Liska, Rees, Almelien win seats on Washington school board

Washington County’s school board elections varied widely. Even within the same district, some voters found themselves choosing between competitive candidates while others saw only one name on the ballot.

This year marks the first non-general election since the onset of COVID-19. While the virus has uprooted the status quo in countless ways, the resulting debates in school district policy like mask mandates, remote learning and student health were among the most visible points of contention, a factor some school officials said spiked public attention to their policies.

Now the dust has settled, the ballots are in, and voters have picked their next round of school board representatives.

Washington

In Washington, at-large Candidate Mike Liska took the win in a 626-242 vote, after a campaign promise to focus on student test scores and teacher retention.

“The first thing I want the voters to know is thank you to them, without them this wouldn’t have been possible,” Liska said. “ I’m going to work my hardest … to make sure that we can make this a great school district, and I’m excited to make the journey with the rest of the board.”

In Washington’s fifth district, after a 614-218 vote, the winner was Mindi Rees, a candidate with years of school volunteer experience who ran on a message of maintaining the district’s current trajectory.

“I am ready to jump in and get to work on the board,” Rees said. “I’m just very excited.”

In District 2, Jim Almelien won re-election in an unopposed race.

Mid-Prairie

After a competitive nine-person race, voters favored three candidates in the Mid-Prairie school board race. Two of those winners were newcomers to the board: Jed Seward (466 votes,) and Jake Snider (292 votes.)

“I appreciate the support,” Seward said. “I hope I make people proud in how I participate on the school board and make decisions based on what’s best for the kids.”

Snider had a similar sentiment.

“I just appreciate the support from people making time in their busy day and getting out to vote,” he said.

The only successful incumbent was Gabrielle Frederick, who received 333 votes.

“I’m extremely thankful for the support, I feel honored,” Frederick said. “I love living in a community where we care about each other and we want what’s best for the kids. I look forward to continuing to serve the community by being on the board, like I said before I’ll continue to listen to all the stakeholders and have meaningful discussions.”

Fourth place Candidate Abbie Yoder narrowly missed the win, coming in at 291 votes, one less than she needed to tie with Snider’s 292.

“I trust the process, I’m OK with it,” Yoder said.

The hotly contested race drew an impressive turnout of 2,411, well above that of the last non-general election in 2017, which brought in a grand total of 168 voters, just 3.12% of the eligible population.

Highland

In the Highland School district, incumbents Rachel Longbine and Megan Allen, as well as newcomer Monica Jepson all won in unopposed races.

Two more school board seats were listed without a name on the ballot in the county’s September candidate list, but results for that election were not released Tuesday night.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com