School Board Candidate Profile: Deb Giarusso Says Cedar Falls Must Continue Excellence in Education

In just a few short weeks, Cedar Falls voters will be able to weigh in on three open seats on the school board.

The election will be held Sept. 10. All school board seats are at-large, meaning the entire school district will be able to vote for each seat.

Seven people - five newcomers and two current board members - are vying for the seats.

Patch is running profiles of each of the candidates. Today, meet Deb Giarusso, a newcomer who says Cedar Falls has a tradition of excellence it must maintain.

Read more candidate profiles.

Name: Deborah (Deb) Giarusso

Age: 49 (50 on August 30)

Background:  I was born and raised in Cedar Falls.  I attended Hansen, Holmes and Cedar Falls High, graduating from Cedar Fall High in 1981.  I graduated with a B.A. in Economics/Finance from the University of Northern Iowa in 1985 and an M.B.A. from the University of Iowa in 1986. I accepted a position as an financial analyst at Oscar Mayer in Madison, Wisc. and worked there from 1987 to 1994.  

In 1996, I moved back to Cedar Falls with my husband to raise our family. I am a finance instructor at UNI since 1998. My husband Rick and I have been married for 22 years. Our son Ryan is a 2012 graduate of Cedar Falls High School. Ryan is attending the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point.

Why did you decide to run for the school board?  I decided to run for the Cedar Falls School Board because education is important to me. It is also the time in my life for me to give back to my community. I am familiar with the school district because my son attended the Cedar Falls public schools from kindergarten through high school graduation in 2012, but I no longer have a child in the school system. 

Both my son and myself received a quality education from Cedar Falls. I want to keep that tradition of excellence alive. Quality education is the key to solving many of society's problems, but it takes time, patience, foresight and careful planning. I want to be involved in this process. 

What do you see as key issues the Cedar Falls School District needs to address? How should we start?  I will address this question with stating my mission statement, goals and solution.

Mission Statement: Ensure that the Cedar Falls Schools continue their tradition of excellence in education by adapting to the new opportunities and challenges of the technologically advanced world of modern education, preparing students to rise to leadership roles within the Cedar Valley, and succeeding in future endeavors throughout the globe.

Goals:

1. Provide administrators and educators with the resources and assistance needed for the development of our children into mature contributing members of the community.

2. Provide a value-added education for our children at a reasonable cost to our taxpayers.

3.  Provide relevant opportunities for parents to be involved in the education of their children.

Solution: By exercising oversight, guidance, and assistance, we in the Cedar Falls community can expand the opportunities for our children through providing them with a world-class education and developing them into the next generation to productively contribute to the future. We can solve so many of our problems with education and time, but it takes patience, foresight, and careful planning. Qualities we need in our school board.

What is your feeling on the facilities issue the district is facing, especially regarding the high school?  This is a significant issue for the district. It is an issue that I require more information than is available at this time to make specific comments. We need to make decisions on facilities based on maintaining the excellence in education for our children.

And… questions from our readers: 

From Jill: If you had been on the board last year, would you have voted in favor of renewing Mike Wells contract?  I am unable to answer this question. The data to make an informed decision is not public information.

From AJ: Do you believe that student representatives should continue serving as a non-voting member to give points of view on the issues?  I think that the perspective of students is valuable information for the board.