Des Moines voters overwhelmingly passed a measure Tuesday that supporters say brings increased accountability to school board members by changing the way they are elected, according to the unofficial results of Tuesday’s election.
The measure does away with electing seven at-large board members and replaces it with a ward-like system that divides the district into four director districts. The remaining three seats would be at-large.
Of those who cast ballots, 3,865 – or 66 percent – voted in favor of the new system, while 1,941 were opposed. The measure needed a simple majority to pass.
“It says to me that the citizens are fed up and they are ready for a change,” said Marty Mauk, co-chair of the Committee for a Representative School Board, the group that pushed to put the measure on the ballot. “It gives us hope that the citizens will get back and involved in the process now — that they feel they will have a voice. That’s what excites us the most.”
Board members will now have 40 days to map out the four director districts and approve them. District officials will work with the Polk County auditor and the Iowa secretary of state to draw up at least one proposal, said Phil Roeder, spokesman for the district.
The board will divide the seven seats over the next two election cycles. All board members will complete their full terms. Prior to their seats expiring, board members will decide which seats will represent the director districts and which will remain at-large positions, Roeder said.
Supporters of the measure touted it as a way to boost dismal voter turnout in school board elections by giving residents more of a vested interest in races. At least four board members will represent the needs of their area of the city, giving residents more of a voice, they said.
Also, it will open the door for more people to run for the board because they won’t have to spend as much money to campaign.
Opponents, including some current board members, had voiced concerns about the board becoming more divisive under the ward system. They said board members will compete for district dollars and work out back door deals, instead of doing what’s best for all students.
In addition, they worried the board would lack diversity and not enough people would run for the director district seats representing the city’s east side.
Currently, a majority of voters come from the west side of the city. The current board has representatives from all four of the City Council wards, which Mauk said his group wants to align with the director districts.
“I don’t think it was any surprise,” said board president Connie Boesen, who opposed the measure. “They had an organized effort to pass it. We will see how it works. You look at the turnout and it’s lower than it was in 2009. The bigger question is not how we elect school board members but whether we should elect school boards at all.”
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