News

New Sioux City school board president chosen for year term

Perla Alarcon-Flory will lead the Sioux City school board in the next year as the district wrestles with issues related to the ongoing pandemic and budget constraints.

The seven-member board elected Alarcon-Flory as president near the end of a four-hour meeting Monday night. She succeeds Jeremy Saint, who had previously said he did not want to seek another term as president.

“I am so willing to serve. I understand the demands … the requirements of time and dedication,” said Alarcon-Flory, who owns a small business and is a certified Spanish court interpreter.

Alarcon-Flory, who is married and the mother of three children, said a key goal as board president will be to improve equal access to a good education for all students, citing the need “to eradicate discrimination” that some groups of pupils experience.

Nearing the end of a four-year board term that began with her election in 2017, Alarcon-Flory was elected president by a 5-2 vote Monday. Ron Colling, who was board vice president last year, nominated her for the position. In addition to her own vote, Alarcon-Flory was backed by Saint, Juli Albert, and Monique Scarlett.

The other two votes were to Taylor Goodvin, who was nominated for president by Dan Greenwell.

Scarlett was unanimously selected as board vice president. Both offices are for a one-year term.

Scarlett cited her career as a bank executive and former service on school district committees and as chairwoman of the Sioux City Human Rights Commission as sound preparation to serve as vice president.

“I will be a team player, a patient listener, and a strong defender of our public schools,” Scarlett said.

View the full article by Brett Hayworth on the Sioux City Journal.