Retired Jefferson art teacher asks district to catalog and protect school murals

Susan Vandar, a retired Jefferson art teacher who said she taught at Jefferson for 24 years, used the public forum at the Sept. 24 Des Moines Independent Comm School District board meeting to urge the district to catalog and protect artwork in school buildings after she learned a mural by artist Jordan Weber was painted over this summer.

Vandar said the mural was an early work by Jordan Weber and that students had participated in the mural project; she told the board she had not photographed the mural and said, "when I heard that they had painted over the mural ... I cried and then I got angry." She asked the board to establish a process or committee of administrators, teachers or community members to identify and preserve important school artwork.

Vandar described several other historic murals in district buildings and suggested the district may lack a centralized catalog or protection process for that work. She framed the request as a preservation issue: "my wish for you is that you would have a process for important artwork that is in our school buildings that needs to be protected and preserved." The board did not engage in discussion with forum speakers during the meeting; the public forum rules stated the board will not discuss specific employees or their job performance during public comment.

What the district heard - A former Jefferson art teacher asked for a formal process to document and protect murals and other artwork in district schools after a school mural by Jordan Weber was reportedly painted over.

Next steps and context The commenter urged a cataloging and preservation process; the board did not take action during the meeting and followed its stated practice of not engaging in discussion during public forum remarks. The district's facilities and arts-related staff would be the likely points of follow-up if the board or administration chooses to act.