DES MOINES, Iowa — The three Des Moines School Board candidates running for the two open at-large seats answered the public’s questions leading up to November election at a DMPS Board Candidate Forum Wednesday evening.

The three candidates running for the two open at-large seats are Maria Alonzo, an incumbent, Marcus Coenen, and Sara Hopkins.

At the forum, candidates were asked tough questions about what they would have done in response to the former Superintendent Ian Roberts situation, and how they would hire the next superintendent for the district.

Maria Alonzo said she wants more extensive search processes.

“I think that the processes that we have in place can be enhanced. I believe that I am supportive of involving communities being more transparent. Absolutely. Getting the community maybe to know who our candidates are,” Alonzo said.

Sara Hopkins said she wants to investigate further how Roberts was hired.

“We have got to dig into the root cause of what happened. What, where did it go wrong? Where did this happen? Because we can’t fix it until we know how it happened in the first place,” Hopkins said.

Marcus Coenen, said he wants more transparency in the superintendent search.

“Something that didn’t go well was the fact that the superintendent search got to three finalists and you never as the public, as residents of the city, as parents, as teachers, got to know who those who those finalists are,” Coenen said.

Candidates were also asked about their support for the Reimagine Education Bond Referendum that will also be on the November ballot.

Maria Alonzo said that she fully supports the bond referendum.

“I don’t think that there are any downsides to it fully in support of it. We, our students, our community and this bond absolutely works,” Alonzo said.

Sara Hopkins said that she thinks the bond is important for the future of DMPS.

“I hope that the public understands that not voting for the bond is, is not, you’re not voting for the children. You’re not voting for the 30,000 kids who need this. Our kids deserve to have infrastructure that is nice. They deserve to have the best things that other school districts have,” Hopkins said.

Marcus Coenen said he wishes the bond was for a greater amount of money.

“I wish the bond had gone for the full amount. You know, I’ve heard it quite a few times. This is a once in a lifetime bond. If it’s a once in a lifetime bond, we better get all the money we can,” Coenen said.