Cook, Perrenoud, three challengers to run for school board

Five people will contend for three seats this year in the Newton Community School District board elections.

Incumbents Donna Cook and Bill Perrenoud, along with challengers Ann Leonard, Josh Cantu and Andy Elliot, have filed paperwork and will run for one of the three contested at-large positions. All are Newton residents except Perrenoud, who resides in Lambs Grove.

Voters who live in the district go to the polls Sept. 8. The three candidates who earn the most votes will win four-year terms, which begins with the board’s Sept. 14 meeting.

Nat Clark, who has served on the board since 2011, has decided not to seek another term.

The terms held by Travis Padget, Robyn Friedman, Andy Elbert and board President Sheri Benson expire in 2017.

In the 2011 election, Perrenoud earned the most votes with 532, followed by Clark with 442 and Cook with 436. They defeated incumbents Darrin Hamilton and Joe Klingensmith.

Leonard and her husband, Eric, are parents of two young sons, one of whom is school-age. She said she has “a career in communications” and that she would use “listening, communicating, and creative thinking” if elected to the school board. She’s the treasurer for the Woodrow Wilson/Thomas Jefferson PTA, and she’s actively involved with promoting the importance of STEM in education.

Elliott said he has three daughters attending Newton schools, plus nephews, and he is in his third year of coaching with the Newton Area Soccer Association. He said he feels a different perspective could have a positive impact on the district and he said he views serving on the board as a way to give back to the community.

Cantu and his wife, Katie, have two children who are not in school yet, and he has been an engineer with the Pella Corporation for the past 13 years. He serves on the City of Newton Planning & Zoning Commission and he said the district “has all of the necessary elements to provide a world class education,” and he shares the passion and enthusiasm the community has for strong public education.

Perrenoud has been on the board since 2011. The Newton High School graduate grew up in Newton and taught in the Newton Community School District for 33 years, retiring in 2007. He was also very active in PTA, serving as president of the City-Wide PTA.

After retiring, Perrenoud did extensive substitute teaching for several school districts. For the past four years, he has been employed by Casey’s Convenience Store, serving the past two years as a manager at one of the Newton locations.

Perrenoud has lived in Lambs Grove for more than 25 years, serving as mayor for nearly 10 years.

Cook has served on the Newton school board since she was elected to a three-year term in September 2004, serving as its vice president at one time. A state law change, enacted in 2009, made school-board terms four years.

Cook is a registered nurse and the Director of Nursing Services at the Newton Correctional Facility. She grew up in Newton and has been an active volunteer in the community and has served on the local, state and national Parent Teacher Association levels, serving as Iowa’s state PTA president.

Clark and his family relocated to Newton with his family in 2007 when he was hired as a systems administrator for Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance. He is frequently deferred to by Newton Schools administrators and board members on many topics related to computer hardware and the associated technology.

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com.