Des Moines Public Schools board members, staff, families, and more came together Tuesday night for their first regular board meeting following the detainment of former superintendent Ian Roberts. Roberts was detained on Sept. 26. Through court documents shared the following week, investigators say Roberts was not in the country legally and did not have work authorization.During a time when eyes on the district, there were people at Tuesday’s meeting who made sure to share their gratitude with board members. Some people thanked them for their continuous work, specifying the work being doing over the last week and a half. Other people added that it should be a paid job to be a board member. Tuesday night’s meeting felt like any other regular board meeting. During the regular session, the district highlighted some successes that they were seeing within–such as the Marine Biology program leader, Dr. Gregory Barord, who was named an Outstanding Biology Teacher by the National Association of Biology Teachers. The board also heard from members of Iowa CCI and the campaign Public School Strong. Several people spoke up when their agenda item was addressed, sharing their concerns about the state’s ESA program and its financial impact on public schools across the state. “We are encouraging public school board members around the state to adopt a resolution calling for a rise in state supplemental aid and a phase out of the private school voucher program,” said Donna Wallace, a member of Iowa CCI. However, before that portion of the meeting, there were some people who touched on the case surrounding Roberts. “That’s kind of a failure on the end of the board,” said one person who spoke up during the public comment section of the meeting. “I think it would be appropriate at this time for the board to resign.” “I would call on the board to hire a third-party investigator to examine what the board knew about all of these misdeeds,” said another person who also spoke during the public comment section.Board members couldn’t speak directly during the public section, with the Iowa Code prohibiting them from discussing specific employees or their job performance. However, during a work session after the regular meeting, some members spoke up and addressed the last ten days. “Everyone has to do a little self-reflection, and I know my behavior will be different as a result of this,” said Patrick Dix, a member of the school board. “Clearly, the systems that we have in place have not been the best, and that’s what we need to change,” said Maria Alonzo, another member of the school board. Board members addressed some concerns while looking ahead with the students at the top of their minds. “We have students that depend on how we change, and I accept that we can do things a lot better,” said Alonzo. » Subscribe to KCCI’s YouTube page» Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play
Des Moines Public Schools board members, staff, families, and more came together Tuesday night for their first regular board meeting following the detainment of former superintendent Ian Roberts.
Roberts was detained on Sept. 26. Through court documents shared the following week, investigators say Roberts was not in the country legally and did not have work authorization.
During a time when eyes on the district, there were people at Tuesday’s meeting who made sure to share their gratitude with board members. Some people thanked them for their continuous work, specifying the work being doing over the last week and a half. Other people added that it should be a paid job to be a board member.
Tuesday night’s meeting felt like any other regular board meeting.
During the regular session, the district highlighted some successes that they were seeing within–such as the Marine Biology program leader, Dr. Gregory Barord, who was named an Outstanding Biology Teacher by the National Association of Biology Teachers.
The board also heard from members of Iowa CCI and the campaign Public School Strong. Several people spoke up when their agenda item was addressed, sharing their concerns about the state’s ESA program and its financial impact on public schools across the state.
“We are encouraging public school board members around the state to adopt a resolution calling for a rise in state supplemental aid and a phase out of the private school voucher program,” said Donna Wallace, a member of Iowa CCI.
However, before that portion of the meeting, there were some people who touched on the case surrounding Roberts.
“That’s kind of a failure on the end of the board,” said one person who spoke up during the public comment section of the meeting. “I think it would be appropriate at this time for the board to resign.”
“I would call on the board to hire a third-party investigator to examine what the board knew about all of these misdeeds,” said another person who also spoke during the public comment section.
Board members couldn’t speak directly during the public section, with the Iowa Code prohibiting them from discussing specific employees or their job performance.
However, during a work session after the regular meeting, some members spoke up and addressed the last ten days.
“Everyone has to do a little self-reflection, and I know my behavior will be different as a result of this,” said Patrick Dix, a member of the school board.
“Clearly, the systems that we have in place have not been the best, and that’s what we need to change,” said Maria Alonzo, another member of the school board.
Board members addressed some concerns while looking ahead with the students at the top of their minds.
“We have students that depend on how we change, and I accept that we can do things a lot better,” said Alonzo.
» Subscribe to KCCI’s YouTube page
» Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play
