Pekin School Board Rejects Four-Day School Week

PACKWOOD – Following a lengthy discussion, the Pekin School Board voted against switching to a four-day school week during the Feb. 11 board meeting. This controversial issue, which has divided the community, was previously discussed and voted against by the board in 2024. If the board had approved the proposed new calendar, Pekin would have gone from five days a week, with classes lasting from 7:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., to four days a week, with classes lasting from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with Fridays being taken off. Advocates for the switch argue that having Friday’s without students would give teachers more time to prepare for classes and do professional development. In recent years, the number of four-day schools in Iowa has skyrocketed, tripling in 2024 to 18 different schools, including Keota, WACO, Cardinal, Highland, and more.

Before the vote, there was ample time for members of the public to give their opinions on the proposed calendar change. One parent brought up the board’s Dec. 2024 meeting, where they discussed budget projections that show the district losing $500,000-$600,000 in funding, which could lead to the district going broke in less than five years, if measures are not taken to reduce costs. During that meeting, Superintendent Jeff Maeder stated that the budget problems were in part due to the district losing students to open-enrollment, with Secretary Ann Swanson explaining the district had lost 100 kids in five years, 30 of them this year. Later in the December meeting, Maeder stated that the district was considering the four-day switch to attract staff and that it wouldn’t save the district any money.

The parent said he wasn’t sure why the district was considering the switch if it wouldn’t save money. He noted that, according to U.S. News and World Report, Pekin is ranked 145/317 Iowa school districts, and that 29% of Pekin students are economically disadvantaged. He pointed out that parents still have to work five days a week and speculated the childcare costs of a switch would be hard on families. He didn’t believe there was childcare infrastructure in place for a four-day week. He also speculated that three-day weekends would result in students having a harder time getting back into the school mindset on Monday mornings and that the switch would harm curriculum. The parent stated that, if Pekin brings up test scores, families will come back. “Ultimately, Pekin needs to get back to the great school it was, by providing an excellent curriculum and a pleasing atmosphere, that will drive families, teachers, and staff back to the school,” he said. “As they say, ‘If you build it, they will come.’”

One woman, reading off a letter written by instructional coach Johanna Neff, who was unable to attend, explained that 50% of teachers leave the profession within five years. She explained that a second-grade teacher, for example, is required by the state to cover 80-105 standards, and that teachers are expected to not just teach and assess but also to sort through and prioritize these standards. She stated teachers often have to create their own assessments based on curriculums not aligning with standards, and that teachers also have to spend time on lesson planning, collaboration, professional development, meetings, PLC work, and district and building goals, but only have one 40 minute prep period a day to do all this. She stated teachers need more time.

“Moving to a four-day school week is not about teachers wanting to work less. If that thought comes across anyone’s mind, I encourage you to drive by the school parking lot on weekends, at seven a.m., sometimes before seven a.m., or after our contract time at four p.m.,” wrote Neff. “Teachers are here well beyond their required time, because we are committed to doing what’s best for our students.”

Neff wrote that she understood concerns about classroom time, but that she trusted Pekin had good teachers who would maximize instructional time. She noted that Pekin is short on many positions, resulting in some secondary classes having 29 student sections, and that they needed to make a change to keep and attract teachers. She noted that Pekin offers little based on its remote location, and said that Pekin wasn’t sustainable without a change. “Four-day seems like less, but school will get more out of it...If we don’t have teachers, it doesn’t matter how many days of school we have,” wrote Neff.

Matt Hoffman, the Pekin 7-12 social studies teacher and Vice President of the Pekin Education Association, the union that represents teachers in contract negotiations, stated that 100% of the teachers that spoke to the PEA about the switch supported a four-day week. He stated that teachers want to help students, but can only do so much after contract hours are over, and that teachers are suffering from the strain as more and more initiatives are added to their plates. He read off anonymous quotes from teachers, who stated that they need extra PD time to handle initiatives, want a more balanced workload, think a four-day week will improve their physical and mental well-being, currently feel swamped and unable to do their best, feel overwhelmed and drained, feel that something needs to change, that morale is low, and believe that continuing to force teachers to pick up the slack when the district is understaffed will result in more teachers leaving. Hoffman stated that, personally, he has had to deal with more and more expectations every year, but that time hasn’t been allocated.

Social studies teacher and parent Josie Sieren stated that Pekin’s biggest problems are being short-staffed for secondary Math and Science, which results in students not being ready for college. He noted that other schools offer stipends to keep and attract teachers, but that that might not work with the budget issues. He raised concerns that longer school days will be hard on younger kids, who will be tired and unable to focus by the end of the day. Sieren stated that kids won’t learn as well with less days, even if they have more minutes in a day. He noted that, 15 years ago, the state changed standards from requiring schools to have 180 days to requiring a certain number of hours, speculating that that law wouldn’t have passed if the legislature knew it would lead to four-day weeks.

Sieren claimed that Pekin has better test scores than four-day schools in the area. He said PD time was important, but not at the expense of school days. He stated that parents would leave over the four-day week and that Pekin couldn’t afford to lose 20 kids. He stated that Pekin used to be well respected, and that parents came because it was a great school. He brought up the surveys sent out last year, where a majority of parents, students and staff answered that they would support the switch, “if all their concerns were addressed,” saying that he believed phrasing it like that skewed answers.

One parent, who has a second grader and a preschooler at Pekin, stated she was concerned about the change because her second grader is “squirrelly,” which makes her fear how she will handle longer days. She stated she didn’t look forward to her daughter having earlier mornings and longer nights. She pointed out that, since her son started preschool, Pekin has been through four superintendents and three elementary principals. She said that a four-day week won’t address the problems with administration turnover and that teachers won’t come to Pekin, given its track record.

The parent stated she was concerned about instructional hours decreasing, from 1,154 hours and 170 days last year, to 1,118 and 165 this year, to a proposed 1,092 and 151 next year. She asked how this was beneficial for students. She stated that high school students can drive themselves to school, take care of themselves on off days, and handle homework themselves, but little kids can’t. She stated the board hadn’t addressed daycare concerns and that she feels that they have been dismissive and not taken students into account. She asked what Pekin will do if the four-day switch doesn’t work, saying she was worried the board wouldn’t admit they were wrong and switch back. She also pointed out that there were other big changes coming to Pekin, like a new superintendent and likely state budget cuts.

7-12 band and choir teacher Jessica Carlson stated she and other teachers supported the switch because they need more time to support students. She explained that most of her prep time is spent teaching students in small groups or one-on-one, maintaining instruments, or working on programs, resulting in most of her lesson prep taking place outside of contract hours. She stated that, based on Pekin’s size, it should have another part-time band and choir teacher, and that things are exhausting at Pekin, with her often working after school or on weekends. She stated that, during musical season, she has left the school at midnight, and that these long hours make it difficult to maintain a high-quality classroom experience.

After the public forum closed, Maeder stated that, in all the years he had worked in education, few decisions had dominated his mind as much as this one. He stated that there are as many arguments for as against and that both sides have very legitimate issues. He noted that Pekin is asking a ton from teachers and that there is strong evidence that, if teachers are given more planning time, they have better job performance and job satisfaction. He recognized that families would have to adjust to the new calendar and that students would get tired with longer days, but stated that recruiting better talent would result in a growth in student achievement. He raised concerns with missing a day of school being a bigger problem with a four-day week. Maeder stated he had met with SIAC committees, containing parents and teachers, who came to the consensus that the four-day switch was the right choice, and with building leadership teams, who were unanimous in preferring the four-day week.

He stated that data on the impact a four-day week has on student achievement is inconclusive and that other nearby districts have not seen changes in achievement after switching to a four-day week. But, they have seen less stress, better attendance and better engagement among students and staff. Ultimately, Maeder noted that other districts were happy with how things are going after making the switch and recommended the board approve the four-day calendar.

Board President J.J. Greiner stated that the biggest thing was to do what was best for kids. He stated that he was concerned about food insecurity, which he believed a four-day week would worsen. Board member Sherry Bemis stated that, when the board discussed this last year, her top questions were food insecurity and daycare, and that these questions still don’t have answers. Bemis stated that she had received multiple phone calls from parents saying they will leave if Pekin makes the switch, due to inability to find daycare. She stated she had a hard time making decisions based on hunches and that Pekin couldn’t afford to lose any more students.

Board member Mike Davis stated that it seemed to him like a four-day week would cause more stress for teachers, due to having to push five days of education into four and making time management more difficult. He said that teachers are already complaining about long days, asking why the board wanted to make them longer. Board member Ray Fear stated they have to do what’s best for parents and teachers. He pointed out that new superintendent Dave Harper will have to deal with whatever they decide. He asked if, given the district’s budget problems, this was the best time to turn things on their head. He pointed out that, when WACO switched, they lost a lot of kids, something Pekin can’t have happen. Griener stated it would be hard to bring back kids because Pekin is in the middle of nowhere. He asked if Pekin was jumping on the bandwagon and following other schools.

Board member Michael Sieren noted that Pekin would have a new superintendent soon and stated he wanted the superintendent to be involved in the change. He stated that Pekin was going through a huge transitional phase. He stated he was worried the four-day switch would be a trainwreck and would hurt the longevity of Pekin. He noted that WACO, a four-day school, also has open positions for Math and Science teachers. He stated that the switch would be harder on the elementary. He stated he wasn’t sure if a four-day week was the big solution to all of Pekin’s problems.

Board member Josh Arendt stated that there are parents who say they will pull out their students if Pekin makes the switch, and that losing ten kids was a big number, due to the planned budget cuts. He stated that, at this time, there is not enough for him to say a four-day week is a good idea and that more research needs to be done. Greiner raised concerns that a four-day week would affect kids with disabilities. Maeder stated that adjustments would have to be made to Individual Education Plans. Elementary Principal Liz Goodwin stated that changing IEP schedules wouldn’t be a huge concern. Mike Davis asked if this would affect which schools the district could share positions with. Maeder stated it would be easier to calculate hours if sharing with another four-day school, but that anything could be worked out.

Fear brought up the risks vs rewards of the switch. He stated it wouldn’t fix a lack of housing, a lack of kids, the facilities, the need for sharing, or the amount of money in the nutrition fund. What it would do is benefit teachers, but also turn the community on its head and potentially cause Pekin to lose kids or a new superintendent. He stated the switch felt riskier and asked if there was a middle ground.

Maeder stated he had looked into a four-and-a-half-day week, where there would be an early dismissal one day a week, but that that would still cause childcare problems and wouldn’t give as much time to teachers for prep work and training. He stated they could have a public hearing on an early-out schedule at a later date.

Sieren stated that students weren’t the ones coming to the board saying they wanted a four-day week, teachers were. He stated some teachers act like they are at an impasse and that the board needed to address this, but that he wasn’t sure if a four-day week was the answer. He stated they needed to find another option, because teachers keep saying the same thing, that they are too stressed and need more time, but that they need to address this problem without causing other issues for kids. Fear stated that they might go with a four-day week in the future, if the new superintendent thinks it’s the right option, but that he can’t support it right now. Ultimately, the board voted unanimously to reject the four-day calendar. Board member Kortney Baumberger was not in attendance.

Also at the Monday meeting, the board said goodbye to Michael Sieren, who is leaving due to plans to move out of Hedrick, the town he represents on the school board. The district plans to appoint a Hedrick resident to fill Sieren’s seat. “Glad I had the opportunity to be on the board,” said Sieren.

Robotics coach Cassidy Steinhart brought up an incident a few weeks ago where the robotics team were kicked out of the library, where they normally practice, so the board could have an impromptu meeting. She stated her students are upset and don’t feel like their work is valued by the school.

While looking over bills, Fear pointed out high bills being paid to Ottumwa and Fairfield for open enrollment and special ed costs, adding up to $120,000 per semester.