Pekin Board Discusses Goals and Priorities

PACKWOOD – During the August 12 meeting of the Pekin School Board, Superintendent Jeff Maeder explained a proposed vision and set of goals for the district, centered on the idea that every student should be empowered to excel, innovate and lead. He explained that the “three pillars” of this vision are enhancing achievement, fostering collaboration and building community. Maeder gave three concrete goals for the district: reducing chronic absenteeism below 20%; having all teachers use data to guide teaching; and providing targeted professional development opportunities for teachers. Maeder stated that the district needed to be held accountable to these goals.

Board member Kortney Baumberger asked what the current absenteeism rate was. Secondary Principal Shawn Dorman stated that the data for the previous year had not been released yet, but that in the 2022/2023 school year, Pekin had had 23.6% chronic absenteeism, compared to the state average of 25.6%. He stated that, during the 2021/2022 school year, Pekin had a 14.6% rate, compared to a state average of 21%. Board member Mike Sieren asked if professional development would be done in house; Maeder said it would. Sieren stated that, in the past, teachers had been made to attend professional development that did not apply to them. Dorman stated targeted professional development would help with this problem and eliminate wasted time. Board member J.J. Greiner stated that the district needs to make sure teachers have enough time to work in classrooms to do things like grade papers. Board member Sherry Bemis stated that wellness was important. Elementary Principal Liz Goodwin stated that there was a good balance of time in the upcoming year’s schedule.

The board discussed what education legislative priorities they should request be worked on. Last year, the board requested teacher recruitment and licensing, professional development, teacher retention, mental health, special ed and school safety. Baumberger suggested adding the AEA to the priorities, acknowledging that doing so might be “beating a dead horse.” She also suggested requesting mental health and teacher retention again. Greiner requested they add school funding to the priorities. The board also requested better policy for educator licensing and school safety.

During public comment, a concerned citizen stated that he thought the “attacks” on members of the school board were inaccurate and that a few members of the community were attempting to change the voting process as a way to seize power. He disputed the claim that the school board had played a part in the district’s high administrator turnover rate, arguing that two members of the board had only been on for less than a year, three had been on for less than two years, and one had been on for only four years, meaning they were not responsible for the constant loss of administrators over the past 15 years. He stated that many administrators had left on their own, without being forced out by the board. He stated that the idea of switching from district based elections to at large elections, pushed by a Pekin parents group unsatisfied with the board, was a bad idea. He argued that at large elections could result in all of the board members being from the same town or in all board members being wealthy and thus uninterested in the best interests of the poor. Greiner reminded the board that the special election to decide how school board elections will be run in the future will be held on Sept. 10.

The board approved updating the district’s chronic absentee and truancy policies to match new state guidelines. Under current state policy, students who miss 10% of school days are declared chronically absentee and students who miss 20% are declared truant. The new policies require the district to have meetings with parents and develop a plan to find a way to ensure students attend school after a student reaches 15% absences. The district will touch base with parents weekly and parents are required by law to attend these meetings.

The board approved a sharing agreement with Southeastern Christian School for junior high activities. Maeder stated that the concrete and bleacher installation was on track and would likely be done a few days before the first home football game on August 30. Maeder stated that the entry camera system had been installed. Maeder stated that his focus areas for the year would be school safety, reading implementation, and promoting the district.