Karen Gorsh ~ putting children first for a change
Write-in candidate for Cedar Rapids School Board, District One
Dear Cedar Rapids Citizen:
I’ve lived in the Taylor school district for 13 years, my husband has lived in the Taylor neighborhood all of his life. Our home suffered damages in the flood, but the children of our neighborhood are losing even more. Without Taylor school, they have lost their teachers, their friends, their community.
It is my feeling that if Taylor Elementary were in a higher income area of the city, the school board would not be closing it. I am concerned about academic success for all of our students, but especially students from working families. These children often need consistent, quality educational programs and benefit by having schools close to home. Taylor Elementary is that school – a year round, multi-faceted educational environment.
I do have the background to step up to the job of representing all the students and families in the First District:
9 years on the board of the Taylor Area Neighborhood Association, five years as President of the Board working on projects such as development of the Tenth Square Park and the initiation and development of Taylor Elementary before and after school program.
5 years on the Community Development Block Grant Citizen Advisory Committee advising the Cedar Rapids City Council on millions of dollars in grant applications.
5 years serving on the Linn County Empowerment Board with experience as the subcommittee chair for parent education and family support programs.
7 years with the Linn County Partnership for Safe Families, three years on the Linn County Partnership board and national experience as a conference presenter on the partnership model.
2 years on the Weed and Seed Steering Committee, collaboration among law enforcement, education and human service organizations to improve low-income communities.
17 years in health care working with patients.
11 years as a group facilitator for Young Parents Network.
10 years as a Share Iowa organizer for the Taylor neighborhood.
2004 recipient of a ‘9 Who Cares’ Jefferson Award for Volunteerism.
As we know from experience, neglected schools and neighborhoods create urban blight and that lowers the entire tax base of a city, increases the potential for crime and generally destroys a community. Research done after Katrina indicates that in neighborhoods where schools are not rebuilt, neighborhoods disappear. Can the Cedar Rapids’ property tax base afford to have miles of blighted neighborhoods on the west side of town?
I’ve learned that the Cedar Rapids School District was offered options, such as classroom trailers, but the School Board and Superintendent Markward refused the FEMA classrooms. This mistake will hurt the rebuilding efforts and the future quality of life on the west side of Cedar Rapids. By closing Taylor school this year without public discussion and serious consideration, the Cedar Rapids School Board is working against the current and ongoing rebuilding efforts.
I apologize for the necessity of a write-in vote, but the school board and Dr. Markward did not clearly spell out their plans for Taylor Elementary until the week of the July 31st deadline for submitting nomination papers.
If you have read this far, I have to assume you also care about what is happening in the Cedar Rapids School District and I encourage you to consider writing in Karen Gorsh (spelling counts: K-A-R-E-N G-O-R-S-H) on your ballot in the September 9th school board election.
I feel very strongly about the importance of maintaining and improving our schools and city. I realize times are difficult, but I know with creative thinking and a welcoming school board we can educate our children, work with families and help our teachers while striving to balance the budget within the current tax base and state funding constraints.
Thank you so much for your time and considering my candidacy.
Sincerely,
Karen Gorsh
‘Customer Satisfaction’ is a core value in the Cedar Rapids School District’s strategic plan. This core value requires school board members to listen when citizens of all backgrounds have concerns and then act in the best interest of every child. If elected, I will be accountable and accessible to the families that depend on our schools.
