School Board Election November 4: Meet the Candidates

The school and city election is scheduled for November 4 and this election cycle we have 3 seats on the school board up for election. There are 3 candidates running for these seats and include incumbent Sannon Ingamells, who is seeking her second term on the board, and both Jared Seliger and Scott Beenken who are running for their first term. I encourage you to take a few minutes to read about these candidates and be ready to cast your vote on November 4!

Scott Beenken

Scott is no stranger to the community, growing up just south of Hudson on a farm near Buckingham. He is a proud graduate of the North Tama School District and continued his post-secondary education at Iowa State University. While at Iowa State, Scott earned a Bachelor's degree in Agricultural Studies and minored in Agronomy. 

As a co-owner of the multi-family row crop farming enterprise of B & H Agriculture Services, Scott and his team farm approximately 4,000 acres which includes some custom enterprises. Their operations not only include an area right around Hudson, but spans three counties including areas in Blackhawk, Grundy and Tama.

He has been married to his wife Stephanie for 18 years who is a registered dietician that works out of the Waterloo clinic of veterans affairs headquartered in Iowa City. Together, Stephanie and Scott keep very busy raising their three children who are all students in Hudson Schools: Sydnie is in 8th grade, Declan in 5th and Logan in 1st! 

Scott was drawn to board service through his volunteer work with the school. As an active member of the SIAC (School Improvement Advisory Committee), he was recruited to serve on the steering committee for the 2023 general obligation task force that led to the successful completion of the high school project. He is committed to a team approach to problem solving and truly believes that the collective strength of a team is what strengthens any organization. He recognizes that as a key attribute to anyone who aspires to board service.

When asked about the greatest challenge facing education statewide, he zeros in on funding. Understanding how to manage scarce resources is a challenge for all school districts and it takes a keen eye and careful understanding of the issues in order to wisely and efficiently allocate those resources to our educational programs. Hudson, on the other hand, has very unique challenges when compared to other school districts in Iowa. Where many schools in Iowa are facing declining enrollment, Hudson appears to be in direct contrast with growing enrollment. Our challenge then is to manage our educational spaces as our enrollment grows, which will ensure our students have a solid base in which to meet their future goals. 

Scott hopes that his service on the school board can make a positive and lasting impact. He understands that, not only is he working to improve the educational outcomes of his own children, but all of the children in Hudson schools, now and into the future. 

Shannon Ingamells

Shannon grew up in Cedar Falls and holds a BA Degree in Community Health Education from the University of Northern Iowa and an Associate Degree in Nursing (RN) from Inver Hills Community College. She is currently employed by Waverly Health Center as an RN in the Medical-Surgical Department and has varied nursing experience in pediatrics, public health, home health, hospice, and school nursing. Her past experience, specifically, as a school nurse manager within schools in the Cedar Valley has given Shannon a unique perspective. 

Shannon and her husband Wade, a Hudson native, have been married for 24 years. They lived in Minnesota when they were first married. Shortly afterward, they moved back to Iowa and have been happy to call Hudson home for the past 22 years.  Both of their children are graduates of Hudson High School. 

Shannon is finishing her first term on the board and has found the work rewarding, and is eager to serve another term to continue her service to the district and community. She has an interest in educational law as well as collaborating with others to arrive at the best outcome. She is accustomed to working in unique situations with an adverse and complex set of barriers. She has extensive background working with children with special health care needs in the school setting and collaborating with the AEA. She believes it takes a village to raise a child and wants to help impact the educational experiences of our Hudson students.  

Shannon believes in the uniqueness of each child and that it can be challenging for educators to find that uniqueness about each child and meet each child and their families "where they are". But, she feels if that uniqueness can be found and lifted up to help the student reach their full potential, their opportunities in life will be limitless.

Despite being a smaller school district, Shannon is happy to see the progress Hudson Schools have made to offer a myriad of educational opportunities and activities to students. Her daughter, a 2021 Hudson graduate, was able to take a CNA course her senior year. This was an amazing experience and sparked her daughter's interest in pursuing a degree in nursing as well as working at a local nursing home as CNA. Her daughter loves her CNA job and has learned that caring for others is her passion. Her daughter is currently a student in the nursing program at The University of Northern Iowa. Shannon's son, a 2024 Hudson graduate, found his path by taking welding courses at Hudson during both his junior and senior years as well as participating in the Cooperative Work Experience (CEO) program. Her son then went on to earn a welding degree at Hawkeye Community College and is now loving his full time work as a welder for a local rail car company. Shannon believes the educational experiences her children received while students at Hudson has helped shape who they are today.

If re-elected, Shannon hopes to continue making a positive impact by the choices and decisions that are made as a board member.  She is committed to ensuring Hudson Schools continues to be a place where students want to learn and teachers want to teach, where they wake up every morning and are excited to be there.  Shannon is proud of the work she and the current school board are doing. She appreciates the team work, discussion, and importance placed on each issue to ensure the best possible outcomes for our students, their families, and our staff.

Dr. Jared Seliger 

Originally from Jesup, Dr. Seliger is a graduate of Don Bosco High School and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Loras College; a certificate in nuclear medicine from the University of Iowa, an MBA from the University of Northern Iowa, and a PdD in Educational Leadership from Iowa State University. He has worked at Allen College in Waterloo where he started as program director in the Nuclear Medicine Technology program. In 2018, he was named President of Allen College.

Dr. Seliger and his wife Miranda have lived in Hudson since 2010 and are raising one daughter, Tenley who is currently in 4th grade. He is excited to be running for a seat on the school board and is eager to give back to the community. Jared believes our public school system is the catalyst and foundation to success in life and wants to ensure that Tenley and all children in our community continue to receive an exemplary education. He hopes that by serving on the board, he will be a strong advocate for children in Hudson and work to ensure the education they receive is among the best in the state and country.

From a statewide perspective, he believe the greatest challenge to be an ever shrinking pipeline of young people pursuing education as a career. Dr. Seliger points out that Iowa has numerous small, rural districts that can make it difficult to compete for talent. The inability to attract strong teachers to smaller school districts will make it even more difficult to adequately serve the needs of students in those districts. 

On the other hand, he believes the greatest challenge facing the Hudson Community School District is rapid growth. As more students move into the district, the current infrastructure is not sufficient to meet the needs of a growing student population. While he applauds the current expansion and renovation at the high school, he recognizes that continued student growth will create additional infrastructure challenges.