Crystal Jimenez-Boender – Oskaloosa School Board Candidate 2025

Oskaloosa School Board Candidate Crystal Jimenez-Boender

Please share a little about your family and how long you have lived in the Oskaloosa community.

I have been in the Oskaloosa Community all of my life. I have been married for 27 years and have 2 children; a 23-year-old and a 15-year-old.

What is your educational background, and how has it prepared you for serving on the school board?

I have a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and Finance. I feel like having experience in accounting, auditing, and finance would be incredibly beneficial to serving on the School Board.

What professional or work experiences do you bring that would help you make informed decisions for the district?

My entire career has been spent in the world of finance; beginning in banking, then auditing, fraud investigation, and now as a financial controller. These roles have prepared me to review and analyze data to make informed decisions.

Have you been involved in volunteer, civic, or community service roles that you feel strengthen your ability to serve?

I have served in many volunteer and community service roles. I volunteered with the Oskaloosa Chamber of Commerce for 15 years as well as being a 4-H leader for 10 years. I am currently the treasurer for South East Aquatics swim club and co-advisor for the Oskaloosa FFA. If my children are involved in a group, organization, or sport; there is a high likelihood that I am also involved!

What personal values or principles guide you when making difficult decisions?

I use integrity, empathy, and fairness when making difficult decisions. It is important to me to follow through on commitments that I have made. Sometimes the right decision is not the easy choice, but it is necessary to see it through.

What motivated you to run for the Oskaloosa School Board at this time?

I want to be an advocate for the parents, students, and teachers. I also want to ensure fiscally responsible decisions are being made for the betterment of our school and our community. Fiscal responsibility isn’t just ensuring that the district is within budget. It is also about ensuring public expenditures are aligned with our district goals. The district needs to ensure that it is strategically investing in staff, infrastructure, and technology.

How do you see the role of a board member in setting direction versus overseeing day-to-day operations?

I see the role of the board is to ensure that the district’s vision and goals are established. The board is the liaison between community, teachers, parents, and students and they must monitor key performance indicators to ensure that goals are being met. The superintendent is tasked with the day-to-day operations of the district and implementing the policies put in place by the board.

How would you approach building consensus on the board when members disagree?

Operating as a unified board does not mean that we have to agree on everything. A certain level of disagreement is healthy because it helps drive change. The discussions will encourage critical thinking, uncover potential problems, and possibly lead to better solutions. To achieve this, we need to remain respectful during the discussions and disagreements.

In your view, what are the top three priorities for the district over the next four years?

Teacher Recruitment and Retention – We need to find strategies to attract and retain high-quality teachers. Is that better compensation? Benefits? Or professional development? Have we discussed a 4-day class schedule? I have heard from other districts that there are many benefits to this setup such as cost reductions in transportation. We need to know what is important to our teachers and then implement their requests as we can. They are the foundation of our children’s education.

Test Scores and Retention of Students – We need to ensure that our test scores are continually improving and making us a desirable district for students to remain in or to be a destination district for our surrounding communities. This is an easy quantifiable measure that can be tracked.

Providing the Best Experience Outside of Academics – We need to ensure that we bring in a diverse offering of extracurricular activities, provide opportunities for growth through sports, and listen to what students want or need for additional programs that we are developing or offering in our district. We need a diverse offering of programs that reflect the diversity of our students.

What is your philosophy on balancing fiscal responsibility with the need to invest in staff, programs, and facilities?

Fiscal responsibility isn’t just ensuring that the district is within budget. It is also about ensuring public expenditures are aligned with our district goals. The district needs to ensure that it is strategically investing in staff, infrastructure, and technology.

What ideas do you have for improving student achievement and better preparing graduates for success beyond high school?

We have a great building trades program, but I would like to see if we can offer more programs like that for the students that want to go into skilled careers. I would like to see the district partnering with local businesses and organizations to provide real-world learning experiences.

How would you like to see the district address issues of school safety, bullying, and student well-being?

I definitely think we need to ensure that students have access to mental health and counseling resources. Adding an additional School Resource Officer was a great thing to see for this school year as well. We also need to ensure that we are utilizing the technological advancements in monitoring and threat detection.

In what ways should the district expand opportunities for career and technical education, arts, and extracurricular activities?

I love the idea of collaborating with businesses to create real-world experiences; especially internships. We can keep our students in Oskaloosa if we show them all of the opportunities that we have right here. Many students do not know what is available here. It is also important for local businesses to have a continuous flow of workers for both skilled and unskilled positions.

How would you work to strengthen trust and communication between the board, parents, staff, and the wider community?

I think it is important to establish a safe space for parents, staff, and the community where they can have open and honest conversations with the board. We need to ensure that we are listening to understand and responding with empathy. We need to utilize a district-wide communication platform that has the most current information shared at all times providing the transparency and communication from the district, especially at the superintendent level, that this community is seeking.

Looking ahead, what is your long-term vision for Oskaloosa Schools, and how would you help lead the district toward that future?

My long-term vision is to become the destination district for our area. To do that, we need to:

Create a safe environment where students are passionate about learning.

Focus on top-tier educational opportunities and extracurricular and co-curricular activities.

Attract talented teachers and staff by providing strong support and professional development.

Invest in facilities and create innovative programs.