The ACSD School Board met on Jan. 28 to discuss replacements for former board member Laura McLean. Due to the immediate need for an additional member, the board chose to appoint the member. Community members can still petition the board to hold a special election until Feb. 7. The board hopes to announce its choice for the replacement during its Feb. 11 regular meeting. Four people who had submitted their applications to the board were interviewed. They were Chase Roller, Dianna Blake, Rod Deter, and Jordan Zarbano.
Chase Roller was the first applicant to come before the board. He was born and raised in Oakland, Iowa. Roller received his education at Riverside and a degree in social work from Buena Vista and Dana College. Roller has been a resident of Atlantic for over twenty years, and has two sons who have graduated from the district and one daughter currently attending AHS. Roller has worked in fire and rescue, as an EMT, a parole officer, and in child abuse investigations. Roller is now an economic fraud investigator for the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing.
With the school district, Roller has coached sports of every age level. He sat on the Little Trojans Football board and intends to continue coaching. While not a prior school board member, Roller said, “I am a quick study. I am eager to learn, I want to learn.” Roller believes that the best thing about the Atlantic Community School District is the students. “We have a really good bunch of kids. I want to see them get the best opportunities they can.” His main goal for the board is the improvement of the lines of communication between the board and the community, he said, “It needs to happen”.
Dianna Blake is a California native turned passionate Atlantic community member and self-proclaimed AHS football superfan. She moved with her several children, husband, grandmother, and pets to Atlantic in 2021. Blake moved to secure a job as a professor of composition, public speaking, and literature at Iowa Western Community College. Blake said she “Very quickly went from being a suburban city person to a small town person.” She has had multiple children attend and graduate from Atlantic, with two still in the program. Blake is also the author of a book titled “College Success for Moms”.
Blake’s approach to improvement in the board is very student-focused. When it comes to matters and decisions coming to the board, she wants to hear more student input. Blake said, “I think going forward, student involvement in the process, student voice in matters is important.” Blake would bring a unique perspective to the board because she has had the opportunity to teach many seniors and graduates from Atlantic at IWCC. Blake has contemplated joining the board for several years, but she feels that this is the first time she has had the proper means to fully devote time to the board. When it comes to Blake’s strategy for mitigating conflict on the board, she said, “I think communicating civilly with people is one of the best ways to work through something that is going to be a little tough.”
Rod Deter applied to replace McLean because he wants to improve the quality of education in Atlantic. An Atlantic native, Deter graduated from AHS and then earned an MBA in statistics at UNO. Deter has two adult children. He has not spent his whole life in Atlantic, but came back in 2017 and has “enjoyed his time here” since. “Coming back here [Atlantic] gave me significant connections with people,” Deter said. Deter has worked in tech for multiple startups, as well as public relations for several community colleges.
If appointed to the board, his main focus would be education. He was staunchly against the bond program and field house, said “Atlantic doesn’t need a field house, we need education.” Deter hopes to place more of an emphasis on STEM education, as well as potentially integrating AI into some systems. He also plans to look at how the school is measuring student performance. Deter’s main advice when handling adversity on the school board is that you “Just have to listen to all sides.”
After a failed school board run in 2025, Jordan Zarbano is now seeking to be appointed. Zarbano is involved in the community and is an active volunteer coach. He is a self-described family man and a hunter/fisherman. Zarbano prides himself on being connected in the community, he said, “I hear a lot of scuttle, I have a lot of connections. I am an Atlantic guy through and through.”
If appointed, Zarbano hopes to work on how well the staff is being trained and directed. He was against the bond and field house program, stating that while we do need a field house, the use of safe funds for it was rightfully voted down. Zarbano has a strong conviction that “People rally around the school.” He hopes to make the board more transparent. He said that he prides himself on transparency. When handling adversity, Zarbano said, “Nobody is going to like every decision their friends make,” but that one person’s complaints should not stop the board from making fact-based decisions.
