Afton hears from East Union candidates

This is the second in a two-part series on Afton’s candidate forum.

AFTON - A contested race for an East Union school board seat saw discussion on the four-day school week, facility updates and board transparency during the Afton candidate forum.

The only East Union school board spot with a challenge, District 1’s seat will have two candidates on the ballot, Adam Tallmon and Dennis Cheers. Both appeared during Wednesday’s Afton candidate forum.

Not at the forum but will also have a presence on the ballot is District 5’s incumbent Jamie Buffington. He runs unopposed.

The forum was organized in collaboration by the Creston News Advertiser, Afton Star Enterprise and KSIB Radio. A recording of the full candidate forum, including the city council portion, is available on PantherTV.

Tallmon, serving on East Union’s school board as board president, was joined by newcomer Cheers to start off the candidate forum. Tallmon, who lives in Thayer and has served on the board since 2022, said his focus during his time on the board was fiscal responsibility and facility updates.

“Simply put, money being put into people and buildings is what drives our conversations and decisions as a school district,” Tallmon said. “Since my first day on the board, it has been my goal to never increase the tax levy.”

Paying off the district’s general obligation bond, which has been used for facility updates, was estimated by Tallmon to be completed by next year. He said the school board will be having discussions over either creating a new GO bond or seeing if the district could run without it.

“Ultimately, I’d like to see a reduction in taxes for our district and I’m going to fight for that.” Tallmon said.

Tallmon touted the Infant Toddler Center, renovated after the district acquired the former Afton Care Center, and increases to staff pay as some successes the board has seen.

Cheers, who works a bus driver for East Union and has served as a volunteer for other activities in the district, will be Tallmon’s opponent on November’s ballot.

Citing 25 years in public service positions, Cheers has served Afton and the Union County area as a firefighter, EMT and ambulance tech.

“Taking care of others, it’s what I do,” Cheers said.

In his opening statement, Cheers said he’s interested in looking for ways to serve the local communities as someone who works closely with many facets of the district.

“My only agenda is to go in with an open mind and go with the information and make the best choice I can for the students and staff,” Cheers said.

Cheers, answering a question on board transparency, said he’d encourage more community members to attend board meetings, as well as keeping agendas public and accessible.

Tallmon agreed with further contact between the board and the community, and recommended those interested in board activities to have open conversations with board members, including himself.

Identifying problems in the school district had different approaches from the candidates. Tallmon stood on the position of responsible spending with the district while keeping an eye on signs of success such as increasing enrollment.

Staff retention and fighting the issues teachers experience was a focus for Cheers. If an issue is found by the staff and those inside East Union, the board can keep tabs.

“We have a good staff,” Cheers said. “Keeping them and listening to what they have to say; they’re the ones who are with the students all the time too. They have all their insight with the staff.”

The largest story out of East Union in recent years has been the district’s shift to four-day school week. The shift in schedule had felt necessary by teachers, who attended the district’s public forums to share experiences of burnout due to a limited staff.

Since the schedule change starting with the 2024-25 school year, staffing has seen success within the district. Tallmon, who had opposed the change in 2024 as one of two dissenting votes in the 3-2 board decision, said the transition “went really well” while still raising concerns on student impact of the schedule.

“It’s worked really well in the sense of teacher retention and recruitment,” Tallmon said. “As far as student achievement goes, I think we’re still up in the air about that. We haven’t seen any declines or anything like that, but we need to keep a close eye on that. If we’re seeing a decline, maybe we revisit what we’re doing as far as the four-day week or the blocks during the day and how we’re educating. But so far, it’s been beneficial to the district.”

Cheers, whose wife is a teacher at East Union, agreed with the benefits to teachers and their preparations for classes. In conversations with students, Cheers also said he hasn’t heard concerns from them.

Child care for families remained a concern for Cheers, with the extended daily schedule and extra day of the week creating issues for some working families.

Afton residents can vote in their local elections Nov. 4. The Afton Methodist Church, located at 111 S Douglas Street, has been designated as the city’s polling location and will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for voters. Early and absentee voting is also available; those interested should visit www.unioncountyiowa.gov for more information.