By Casey Jarmes | The News-Review
PACKWOOD – During the March 10 meeting of the Pekin School Board, the board approved not renewing the contracts of three teachers for staff reduction purposes. Superintendent Jeff Maeder stated that, with enrollment numbers where they are, there has been talk of reducing K-6 classes to two sections, meaning that 1st and 6th grade, both of which are three section grades, need to be reduced. He stated that criteria including current position, evaluations, certifications and ability to do coaching were taken into consideration, and that the three teachers selected were all probationary teachers. The teachers whose contracts were not renewed include 1st Grade Teacher Alison Diers, 6th Grade Teacher Paige Ingle and 6th Grade Teacher Gabrielle Okones. Maeder stated this was not an easy choice and that these teachers all did a great job, and that the decision was made based on enrollment numbers only. The board also approved transferring Instructional Coach Cassidy Steinhart to an indeterminate Elementary Classroom job and K-6 Art and TAG Teacher Amy Steigleder to 7-8 Science and TAG.
Board member Kortney Baumberger stated she had received several phone calls about the non-renewed contracts from parents who said that these teachers did good jobs and made a difference in their children’s lives. She stated that these teachers are younger people with children in the district and that Pekin will lose these students if they lose those contracts. Maeder stated that all of the teachers had been told they would be considered for any openings that may come up between now and the end of the year. Baumberger asked if there was a way to get more at-risk funds, noting it was $80,000 lower this year, and Maeder stated that they couldn’t because it was based on enrollment.
The board discussed a pair of potential calendars for the 2025/2026 school year, one which would feature a 15-minute shorter day and one that would keep 3:30 dismissal times, but feature 1:30 early outs on Fridays, to give time for professional development and meetings. These early outs would replace the current monthly professional development days, which are held on Mondays and feature no classes. Maeder explained that, with the early out schedule, at least one Friday a month would go towards “flex time” where teachers would be able to decide what they needed to work on.
Board member Mike Davis brought up after school sports, asking if kids would go straight to practice on early out days and saying he didn’t want kids to just sit there after school. Maeder stated coaches could start practices early on flex days, and that the school would likely have to provide supervision for kids for a few hours on early out days.
Board President J.J. Greiner noted there would be a new superintendent soon and suggested the board reject both calendars and stick with a normal 3:30 dismissal calendar. He noted that both calendars would reduce instructional time from the current 1,118 hours yearly to 1,096 hours, and stated they were inching closer to the state minimum of 1,080 hours. He stated that parents want their kids to have more instructional time.
Board member J.D. Olinger asked why they were considering a shorter day. Elementary Principal Liz Goodwin stated that Pekin has longer days than other schools. Baumberger stated there were people worried about how much time students were spending at school, particularly 7-12 students because of activities. Elementary teacher Michelle Glosser stated that, in the years she has been at Pekin, more and more time has been added to the day.
Davis stated that this could cause problems with bus drivers, bringing up one bus driver, a retired farmer, who always shows up at 3:30 exactly. He stated he agreed with Greiner that there will be problems with a shorter day and that this discussion should be revisited in the future. Board member Ray Fear asked if bus drivers would struggle with 15 minutes. Greiner stated some will, and that, when he substitutes as a bus driver, he leaves his job at 3:20 and usually doesn’t come back. He stated he would go back to work afterwards if there was an earlier dismissal time. He stated he didn’t like 1:30 early outs because they’re in the middle of the day, when he’s in the middle of doing something. Fear stated he didn’t think 15 minutes would matter much and that they should stick with a traditional schedule, if changing would mess with bus routes.
Baumberger asked if this would affect academy students and was told it wouldn’t. Olinger asked what the staff wanted. Secondary Principal Shawn Dorman stated he emailed teachers asking for their opinion; seven responded, all saying they preferred the 15 minute shorter day to a 1:30 early out. Maeder stated that everyone has calendar fatigue at this point. The board voted to approve the 15-minute shorter calendar.
Business Manager Kaye Gilbert read off the district’s state audit. She noted that the district’s expenditures exceeded the certified budget, even after amending the budget, and stated they did not want that to happen again. She stated she was monitoring the budget and that the budget amendment in May would be a little bit bigger, to avoid having to do another amendment. The district was also dinged for a lack of segregation of duties and for slight overstated amounts in certified enrollment and supplementary waiting, which Gilbert stated was normal.
The board approved a sharing agreement with Grant Wood AEA for IT services, which will provide a person on site for five days a week during the school year, at a cost of $98,600. Maeder noted this will allow the district to pay the IT salary out of PPEL instead of the general fund.
The board voted against waving the ineligibility for a student who open-enrolled out of Pekin, which was discussed and tabled at the previous board meeting. Greiner stated he had spoken to the ISAB, who warned waving for this student would set a precedent. Greiner stated that there were currently students at Pekin sitting out activities for 90 days and that parents would be mad if they wave the wait period for this student, but do not for other kids in the future. He noted that the student is transferring to a four-day school.
