved in?

I have been active in the Mt. Pleasant Community PTA for last eight years, serving as president for four years. I volunteer with the Mt. Pleasant Middle School marching band and currently serve as the yearbook editor for the middle school also. I was previously a member of the Mt. Pleasant Softball Association and have helped coach rec sports. I stay as active in community events as I have time for.

What motivated you to run for office?

I have been actively involved with school related activities since my children started school and since serving as PTA President, I started attending school board meetings to keep up on school related business so we (PTA) could best understand how to help the district.

The director district that I live in had an opening in July and Superintendent John Henriksen and I talked about the possibility of me filling that role until November - so I took that opportunity to get a feel for the duties and responsibilities of becoming a school board member and from the interaction with the current school board I thought I would be able to provide the time and input to help continue to move the district forward.

I respect the job that our educators and administrators do on a daily basis and think that participating on the school board is a way to give back to them.

What have you done to prepare yourself for this role?

Since I filled the vacancy in July - I continue to learn new things each month - by participating in committee meetings and attending training sessions. Mr. Henriksen, Superintendent, Mr. Chabal, School Board Secretary and the rest of the school board members are always willing to answer questions and share insight. Since I have been attending meetings for several years and participating in other committees such as the School Improvement Advisory Committee (SIAC) - I am familiar with some of the happenings. School Finance is new to me and understanding all the rules that go along with it will take time.

What do you hope to accomplish during your term on the school board?

I hope that I can help to continue to make the Mt. Pleasant Community School District grow and become a better district. The faster we can make positive growth - the better prepared our students will be once they graduate and leave our district and if we make their education experience a positive one - the better our chance of them returning to our community to help keep it active and growing also.