School Board Election Official Results


Congratulations to incumbents Wendy Liskey, Mary Scheve, David Cunningham and Jerry Ripperger who were re-elected and Lori Lyon who was newly elected to serve on the Waukee Community School District Board of Education on September 12, 2017.

Liskey, Scheve, Cunningham and Lyon were elected to the full four-year term. Ripperger was elected to serve the remaining two years of the term he was appointed to serve after the resignation of Scott Blum.  Current board members Ethan Huisman and Susan Bunz have two years remaining before their seats will be up for election.

Strong leadership in every school district is critical to moving education forward in this state. School board members play significant roles in their communities – members must have leadership, vision and dedication. School board members are locally elected public officials charged with accountability for student learning, determining educational goals, setting policy, overseeing school finances and other duties. Across Iowa, nearly 2,000 men and women serve on local school boards, guiding the education of more than 475,000 young people at an annual expenditure of more than $5.1 billion. Those elected receive no pay.

Full school board election results are available on the Dallas County Auditors website.

NEWLY ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS

David Cunningham
DaveCunningham  Age: 59
 Years in District: 25
About the Candidate: David and his wife Janice have lived in the Waukee school district for 25 years. They are the parents of three children, all who have attended and graduated from Waukee schools since kindergarten. David is a Certified Financial Planner and has worked as an investment professional for 28 years. David is a former teacher and has served on various boards including Band Booster President, Celebration in Brass, Original Iowa Executive Board of Certified Financial Planners. He volunteers at Hope Ministries. I am seeking re-election to the board. Every child deserves the opportunity to succeed in school. We can accomplish this by providing a world-class education where each student has a chance to discover, and develop their passion for learning and success.

Wendy Liskey
WendyLiskey Age: 46
Years in District: 15
About the Candidate: I have lived in the Waukee School District for 15 years with my husband, Eric, and two daughters – one at Timberline and one at Waukee High School. I feel blessed that we are part of the Waukee school community, which is why I’ve been so involved since 2006 when my oldest entered Kindergarten at Brookview Elementary. Prior to serving on the Board, I served on two District committees: the 2012-13 Boundary Committee and the 2013 Secondary Study Committee. I also served at Brookview Elementary as PTO Vice-President and Staff Appreciation Chair, and I was a member of the District PTO for four years, serving as Secretary. I work at Lutheran Church of Hope Waukee and my faith is an essential part of who I am. I’ve had the privilege of serving on the Waukee School Board since 2013. I’ve had the privilege of working alongside six great Board members and numerous skilled and knowledgeable Administrators. I’ve had the honor of representing my own daughters and the 10,000+ students in our district. I’ve had a duty to protect and applaud our teachers and staff. I would like to continue to do all of that for another four years.

Lori Lyon
LyonLori Age: 52
Years in District: 21
About the Candidate: Together, my husband Larry and our three sons have made the Waukee community our home for the past 21 years. I have been an educator for over 25 years, with a BA from the University of Northern Iowa, MA from Viterbo University, and Certificate in Reading Recovery Teacher Training from the University of Northern Iowa. I enjoy kids, gardening, and mowing. We are members

atLutheran Church of Hope. I have dedicated most of my professional career to education and believe in working together to meet the diverse social, emotional and programming needs of our students. As a board, we must advocate

to ensurethat cuts in state funding don’t negatively affect those needs while remaining fiscally responsible to taxpayers for a world-class education. It is vital to continue to retain, recruit, prepare great educators, make schools safe places for students and work in collaboration with the community to embrace change with the addition of our new high school. I enjoy

challengeand am confident that our community will embrace our joint efforts to lead these changes.


 Jerry Ripperger
 JerryRippeger Age: 52
Years in District: 23
About the Candidate: I am Vice President of Consulting at Principal. I am married to Karen and we have two daughters that are proud graduates of Waukee schools. Megan went on to get a masters degree in clinical nutrition and is a lieutenant in the US Army. Sarah is a senior at Iowa State University majoring in chemical engineering. I have had the privilege of serving on the school board for the past 12 years. During that time the district has had to manage unprecedented growth while facing state funding limitations. Yet we managed to increase programming and opportunities for students. As we prepare for a second high school we have an opportunity to do even more great things.

Mary Thomas Scheve
MaryScheve Age: 56
Years in District: 49
About the Candidate: I have been employed as Chief Financial Officer at August Home Publishing for 17 years as well as having my MBA and CPA. My husband Ray and I have three recent Waukee graduates: Zoe, Tim and Max. I’m a third generation Waukee High School graduate and third generation school board member. I have served on the Waukee Foundation Auction/Dinner as co-chair, Waukee Foundation Scholarships, School Improvement, Career and Technical Advisory, along with committee roles at St. Boniface Catholic Church, Des Moines CycloneClub, WaukeeRagbrai and ISU Alumni Audit. Waukee School District is at a critical stage with the financial uncertainty from state funding, a second high school and 9th elementary opening up, projected growth of 500+ students each year, increasing advanced programming needs of all our students and a continued underfunding by the state for our schools’ special needs population. As a Board member with 8 years of Board experience and extensive financial background, I can provide continuity in using my skills to give every Waukee student a robust individualized education from innovative teachers and staff in a socially responsible and financially efficient manner.