2017 school board candidates announced

            Keokuk and Iowa Counties have released candidates for the English Valleys Keota, Pekin, Sigourney and Tri-County 2017 school board elections on Tuesday, Sept. 12 from noon to 8 p.m. at the Keokuk County Courthouse. Residents within the English Valleys School District will vote in Iowa County.     

            English Valleys School District will have two At-Large seats and one At-Large vacancy to fill for this election. According to the Iowa County Auditor’s Office, Tammy Stanerson of North English will run for re-election, while no other candidates will run for the second open At-Large seat. As a result, the second seat will be filled in by write-in. Current Board President Terri Riegel will run for the Art-Large Vacancy with two years left.

            Keota Community School District will have two At-Large seats to fill, with both Pat Hammen of Harper and Aaron Sieren of Sigourney running for re-election for their seats unopposed. Andy Conrad of Keota is the lone candidate for an At-Large Vacancy seat he is currently filling due to the resignation of Scott Flynn in April.

            Pekin Community School District, which falls under Keokuk County due to the majority of its student population residing in the county, will have two district and one at large seats open. Mark Wittrock of Richland will run for re-election for District #3, as will Jared Greiner of Packwood for District #5 and Heidi Baker of Ollie for an At-Large seat. All three candidates are running for reelection unopposed.

            Sigourney Community School District will prove to be the most contested election in the area with three At-Large seats and one At-Large Vacancy to fill, while 10 candidates have announced their intention to run. For the three At-Large seats, Anne Arduser of Sigourney will be the lone board member running for re-election as Justin Boender of Delta and Ruth Manchester of Sigourney will not run for re-election. The remaining nine candidates-all residents of Sigourney unless indicated-are Mike Bensmiller, Cody Branstad, Adam Clark, Allan Glandon, Bruce Hahn of What Cheer, Bill Halleran, Randy Hemsley, Steven Seeley and Debra Strobel. According to the Keokuk County Auditor’s Office, no candidate filed for the At-Large Vacancy left by Shellie Striegel of Sigourney upon her resignation in June. A write-in will determine who is elected for the seat.

            Tri-County Community School District will have two At-Large seats to fill, but only one candidate in current Board President Matthew Steinke of Gibson running again. According to the County Auditor, Christy Bates, the second At-Large seat will be filled by write-in.

            Residents of Tri-County area will also vote on Public Measure B, which would grant the Board of Education to allow the school district to raise the Voted Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (VPPEL) rate from $.67 per thousand to a maximum of $1.34 for a period, as reported in the August 2 issue of The News-Review. According to the ballot language, the increase would last for ten years and begin on July 1, 2018.