CEDAR RAPIDS The Cedar Rapids school board unanimously appointed Scot Reisinger to the board Friday to fill a vacancy left by Gary Anhalt, who died unexpectedly earlier this month.
Reisinger, 47, will hold office until the next regular school board election on Nov. 2, and does not plan to run for office at that time.
“I don’t feel this temporary appointment should be used as a launchpad for a permanent position,” he said, adding that if he enjoys the work, he may run for school board in a few years.
Reisinger has worked in higher education for over 20 years, and worked for Mount Mercy University for 12 years. He is now the director of student services for the University of Iowa’s College of Public Health.
Iowa City schools completed the first round of COVID-19 vaccinations for 2,000 teachers and staff Friday, and Cedar Rapids schools will complete the first round of vaccinations by the end of next week after months of uncertainty during the coronavirus pandemic.
COVID vaccinations for K-12 teachers, school staff and child care workers in Iowa began Feb. 1, under the state’s Phase 1B.
School nurses began receiving the vaccine at the end of January during Phase 1A, which prioritized health care workers.
Cedar Rapids Superintendent Noreen Bush said getting teachers and school staff vaccinated has been an “accelerated process sooner than we thought.”
Families of elementary and middle school students in the Cedar Rapids Community School District have choices through the magnet school lottery program.
Banning the “1619 Project” about the impact of slavery and Black Americans on U.S. history from Iowa schools as a state lawmaker proposes would “be a threat to public education,” says a Fairfield schoolteacher, echoing concerns of other educators.
House File 222, sponsored by Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Orange City, would ban schools, community colleges and state universities from using any history curriculum obtained from the 1619 Project, which was created by an Iowa native.
Wheeler said he has concerns the project is not historically accurate.
His bill, which passed an education subcommittee two weeks ago but has not been taken up more broadly, states that the Iowa Legislature “has a strong interest in promoting an accurate account of this nation’s history through public schools and forming young people into knowledgeable and patriotic citizens.” Public schools that use the project or similar curriculum could receive reduced funding if the legislation passes.
CEDAR RAPIDS - The Cedar Rapids school board Monday voted to appoint a new member to fill the seat left vacant by Gary Anhalt, who died unexpectedly this month.