Incumbents Mike Irwin and Board President Tom Leeds are seeking to be re-elected to four-year terms on the board. Irwin and Leeds were both elected in Nov. 2005 and began their first term on the board in Jan. 2006.
Incumbent Tom Birdwell chose not to seek re-election after serving on the board since the district’s inception in 2000. He was a member of the committee that helped form the district, he said.
The incumbents are being challenged by John MacDonald, a 1978 Lemon Monroe High School graduate and the owner of MacDonald Insurance, Inc. in Monroe; Leslie Stone, a homemaker, school district volunteer and former Mason City Schools fifth-grade teacher, and Brett Guido, a loan officer for a bank and a 1987 Lemon Monroe High School graduate.
Birdwell said he chose not to seek another term on the board because it’s time for a change.
“It’s a great experience, but it’s time for somebody with a new face and new interest, and new ideas,” he said.
MacDonald, a native of Monroe, said he decided to seek a seat on the board because he felt since he owns a business in the city that it is time to give back.
“I just felt like I can be an asset to the school board,” said MacDonald, 49.
Stone, 40, who has lived in Monroe for more than two years, said she decided to vie for a seat on the board because she grew up surrounded by education. Her dad was principal.
“I just love it and I just love Monroe schools, and my husband and I we love to be a part of the community,” she said.
Guido, 40, who has headed up the last three levy campaigns for the district, said he is stepping up to the plate because he thinks “the district just needs people who are fully aware of what’s going on and their hearts are in the right place, be it good or bad.”
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