Robin Griffin-Lohman has always been fascinated by the power of words, and even more so when she read George Orwell’s “1984” in high school at Pomona.
“I realized how language can be used to manipulate people,” she said. “As an English major, I enjoyed playing with words. But I saw how politicians and marketing agencies were able to do that with the public.”
It lit a fire under her. As a college student, she wanted to “change the world” and felt the best way to do so was to understand politics.
Griffin-Lohman earned a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in political science from Emporia State University.
“I minored in political science but I always had a small notion to run for office. The school board is something I think I can do well. I have children in the district,” she said.
In college, she was able to attend an archaeology dig in Malta as part of a foreign exchange program. After school, she traveled across the country, mapping power lines for a power system.
Eventually, she returned to Kansas.
She started dating Iolan Nich Lohman about two and a half years ago and moved to Iola. They recently married.
She’s currently the director of Tri-Ko, a community developmental disabilities organization that covers Miami, Linn and Anderson counties.
She started attending school board meetings several months ago, before deciding to run for the seat.
“I wanted to see how they faced issues and challenges. I wanted to witness what happened when the public came to talk and get a feel for the dynamics.”
Indeed, Griffin-Lohman saw parents and others make passionate pleas about the board’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of the school year.
“I was impressed with how calm board members were,” she said.
So, how would you address the COVID-19 issue?
Early on, she may have voted to recommend mask mandates.
She’s less likely to do so now.
Griffin-Lohman said her sister works as a speech therapist, so she understands how face masks can affect the speech abilities in young children.
“These children are at pivotal moments in their lives. They have increased learning capacity, and when we push some of those things back, there’s an effect,” she said. “I don’t take learning lightly.”
That example illustrates her basic philosophy, which she said tends to lean a little bit on the Libertarian side.
“I think looking at other people’s perspectives is important,” she said. “We all face challenges. We all do our own health risk assessments every day and make the best decisions we can.”
This board will oversee the completion of the new elementary school and decide what to do about existing school buildings. What would you like to see happen?
She’s been impressed to see how well the construction projects have stayed on task and on budget. She likes that the district has used committees with community input for the projects.
After the elementary school opens, she would encourage the board to create an “idle free zone,” encouraging parents and caregivers to shut off their vehicles as they wait to pick up students in the afternoon.
“Studies show there are harmful effects on kids from the emissions of idling cars,” she said.
Because she regularly attends board meetings, she knows the district has put out a request for proposals for what to do with existing elementary schools.
She wants to see what those proposals look like before advocating for anything specific.
“Ideally, since I work for a non-profit, I’m leaning more toward a non-profit scenario where it can be utilized for the good of the community. Senior housing or something for the disabled, in my mind, would be good.”
At one of the first meetings you attended, you asked the board about school meals. Why is that important to you?
“I think they could incorporate more fresh foods. It bothers me that everything is pre-packaged,” she said.
She met with the food program director to learn more about how it works, and understands some aspects are beyond the district’s control.
“She talked about regulations at the federal level. They have to meet certain criteria,” Griffin-Lohman said.
She’s optimistic the meals will include more fresh options after the new elementary school is completed.
“I hope being cooked on site will help,” she said.
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