Keota Switches to Four-Day Week

KEOTA – On March 25, the Keota School Board approved switching to a four-day calendar for the 2024/2025 school year. A public hearing was opened before the vote, to give members of the community a chance to give their thoughts on the drastic change. Despite there being 23 community members in attendance, no member of the public took the opportunity to speak.

Board member Andy Conrad read off a prepared statement prior to the vote. “Before every meeting, Bill (Kindred) recites our mission statement, which is ‘Dedicated to preparing lifelong learners for an ever-changing society.’ Tonight, more than ever, we need to take these words to heart,” read Conrad. “Our decision, whichever way it goes, has been well thought out.  We’ve been discussing it since last September. The survey we put out, the initial public comments were overwhelmingly supportive of the move. When it came time to hold public forums, some concerns came to light that we felt we needed to address. Daycare, for example, is an issue we couldn’t get addressed. We tried. But, we’ll continue to explore that, whether we do a four-day or a five-day calendar. Back to our mission statement, the two key things here are ‘lifelong learners’ and ‘ever-changing society.’ Can we better educate our lifelong learners in a four-day calendar? Statistics show happy teachers equal better teaching. We’ll have better candidate pools and more family time. It translates into better grades.”

“Schools that have moved to this model say they won’t go back,” continued Conrad. “Ever-changing society? Are we stuck in a rut? Would we rather try a new approach to learning? Would that be advantageous to Keota? Students have so many tools that we didn’t have, the technology and internet available to them. We need to recognize that society has changed. Our question tonight is, do we embrace change and become a leader in an ever-changing society? Or do we continue on the path we’re on?”

Conrad motioned to approve the four-day week. The motion passed, four to one, with Pat Hammen casting the sole No vote. “No comment,” he said when asked why he voted the way he did.

“While I understand all the concerns that the community raised, and I sympathize with all of them, I think they have an administration that can make sure that this is an effective move into an ever-changing society,” said Keota Superintendent and High School Principal Lisa Brenneman after the meeting. “And I think it’s a great way to organize time. I’m looking forward to having time to work with the teachers more closely, for many reasons, and I think our students can benefit in many different ways. And hopefully, in the future, we will consistently keep in mind the concerns that people have and consistently continue to address them.”

The district held a budget hearing the same night. A concerned citizen, who had worked as a teacher at Keota and as a county assessor in the past, questioned the fact that the district’s budget for next year is an increase of $194,000, which he called a 7.98% increase. After the meeting, Brenneman clarified that the district had not raised the tax rate and that the increase was due to increases in property values. The concerned citizen stated that throwing money at problems won’t help, pointing out that the district’s budget was higher in 2018, when the district had better scores. He stated that the district must be wise with its money and raised complaints over the costs to install carpet in elementary classrooms and fix plumbing. He stated that enrollment was an uphill battle, due to Keota’s declining population, and that the district cannot compete with Sigourney’s Career Academy, Mid-Prairie’s commercial kitchen, or Washington’s proximity to Kirkwood Community College.