CEDAR FALLS -- A hotly contested Cedar Falls Board of Education race has prompted supporters on both sides to show financial support for their candidate of choice.

Financial disclosure forms submitted late last week show Cedar Falls Kids First, a recently formed political action committee, received 2,250 in donations to support newcomers Jim Brown, Garth Cornish and Angie Edgington. On Board 4 Education, the political action committee started to support incumbents Joyce Coil, Duane Hamilton and James Kenyon, raised 855 and was loaned another 400.

Joe McGough, the Cedar Falls Kids First committee chair, said his organization was eager to participate in the election process once they realized there were new candidates running for the board.

"We reviewed the candidates and their platforms and made the decisions to support the three challengers," he said. "They represent the parents who want to participate in the Cedar Falls school system."

The PAC used its funds to print informational flyers and run television and radio ads.

"We wanted to familiarize the public with the new faces that have chosen to run for the school board, what their views are and what they represent. We felt the best way to do that was via radio and television so we could reach as many households as possible in a short period of time," McGough said.

On Board 4 Education used its donations to prints door knockers and signs for the incumbents.

Tuesday, voters will finally get the chance to show their support with their vote. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The candidates

Jim Brown

Brown, 40, said he learned a lot about what Cedar Falls parents want for their students during his campaign process.

Among the topics broached during his door-knocking days were foreign language options and school day hours. And while he would love to see some changes in the district curriculum and possibly even smaller class sizes he said his first responsibility would be to balance the needs of the district with his financial responsibility to the taxpayers of the community.

The small business owner is also among those who think the board needs to take another serious look at its open enrollment policy to ensure it is working for everyone in the district.

"In the business world, when you have great item, there is a demand for your product," he said. "But the challenge is guarding against the demand being more than we can supply."

Joyce Coil

Coil, 52, said the current board has "focused all its attention on all its students" making the district and the schools a better place to learn and grow.

She said while the district is mostly high achieving, thanks in part to the quality of the teacher in the classroom, there are challenges ahead. Like Kenyon, she believes the district will continue to face challenges as it works to meet the demands of No Child Left Behind and the model core curriculum.

Coil, who works part time in a dental office, for the Cedar Falls Rec Center and ME&V, also hopes that whoever is elected Tuesday will immediately begin working to heal the divide in the community she said the elections have caused.

"I hope that people get out and become a part of the political process. ï½ And when the community goes out to vote I hope they look at all the issues and vote for what they feel is best for the children in the district and the community as a whole."

Garth Cornish

Cornish, 36, appreciates the support of Cedar Falls Kids First, but "wants to stand on" his own two feet.

"The most important thing we need to remember is we will all come out winners in this. We have a community that is engaged with our students and that is the most important thing," he said. "We can't let politics interfere with what we are doing for our schools or our children."

In addition to looking at class sizes and foreign language opportunities, Cornish, a John Deere supervisor, said if he is elected he would like to see the board re-examine its relationships with other schools, specifically Price Laboratory.

"It's a great attendance center and we should look to see if that relationship is the right answer for today," he said. "It could be anything from a new collaboration to a changing of the buffer zone. I don't know, but we need to work at that. I think there are opportunities there and we need to leverage the great talents in our city.

Angie Edgington

Edgington, 35, will be the first to thank the current Board of Education for their service to the community. They have served this district well, but she believes that even the best of boards needs to be infused with new faces and ideas to keep a community, school district or organization moving forward.

"This is my opportunity to bring my passion (for education) forward. We need to bring new people on while we still have experienced members on the board," she said.

Edgington, a reliability manager at John Deere, has said throughout the campaign she would like to see the next board take a closer look at the district's curriculum and class sizes. She understands that making changes, especially trying to implement a ratio of one teacher per 17 students in kindergarten through third grade, takes dollars that may not be in the budget now. However, she said that shouldn't stop the board from investigating opportunities.

"I am guessing there are districts out there that have made this happen," she said of the smaller class sizes. "We need to ask others for feedback about what works in other districts, not just our own."

Duane Hamilton

Hamilton, 64, knows there is some concern in the community about the current board's propensity to vote as a unit. But, he said in his 18 years on the board he has often brought a different view to the table but has been swayed by the questions asked around the table.

"By consensus, we are molding a plan of action," he said. "And sometimes that means lending support to a view that may be different than your own."

And sometimes, those decisions were less-than-popular -- like the implementation of the district's new professional development model.

"(That) wasn't met with open arms, but now our staff is our biggest cheerleaders because they see what it can do in their classrooms," he said.

The additional professional development has allowed the district and classroom teacher to become more data driven as it looks at implementing and assessing new programs, said Hamilton, a public accountant.

James Kenyon

Kenyon said he is proud of the progress the district has made in the 15 years he has sat on the Board of Education. They have worked to twice pass the local option sales tax that has resulted in the construction of two new schools and renovations at several more.

They earned the trust of the community, which in turn supported both physical plant and equipment levies and instructional support levies that he says helped pull the district through the lean times when enrollment was falling.

And even though he has served five terms on the board, the 60-year-old veterinarian said he still has more to give.

"I believe in that consistency of having someone trained. I believe we are facing some challenges with growth in our district and building possibilities and having gone through all of that before, I believe I can contribute," he said.

Though the district consistently performs at or above state averages he believes that the district will benefit from that continuity as they face the continually increasing demands of No Child Left Behind and the implementation of the high school model core curriculum.

Contact Emily Christensen at (319) 291-1570 or emily.christensen@wcfcourier.com.