A diverse field of candidates ran for five open seats on the school board in Sioux City. Four out of 11 were women of color. But voters only picked one woman of color, Treyla Lee, to serve on the board of the minority-majority district.
“My priority is to listen and learn and then help make change,” Lee said.
Lee said she is looking forward to continuing the legacy of her mother, Flora Lee, who was an activist and the first Black woman elected to the board in the 1990s.
"I'm now the only female on our new school board. So, I am ready to take on the challenge."Treyla Lee, newly elected Sioux City School Board Member
“Twenty-five years ago, she was the board president of our Sioux City Community School District," she added. "I'm now the only female on our new school board. So, I am ready to take on the challenge. I am ready to conquer, and I am ready to represent women."
Board President Dan Greenwell was the only incumbent reelected in a race for a two-year appointment.
Also winning the election were Lance Ehmke, John Meyers and Earl Miller, the first openly gay man to win a seat on the board.
"I do bring a fair amount of diversity, I understand it."Earl Miller, newly elected Sioux City School Board Member
"I do bring a fair amount of diversity, I understand it," Miller said. "I will partner with everybody that wants to partner so I make sure that those diversity issues that I don't have firsthand knowledge of, I will make sure that we have firsthand knowledge of, and can fairly represent all of our population."
Miller and a majority of board members agree that retaining teachers is a top priority, an issue impacting districts across the county.
“Teachers resign because they have a better environment someplace else. They'll leave for lower money but with a better work environment,” Miller said. “So, I really think that we have to take a step back to look at our administration, certainly not the superintendent level, and figuring out what his goals are, and making sure that those goals aligned down to the teacher level so we have teachers to teach students.”
Greenwell said keeping teachers is critical, and so is helping the 20% of students who are English language learners.
“We were, quite frankly, underserving those and the whole structure of it; we have to change,” he said.
Greenwell also stressed the importance of being fiscally responsible, especially since the district will not longer receive COVID-19 relief money or ESSER funding.
Three current board members chose not to run: Monique Scarlett, Bernie Scolaro, and Taylor Goodvin. One board director, Phil Hamman, who was appointed to fill the seat of Perla Alarcon-Flory, who moved away, did not get enough votes to keep his seat.
The newly elected board members will be sworn in on Nov. 27. They will join Bob Michaelson and Jan George, who are both former educators in the district.
City elections also took place, and voters in Sioux City also reelected Mayor Bob Scott, who ran unopposed. Scott said the top priority is the sewer plant project and keeping watch on spending.
“I think probably this year, we're going to put the brakes on a few things and try to slow things down. So, we don't have to have any kind of significant tax increase,” Scott said. “Unfortunately, it means that we won't do some projects that the citizens will want done, but it just means that they'll have to be put off for a little bit.”
Council member Julie Schoenherr squeaked out a win over challenger Tom Murphy by just 113 votes, according to unofficial results.
Overall voting outpaced projections at around 25%. Woodbury County Auditor and Election Commissioner Pat Gill projected turnout at 15% to 20%.
