Hemingway loses confirmation vote for state Board of Educational Examiners

Hemingway loses confirmation vote for state Board of Educational Examiners
Hunter
4/10/19

The Iowa Senate fell short of confirming Iowa City Community School District board member Phil Hemmingway for a spot on the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners on Tuesday, and the Iowa City Press Citizen says fellow board members lobbied state lawmakers to vote against his nomination.

Governor Kim Reynolds nominated Hemmingway for the position last month, and the ICCSB raised concerns about Hemmingway’s trustworthiness, citing his sharing of an internal e-mail with KCRG TV.

The correspondence referenced the firing of a substitute teacher who faced felony marijuana possession charges about ten years ago but marked that he hadn’t been arrested for drug-related charges when filling out his application.

School board president Janet Godwin said in a board workshop afterwards that it is every board member’s duty to adhere to code, policy and norms to operate with trust and confidence, without specifically referencing Hemmingway.

State representative Zach Walls of Coralville tells the Iowa City Press Citizen that several board members reached out to him after Governor Reynolds nominated Hemmingway. They reportedly told him that since the e-mail sharing incident, they no longer trust him with sensitive information, although it’s been reported that Hemmingway did not include the employees name when he shared the e-mail.

Representative Chris Cournoyer of LeClaire called the accusations unfounded, but questioned why e-mails between board members were taking place at all as they could be construed as violations of the open meetings statute.