Southeast Polk School Board Candidate: Brett Handy
Brett Handy; 49 years old
Resided in East Polk County since 1979
Lives in Altoona; 21 years
Attended Bondurant-Farrar High School, DMACC and Upper Iowa University
Works at the Altoona Police Department; 27 years
Two Children: Morgan 21 years old, 2016 Southeast Polk graduate, senior at Iowa State; and
Carson 17 years old, junior at Southeast Polk
Volunteer
SE Polk School District Safety Committee, 2012 to Current
SE Polk School District; Elected to Board of Education, 2011 – Current
Board Vice President in 2013
Board President in 2014 and 2018
SE Polk Dollars for Scholars; Volunteer Board Member, 2006 – Current
Member of Local Union 238, 1995 to 2016; Steward from 2005 to 2016
SE Polk Junior High Volunteer Assistant Wrestling Coach, 2008 - 2015
Altoona Baseball League; Volunteer Board Member and Coach, 2009 -2014
Vice President in 2013 and 2014
SE Polk District Central Place Family Resource Center, Volunteer Board Member, 2004 - 2012
Bondurant Fire Department; Volunteer Fireman/First Responder, 1989-1999
Question #1: 1). Why are you running for this seat?
I am running for another term on the Southeast Polk Board of Education because I would like to be involved with the continued work that has been done and what is currently going on at Southeast Polk. When I first ran in 2011, it was because I wanted to get more involved in the community and help make Southeast Polk the best place for my children as well as all other children. My mindset was and still is, we have a lot of good things going on here, but we can always continue to improve, and we truly are doing that. I was tired of sitting back and complaining about the things I was hearing, and of course I never had all the facts, so I thought it was time to step up and be part of the solution. I would love to continue being part of the solution and to help keep the momentum going. We have done a lot of great things here at Southeast Polk, including improving our budget from when it was not so great. Being part of that makes me feel proud of where we are today. When I first ran I didn’t have an agenda and I still don’t have anything to prove except trying to make Southeast Polk a better place for our students and staff. There are a lot of people to credit for where we are today, and I consider myself lucky to be one of those people and to get to serve you as a member of the board of education. I am also very proud to be a part of Southeast Polk as this is the 5th year in a row Southeast Polk has been named one of the best places to work.
Question #2). What will you be contributing to this role that will provide a positive impact?
Having the insight of where we have been as a district makes it is easier to see where we are going. I was elected during what was one of the worst time to be on the board, because we had to make major cuts to the overall budget cutting several programs, which caused eliminating jobs that impacted people’s livelihoods and we had to change how we did our daily school business. I feel I have the experience to help us continue on the path that has been set out to continue striving for excellence at Southeast Polk, both financially and academically. The past few years we, the board, have been able to focus more on the academics as our financial status is stable and looking better every day. I will continue the focus on the financials, but most importantly I want to make sure we are continuing to improve our academics and that our students are getting what they need. Whether it be the student who needs a challenge in the classroom or if there is a student struggling, we need to make sure we are getting to all the students, so they have a great educational experience at Southeast Polk. As a taxpayer myself, I never want to see the district get in the position it was in when I was first elected in 2011. I have learned a lot about fiscal responsibility and how school financing works, which take many years to truly understand. I am not afraid to ask those tough questions and I am definitely not afraid to challenge the administration when needed. I also bring to the board the experience to help keep our students and staff safe as we have invested a lot of money in security making our school entrances more secure, along with helping implement new safety protocols and procedures. I would love to continue the work we are doing.