School Board Candidate Profile: Jim Moody Says Focus on Teachers as Well as Facilities

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 Jim Moody, a newcomer who says the district needs to focus on both facilities and technology and improving teacher collaboration.

Read more candidate profiles.

Name, age:

Jim Moody 38

Background? (Job, credentials, experience, etc.)

I have been an insurance agent with The Accel Group for 10 years.  I have served on the Vision 2010 and 15 planning committees.  I have been a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission for 8 years.  I have been active in the Lincoln PTA for 10 yrs.  I sit on the district facilities committee. 

Why did you decide to run for the school board?

The education of our kids has always been a passion of mine.  Our district has done some incredible things through the years and Cedar Falls remains a top district.  In recent years it seems that other districts in our peer group have closed the gap in achievement, and I felt it was time to become involved.  I truly believe that our students today go on to be representatives of Cedar Falls tomorrow and that we need to do more to prepare them to compete in a global market.  I want to bring my experience on the Planning and Zoning commission and long term planning to the school district.  I feel that for too long we have put patches on and kicked issues down the road.  Cedar Falls is in a unique position with its projected growth.  Growth is a good thing but it brings issues with it, like facilities and the logistics that go with it.  I truly feel that it is time to bring a long term perspective to the board.

What do you see as key issues the Cedar Falls School District needs to address? How should we start?

Growth is the first issue we are facing.  With that comes facilities issues.  We need to begin by developing a 20 year plan to address tomorrow's issues today.  Technology is another issue.  We are behind the curve in this area.  I was extremely happy to see that we have passed technology plan and that is a great start.  Now we need to implement it and get the staff the training they need to effectively use technology in the classroom.  The next issue is teacher collaboration.  Facilities and technology do not make the students achieve more.  Without effective teachers that is all wasted.  We need to allow for more building level and district wide collaboration.

What is your feeling on the facilities issue the district is facing, especially regarding the high school?

I feel that the high school is only one aspect of this issue.  Do we need to take a hard look at that facility and make some hard decisions, no doubt about it.  But we have elementary schools that still need air conditioning.  We have schools that are seven years old that are over capacity and rooms in those buildings that were not designed as classrooms being used as classrooms.  This is a bigger issue than just the high school.  We have a district wide facility issue that needs to be addressed.  Again, growth is a good thing but it comes with issues.

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?

Without having access to what was discussed in the closed door meetings I cannot make a determination.  In my dealings with Mike he was a good guy with lots of passion for what he was doing.  Personnel issues are private matters and to give any indication without having all of the information is purely speculation.  As a board member it is our role to act only after you have all of the information and in this case I do not have the information needed.

From AJ: Do you believe that student representatives should continue serving as a non-voting member to give points of view on the issues?

Most definitely.  I would also like to see it expanded to include a staff representative also.  The more perspectives that we can get from what is actually going on within our facilities the better.