Former teacher Margo Von Strohuber joins Fairfield school board

Margo Von Strohuber received 295 votes during her write-in campaign for the Fairfield Community School District Board of Directors in 2019. Those votes were enough to give her one of the four at-large seats up for the grabs. The other three winners were incumbent Chrisi Welsh, newcomer Tim Bower and newcomer John McKerley, who also launched a write-in campaign.

The Union sent Von Strohuber a list of questions to give her an opportunity to introduce herself to the community. The questions will 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 Fairfield?

I spent the first 25 years of my life on the east coast, New Jersey and Connecticut, and the subsequent 25 years in Southern California. The past 26 years I've lived in Fairfield.

Can you tell us about your family?

I live with my partner, Judy Stevens, in a 100-year-old brick house we have been working on for the past four years. I have two daughters and a grandson, also residents of Fairfield.

What sort of activities are you involved in?

After the birth of my daughters, I became involved in preschools and took a number of courses in Early Childhood Education at Grossmont College in La Mesa, as well as completing Montessori training at the University of California – San Diego. When my kids were 2 and 4 years old, I opened my own Montessori school, Discovery School.

After 5 years, I sold the school and went back to college to complete a bachelor of arts in English at U.C. Irvine, and obtained a teaching certificate. I taught high school English in Santa Ana, California, for 16 years. In 1992, I moved to Fairfield, went back to school to get a teaching credential in special education, and eventually took a teaching job at Fairfield High School. I retired from the district in 2016, was rehired for a year in 2017 and retired once again in 2018.

Personally, spending time with my family, reading, writing, and traveling rank high on a list of things I love to do. I have visited 102 countries so far!

What motivated you to run for office?

I have been involved in Democratic politics for a number of years and that is one of the reasons I decided to run for the school board. There were four positions open and only two people on the ballot.

A week before the election, I threw my hat in the ring and agreed to be a write-in candidate.

Since learning of your election in November, how have you been preparing for your new role?

Since my election, I've been overwhelmed by the amount of information involved in becoming a knowledgeable school board member. I have attended an Iowa Association of School Boards conference in Des Moines, and will attend another workshop in January. I've attended several board meetings and work sessions in the past few weeks and read reams of policy.

I do realize that being a good board member requires much more than showing up at a public meeting once a month! I also think my experience teaching-preschool to high school-will be helpful in understanding challenges the district faces in the future, and forming policy to deal with these issues.