ANKENY, Iowa — Progressive candidates running for school board positions throughout the Des Moines metro swept several races on Tuesday night, flipping the existing majorities.
In Ankeny, eight candidates were vying for four at-large seats. Although a nonpartisan race, it was a female trio of left-leaning candidates that won over voters.
Incumbents Katie Claeys and Amy Tagliareni will now be joined by like-minded newcomers Shelly Northway and Amber Romans.
“We need to challenge each other in a respectful way, and continue to do that so the district can grow," Tagliareni said.
Tagliareni, Northway and Romans spoke about the biggest issues currently facing the district.
"That relationship between the teachers and the staffs and in the district office and the school board is damaged," Northway said. "They don't feel supported or respected.”
Bullying has also become a key topic of discussion in the district.
"I would like to see us get more strategic and how we're approaching bullying," Tagliareni said. "In our school, I had a lot of really tough conversations [while] knocking doors with parents.”
Another challenge ahead of the new crop will be navigating the education law signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds this summer. For the progressive board members, it's promoting more focus on DEI efforts.
"There's things that the teachers want. Resources like diversity, equity, and inclusion training and stuff like that, but they really have been asking for that and feel like they've hit a board," Romans said.
Talgiareni, who has served on the board for four years, says that the issues with Senate File 496 are very prevalent in Ankeny schools.
"With the state government taking away so much local control from school boards, this was one way for our community to take control and feel like they had ownership in this process," she added.
Of all the Des Moines metro school board candidates, Northway says her campaign raised the most money – over $18,000 in cash donations.
The voter turnout in this year’s school board elections was also notable. According to the Iowa Secretary of State, over 44,000 votes were cast in the Ankeny school director at-large race alone.
Despite the political leanings of those now serving, the women hope the board can actively challenge one another, and agree to disagree.
"I actually appreciate the other side of view, because our students in our community are all different," Romans said. "What's going to come from that is a better product for the students.”