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Creston Community School District’s Board of Education election is set for Tuesday, Sept. 12.
The terms of current board members Sharon Snodgrass, Galen Zumbach and Tom Eagan are all set to expire.
Snodgrass and Zumbach both filed paperwork to run for another term.
“Tom Eagan has decided not to rerun. He did not take out papers,” said CCSD Business Manager Billie Jo Greene. “So, we have one position that will be what we call a write-in for that position.”
School board members serve four-year terms.
Absentee ballots became available Wednesday, Aug. 23 and must be postmarked on or before Monday, Sept. 11 to be counted. Over-the-counter absentee voting can be done until Friday, Sept. 8.
Below are candidate profiles for Snodgrass and Zumbach, both of whom are running for another term.
Sharon Snodgrass
Age: 67
Work history: "I worked as an elementary teacher for CCSD for 29 years and in administration for 10 more years. I retired from the district in 2011. I supervised student teachers for the University of Phoenix for 5 years. Currently, I supervise student teachers for Iowa State University."
Years served on CCSD Board of Education: "I started on the board in May 2012. I applied to fill a vacancy on the board at that time."
Why do you want to remain on the board? "I like being able to serve our community on the board. Now that I am retired, there is more time for me to be involved in this type of service. I felt that my experience in education was/continues to be helpful in working with the CCSD School Board. I've worked my whole life working with young people in some capacity. This job is indirect, but I do think about the effects of decisions the board makes on our youth."
What goals do you have for the school district moving forward? "We always need to have the goal of doing what's best for students. Improving student achievement is critical for us as a district to meet state and national goals. Improving the learning environment, instruction, and opportunities to technology has been important for some time. We must always continue to monitor student needs and strive to meet them to truly help each and every individual student.
“I believe we’ve made good improvements in our facilities continuously in the last few years. We finally got a bus barn built. We’ve upgraded facilities for safety, for handicapped accessibility, and for student needs. We added safe rooms at the high school and middle school. We had physical projects after the tornado where upgrades were made at the time while we were making repairs.
“I welcome the voice of the community in their concerns about issues as well as positive statements about what is occurring in our schools. It takes a village to help our young people grow to become productive members of society.”
What do you think you bring to the position that someone else can't? "Having worked at the classroom level and the administrative level, I understand the challenges of work in both those areas. Those experiences help, especially when listening to curriculum reports from teaching staff and talking about the achievement goals and results of the Iowa Assessment and other assessment results. I understand the workings of school. I also believe that having worked in the district, I have gained trust from our staff members and community folks. I do take great pride in my opportunity to work for our school district.
“When it comes time to say yes or not on a vote, I do consider what is best for the district, community and the students that we educate.”
Galen Zumbach
Age: 64
Work history: "My entire career has been as a teacher in the Creston community. I was the FFA adviser, agriculture science and business teacher in the Creston High School system for 33 years, from 1977 to 2010. In addition, I was part of the football coaching staff throughout my teaching career. Since the fall of 2010, I have taught at Southwestern Community College in the agriculture department. I currently teach six classes (three per semester) per school year. The classes include introduction to marketing, farm business finance, agronomy, soil science, along with beef cattle and swine science.
“I earned a B.S. and M.S degree from Iowa State University in agricultural education. In addition, I earned a M.S. degree in school administration along with an education specialist degree from NWMSU.”
Years served on CCSD Board of Education: "I have served on the Creston school board for six years. Four of those years I served as board vice president and one term as president."
What goals do you have for the school district moving forward? "Recently our school superintendent, Steve McDermott, published a listing of capital improvement projects the school district is looking at short- and long-term in the Creston News Advertiser. As a board, we are hopeful that our community can prioritize this list so the board has a sense as to what our community wishes us to move forward on. Some of those projects included (1) repair the storm sewer under the gym at the old middle school, (2) new bus pick-up and drop-off area at the Early Childhood Center (currently located on busy North Elm Street) for safety reasons, (3) playground updates at the ECC along with an adaptive playground on the north campus (Elementary, Middle School) that would be accessible to students of all abilities, (4) additional parking at the Elementary/Middle School, along with (5) stadium, fields and athletic court updates to name a few.
“In addition, other areas that I feel will move this district forward include: (1) the continuation of monitoring and supporting our school’s efforts in improving student achievement in reading and math. These are the two instructional areas our school district has currently prioritized. Our student progress is measured through the Iowa Assessments test. (2) Our school district needs to incorporate additional handicapped parking and continue to look at handicapped seating area accessibility throughout the district. (3) Maintenance of building and school grounds is always an ongoing issue and something the school has prioritized over the next several school years. (4) Our school district is supporting the upgrade to the auditorium, located in the high school, with a $30,000 stipend that can be used to match grant monies secured to update this facility. I am hopeful that some of the auditorium issues can be addressed in the near future. Finally, this board member wishes to continue his support of our instructional and administration staffs. As a former teacher in this district, I better understand their needs and sometimes the frustrations they face daily in bringing a quality learning experience to our students when budgets remain tight.”
What do you think you bring to the position that someone else can't? "I have 33 years of experience in the Creston schools system, along with an additional six years as a board member and seven-plus years of instructional experience at Southwestern Community College. This background in education allows me to bring a unique perspective to the boardroom. I understand the frustrations involved in developing quality instructional programs and how to deliver this instruction to meet the needs of our students today and in the future."