In the Nov. 5 election, voters in the Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD) will choose four of the seven members of the school board.
Incumbent Rafael Jacobo is challenged by Dexter Merschbrock in District 4. There are two open at-large seats and five candidates running: Jen Neumann, Cindy Garlock, Maurice Davis, Janelle Lund and Joseph Miller. David Tominsky is running unopposed in District 1.
Little Village emailed questionnaires to the seven school board candidates in contested races. All the candidates were asked the same set of questions.
Joseph Miller, an attorney at Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, is “heavily invested” in the CRCSD. Five of his six children currently go to school within the district.
Miller and his family have lived in Cedar Rapids for almost five years.
What other public service organizations have you been active with? Have you served in elective office before? What made you interested in becoming active in public service?
I’ve never sought an elected office before. However, I have served as a bishop for a local congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and now serve as the Stake (Diocese) President of the Cedar Rapids Stake of the Church, meaning I am responsible for the seven local congregations in northeast Iowa (roughly 3,500 members). I also serve on the CRCSD Foundation Board. I’ve had the privilege of holding leadership or board positions in the Boy Scouts of America and other organizations through the years.
Why did you choose to run for the school board, rather than some other elected office?
I don’t consider myself the type of person to run for any office. I am a very busy husband, father and attorney, and have other community responsibilities as well. However, hearing the concerns of teachers and students (including some concerns about candidates who seem to have an ax to grind) and encouragement from these individuals, I felt compelled to run.
This is a critical time for the district. Though there has been much good done in prior years, there have also been some divisive issues that could have been handled better. Looking to the future, particularly with finding a long-term superintendent in mind, the community needs to heal and work together on behalf of our children and communities to find the right candidate.
What do you see as the biggest long-term issues the district is facing?
Leadership. The superintendent will be critical to carrying out the district’s goals and mission day-to-day. The superintendent needs to develop critical community partnerships, advocate for the teachers and staff, think big and work well with others.
What do you see as the more pressing problems that the district can solve in the short term? What would your approach be to solving these problems?
I think the board has the power to change the public perception of our school district. The board can be proactive in helping develop partnerships and set the groundwork for long-term success in other areas.
For example, we may not fix the achievement gap in a few short years, but we can provide a solution to the issues underlying the gap. The 2017 SET study identified, among other things, a feeling of disconnection and hopelessness as leading to poor performance and potentially youth violence.
As a bishop, we actively created experiences for youth to feel connection, value and hope by partnering with Mayor Brad Hart, Beth Malicki and Kids on Course to give the youth service opportunities in the community. Not only did they help address math and reading underachievement, but they also helped create connection and hope for themselves and others. I was able to witness young people who were insecure, dealing with anxiety or depression, or from various backgrounds, with smiles on their faces and confidence in their countenances. That was only a dozen kids. Imagine if we could expand that to 17,000!
Cedar Rapids is a great community with all the resources. The board can take the initiative to create/facilitate service opportunities for the rising generation by partnering with these leaders and resources — churches, schools, nonprofits, the Mayor’s Youth Council, the YMCA, etc. That is something we could easily do.
What in your personal skill set, or previous experience, would make you an effective member of the school board?
As mentioned, I have large-scale leadership and organizational experience, as well as a number of wonderful partnerships in the community. I feel a great desire to give back to the community and to provide all of the support we possibly can to our children and their teachers and staff. I consider myself a listener, collaborator and partner with all types of personalities and perspectives. We can always find the good in one another and work toward a common goal. Union voices, non-union voices, community voices, student voices, etc. are all welcome.
We need to learn from each other to do better and make our school district a magnet for economic growth and development and our next generation the leaders who will get us there.
IMO just by stating his church affiliation over and over, he disqualifies himself for public office. Especially in this volatile political climate, seems like it should be important not to add unnecessary and arguably unconstitutional controversy.
Your comments are much appreciated, and I welcome open comments with respect to my candidacy. I value the right of every person to voice and vote their conscience.
I certainly do not desire to be controversial or to create volatility. My goal is the opposite. I value the diversity of beliefs and backgrounds our community offers. I believe our community does too. It is amazing how well our community can focus on what we have in common – in this case, a strong desire to take care of our children, teachers and staff, as well as to create a welcome community for individuals and families of any background or belief system. We do not have to be the same to be friends in this cause. I am happy to meet with, listen to, and learn from anyone with concerns. I’ve included a special email address with this reply for that purpose: josephmillercrsdcandidate@gmail.com.
I disagree with Jason’s comment. Joseph’s transparency is refreshing. I have two kids that I am currently sending to private school but will be entering the Cedar Rapids school district for High School. I have family that substitutes on a regular basis, and my largest concern is the inability of the schools to kick out troublemakers. Is this a problem you have on your radar to change? Personally I would like to see principal’s have the unilateral control to throw a student out. There are kids that do want to learn.
Yes, it is on my radar and the radars of many wonderful partners in the community.
I’ve had a personal taste of what you are talking about. I am in the classroom every year as a Junior Achievement instructor, I’ve taught youth classes before in church, and (if I’m perfectly honest) I’ve had a couple of notes or calls over the years about days when one of my kids has not been on the best behavior. That puts me in an interesting spot. On the one hand, I know how much it can take away from kids who want to learn when their are other kids with seemingly uncontrollable behavioral issues. On the other hand, I sympathize with families who hope and pray for someone who can understand and believe in kids who are struggling. My heart also goes out to teachers and staff who get burnt out by this very issue.
The bottom line is nobody can do this alone. I have discussed partnerships. The impact is real. For example, the community schools model takes these burdens off of teachers and staff and puts them in the hands of community partners trained to handle them. This allows teachers and staff to focus on their highest purpose – inspiring our kids. The needs of kids are getting addressed, regardless of the needs.
The community schools model has been successful in other states, and we are already starting to experiment with it in our school district. It is something I definitely want to explore more.
One thing we don’t want, is to give up on anyone in the rising generation or exacerbate behavioral issues by inadequately addressing them. This has to be a team effort, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be addressed quickly. Keep in mind, board members are not educational or behavioral experts, but it is critical that we are experts and working together to find creative and effective solutions.
*experts at working together*