Todd Korbitz, Marti Bomgaars [Click to enlarge]

Board Unofficial 2008 Election Results

When the write-ins were officially counted by hand and reported by 8:50 p.m. Tuesday night, Spencer voters had made their intentions known: Todd Korbitz and write-in candidate Marti Bomgaars had both soundly defeated one-term incumbent board members Dean Mechler and Les Zobrist.

Of Spencer's 9,007 registered voters, 838 ballots were cast in the school board election: 561 for Korbitz, 553 for write-in candidate Bomgaars, 274 for Mechler and 210 for Zobrist.

Korbitz, who returned a call from Bomgaars' home, simply said, "I think that a message was sent tonight: There was some subpar performance over this last year."

The 35-year-old Eaton Corporation manufacturing engineer sought a Spencer school board position last year, but was defeated by current board member Rev. Barb Van Wyk by seven votes. Korbitz reported that Spencer Superintendent Greg Ebeling had called to congratulate him, as well as organize a time in which the two could get together to formally visit.

When asked what's on his agenda now, as a Spencer school board member, Korbitz answered, "As far as the actual school work goes, obviously, I'd like to try to repair any harm that was done last year by getting that German program back, if at all possible, and going through the finances to see how we can get some of that damage undone. Obviously, the whole financial realm is going to be the key -- and I'm going to have to do a lot of studying and getting up to par with that whole area of business."

To his fellow office-seekers, Korbitz then said, "Congratulations to Marti. Obviously, she did a great deal of work to accomplish this as a write-in candidate. Thank you to Les and Dean for their service over the past three years; it's greatly appreciated."

Last night's other victor, who unofficially received 512 votes Tuesday, along with 41 absentee votes, exclaimed, "I am incredibly excited. I'm happily surprised, and I want to do the best job I can possibly do.

"I definitely want to be the voice for our whole community."

Bomgaars, who marked her 55th birthday on Monday, then said, "The biggest thing that I want to do, and that I really hope to do, is serve the people. I truly want to focus on the concerns that our community has for our schools.

"...The first thing on my agenda is to sit down and listen. I don't have an agenda, other than taking things in, listening, sorting things through and hearing what the community has to say too. My kids are out of school; but yet my other kids, in terms of kids that I work with, they're kids that are part of the community and I care about them as well."

Currently marking her 28th year as a Prairie Lakes AEA employee this month, where she specifically serves as chairperson of the occupational therapy/physical therapy department, Bomgaars is a school-based occupational therapist. Based in the Spencer office, she presently serves students in 10 area school districts.

When asked whether she foresees any potential conflicts of interest as a board member in regard to her AEA position or her husband, Steve, serving as a Spencer High School teacher, Bomgaars said, "I look at that as being a real asset. No. 1, I know that some people can see that there is a conflict of interest having a husband that's a teacher. I, however, see that as an asset, because I think that it gives me an opportunity to see both sides. I see the teacher side, but I also have an opportunity through my job to see the community and the whole school district side. As an AEA employee, ... I have covered five counties. I have seen so many school districts and worked with so many principals, superintendents, teachers, support staff, custodians, cooks, the whole nine yard. I feel that is one of the reasons that I think that I can really communicate and hope to be the voice for the whole community: Because I see all these pieces that make a school run. I know that I was kind of apprehensive about that, and I kind of jumped in and took this big dive. I read what other people had written that were running for the position, and I thought, 'I've got to do this. I want to help the community's voice be heard.'"

After congratulating Korbitz on his Tuesday night win, Bomgaars continued, "Regarding Dean and regarding Les, I appreciate their efforts and hope I can carry that banner of working with the community, and hope that we get that communication two ways."

When contacted via telephone, Mechler, a 51-year-old employed as an account manager for WinField Solutions L.L.C., simply said, "I thank the community for the opportunity to serve the past three years. I wish the new board well."

When informed of election results, Zobrist, a 52-year-old serving as the county executive director of the USDA Farm Service Agency, said, "That's not really a surprise. They had some inside access to voter base and resources that typically aren't available to other candidates."

"Their group worked pretty hard to get their voters out," Zobrist acknowledged. "I even got a phone call asking me to vote for Marti and Todd."

He continued, "We knew that (this year's) staff reductions and some accountability measures enacted by the school board were not popular, but you're supposed to do the right thing and it's not supposed to be a popularity contest. Sometimes there's no reward for that. Dean worked pretty hard. Being on the board, you put a lot of time in. And he should get some recognition for some of the things he did on the board."

Zobrist noted the energy-saving Energy Services Group work currently under way within the district, as well as the Instructional Support Levy passed during both their tenures as board members.

"Those are things that Spencer can be proud of. I'm just going to enjoy the extra month of my life back," Zobrist said with a chuckle in reference to the amount of time it takes to be a Spencer school board member. "...It was a good experience, for the most part. I'd like to thank the people who voted for me and supported me the past three years. It was a public service position, and that's the way you should view it. People should get involved in their school."

Following a 9 a.m. canvass of absentee votes and election results Friday by the Clay County Board of Supervisors, Spencer's newly-elected board members are expected to be installed into office during a Sept. 23 board meeting.

In other unofficial Tuesday night elections:

* South Clay candidates Troy Mayland, Amy Burkhart and write-in aspirant Mike Hildebrand all received voters' nods of approval.

* Brad Phelps earned 58 votes to remain as a Clay Central/Everly board member for the next year.

* Susan Zulk received 576 votes and 38 absentee ballots cast in her favor to be named an Iowa Lakes Community College board member.