Changes coming for Clear Lake School Board

Lake’s three incumbents announce re-election decisions

Two of the three incumbents on the Clear Lake School Board whose positions are set to expire in September have announced they will not seek re-election this fall.
    Longtime School Board member Ron Andrews and current Board President Tom Lovell said they have decided not to run in the Sept. 13 election.  Vice President Deb Betz has said she will seek a second full term on the Board.  She was initially elected in 2007 to finish the final year of a term vacated by Theresa Brakke.  She was then re-elected in 2008 to a three-year term.
    Terms on the Board are now four-years in length and elections are held every other odd-numbered year.
    Andrews said he feels the time is right for him to step away from the Board position he has held for the past 26 years.

    “Like my retirement from the DNR (in 2010), this was not an easy decision for me.  It helped to keep me young, but it’s time for some new blood,” said Andrews.  “It’s been a rewarding adventure and I encourage others to give it some thought.  I have worked with many dedicated Board members and good, dedicated staff and administrators.”
    During his tenure on the Board Andrews noted he has been part of some major changes in how and where Clear Lake students, spanning two generations, are educated.  Those changes have included seeing two elementary schools, Sunset and Lincoln, combined and then eventually consolidated into the new Clear Creek Elementary School.  All-day kindergarten and the middle school concept, which moved sixth graders to the Middle School, were also implemented during his time on the Board.  Major renovations at the high school, and currently the middle school, have also occurred.
    “There has also been much more emphasis given to student achievement in my latter years on the Board, as it should be.  We want every students to succeed and fulfill their dreams,” he said.
    He acknowledged budgeting work on the Board has become “more strenuous,” but noted that by reaching an agreement with Mason City Schools to share the services of Superintendent Anita Micich the district benefitted greatly.  “I commend Anita for taking the two largest districts in the county and making - Read More Via e-Edition