A pair of incumbents and two newcomers secured spots on the Ames school board

The Ames Community School Board will have two new faces and welcomes back two others following Tuesday’s election.

According to unofficial results from the Story County Auditor’s office, four candidates running unopposed for four seats on the school board were elected.

Allen Bierbaum secures another term

Ames Community School Board incumbent Allen Bierbaum, who joined the board in 2018, was reelected with 25% of the tally (2,037 votes).

Bierbaum, 47, has a Ph.D. in computer engineering from Iowa State University.

He told the Ames Tribune prior to the election that the district’s strategic plan is one of the key reasons he ran for reelection. The district and the community spent the last year developing the plan, he said.

“It includes input from across the community and touches all aspects of the educational experience for our students,” Bierbaum wrote in a candidate questionnaire. “It is now incumbent upon us to take the resulting plan and execute it and refine it as we measure results. The plan focuses not just on one issue, but a host of issues that we need to address and improve.”

Sabrina Shields-Cook is reelected to the Ames School Board

Incumbent Sabrina Shields-Cook also reclaimed her seat on the board, where she has served since 2019. She received 25% of the vote (2,071 votes).

Shields-Cook, 44, grew up in Ames. She has a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of Iowa and a master’s in professional communication from Iowa State.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve the Ames community for another four years,” she told the Tribune. “There are so many things I would like to accomplish in my second term on the board, but none of them can be accomplished without adequate funding from the state.”

“During my second term, I plan to increase my efforts to advocate to the state legislature to increase funding for public education and to keep public money in public schools,” Shields-Cook added.

DeWaard, Dryer secure seats on the Ames School Board

Newcomers Angie DeWaard and William Scott Dryer ran unopposed for the two other at-large seats and were elected with 25% and 24% of the vote, respectively.

DeWaard, 44, went to Ogden High School prior to attending Iowa State. She gained valuable experience serving on city commissions for Public Art and for Human Relations prior to running for school board. She nabbed 2,091 total votes.

For the Ames Community School District, DeWaard has nine years on the Kate Mitchell PTA, with the last three as president, where she worked on forming alliances between all elementary PTOs and PTAs. She also served on the SIAC committee, superintendent search focus group and strategic planning subcommittee on Communications.

"I am so grateful to the residents of Ames for their trust in me as Ames School Board Director," DeWaard told the Tribune Tuesday. "I can't wait to dig in to the hard work that comes along with this responsibility. It is my intention to continue to listen and learn from all of our residents as I represent them in a way that incorporates logic, enthusiasm, and commitment. Thank you for giving me the opportunity."

William Scott Dryer, 58, has a bachelor’s degree in English education from the University of Northern Iowa and both a master’s and doctorate in educational leadership from Drake University. He has principal and superintendent certificates from Drake and secured 1,947 votes on Tuesday.

“I am truly looking forward to working with the other current and newly elected board members on the Ames Community School District board of education. It is exciting to be able to continue my lifelong work and education at the board level,” Dryer told the Tribune Tuesday.

Ronna Faaborg is a reporter for the Ames Tribune. Reach her at rlawless@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Find out who prevailed in the uncontested Ames School Board races