Ames School Board candidates focused on community accountability at an open forum Tuesday night at the Ames City Hall.

Incumbent Carolyn Jons said good communication between the community and the school board is an “ongoing concern.” She said the school board must be “a good listener and tell the story of our schools to the community.”

Anita Richardson-Epperson said she learned through her PTA experience that there is a need for a greater representation of people who are involved specifically with elementary education on the board.

“The people in this community want to make sure that there are ears on the board that will listen to what they are saying and voices that will express those concerns,” Richardson-Epperson said.

Incumbent Marilyn Moehlmann said the roll of the school board is to present administrative proposals to the community while bringing messages in from community members. She said the board should be challenged to take a broad look at both sides.

The challenge for board members is to create a balance between maintaining continuity on one side and providing growth to meet new challenges on the other, Jons said.

In order to gain public input

for curriculum development, Moehlmann said the board would have one parent from each grade level on committees representing elementary schools, middle schools and the high school. Each committee would supervise specific academic disciplines from art to physical education.

Richardson-Epperson responded to a student’s concern about incorporating foreign language into the basic curriculum at the elementary level. She said that foreign language fluency will soon be considered basic to a student’s education.

Elections to fill two seats on the school board will be held Sept. 12 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.