Voters Call for Calm and Cooperation as New Oskaloosa School Board Members Take Office

The Mahaska County Courthouse on November 4th, 2025.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – Mahaska County voters sent a pretty simple message Tuesday night: calm things down, focus on kids, and keep people in office who actually do the work.

The biggest shift came in the Oskaloosa Community School District, where voters chose three at-large board members and filled an open vacancy. The people who won didn’t talk about drama or personalities — they talked about moving on.

“I think ultimately, people were kind of tired of the drama and turmoil that we’ve been seeing for a year,” said newly elected board member James Feudner after the results were read at the courthouse. “I did not think we would win by that much. I think that was a resounding, ‘Hey, we want something different.’ I’ll do my best to make our community proud. I’m ready to get rolling and be more positive.”

Another winner, Tyler Wilson, said the campaign itself showed him how many people still support the district and want it to do well.

“The whole process has been a roller coaster,” Wilson said. “I didn’t know what I was doing getting into this, but it just felt good to get people behind me and have faith in me. Everybody that showed up and campaigned, it’s a lot of work, and it shows where their heart is. I just hope that we can take this, move forward as a district, and get behind everybody that’s on the board.”

Wilson said people can still reach him the same way they did during the campaign for now, and he also liked the idea of keeping some kind of public meet-up so people can talk directly to board members.

The vacancy race was also decided Tuesday night, and that one was not close. Winner Katie Johnston said voters were clear about what they wanted from the new board.

“I think the voters said what they want to see with our school, and we need to get the focus back to kids,” Johnston said.

All three of those comments lined up with what people in the room were saying — that the election was less about one person and more about getting past the fighting, getting board members sworn in, and doing business in public again.

It wasn’t just the school district making decisions Tuesday. In University Park, voters once again returned Mayor George Toubekis to office. He has now served the small city for going on two decades and said he plans to keep doing what people there expect him to do.

“They have another two years of fiscal responsibility,” Toubekis said. “Let’s try and get some projects done, maybe some new things, and let’s keep taxes low and the city clean. I look forward to serving the people of University Park for another two years.”

He also said he was grateful for the voters who keep backing him.

Taken together, Tuesday night’s results showed two things about local voters. First, they will absolutely vote for change when they think the boards have gotten off track. Second, they will also stick with people they trust if those officials keep taxes down and do the basics.

The election still has to be canvassed, but the candidates who spoke Tuesday night were already talking like it is time to get to work. As one of them said while leaving the courthouse: now the real work begins.