Pekin Superintendent Resigns, Parents and Teachers Accuse District of Racism and Toxic Work Environment

PACKWOOD – After the Pekin Board of Directors accepted a letter of resignation from Superintendent Derek Philips at a special meeting on March 25, several parents and teachers accused the board of creating a toxic work environment and failing to address schoolwide problems with racism and harassment.

Philips was hired as an interim superintendent in June of 2022. In December of the same year, he was officially hired with a three-year contract. Yet, only a little over a year later, he has resigned. His reason for leaving is unclear. Philips did not respond to requests for comment from The News-Review or any other publication. According to Southeast Iowa Union, Philips responded to their request by saying he had been advised by his attorney not to speak to the media.

The morning after Philips’s resignation, TAG teacher Dakota Bates called Philips’s departure “a complete shock” in an interview with KCCI. Bates stated that she believed Philips had left due to a “personality conflict” and “irreconcilable differences” stemming from an incident where his suspension of a student was overturned by the board. However, when The News-Review messaged Bates, mere hours after her interview with KCCI, Bates replied “Please direct all questions to Board President, J.J. Greiner.”

The News-Review contacted Greiner, who responded with a press release, which was later posted to the district’s website and Facebook page. It contained the following statement by Philips: “I want to thank the many staff, families, students, and community members who have supported me in my two years at Pekin. I have met some of the most amazing people here that I will greatly miss. My family and I look forward to the next chapter. I am committed to making the transition as smooth as possible.”

The press release also stated “The Board thanks Mr. Philips for his service and many contributions to the District, and wishes him well in his future endeavors.” It stated that Philips will not finish out the school year and will instead be put on paid administrative leave until June. During that time, Philips’s duties will be handled by Great Prarie AEA. Although The News-Review contacted all seven members of the board, Greiner was the only one to respond.

The News-Review emailed more than thirty staff members at the middle and high schools and asked for their thoughts on Philips’s retirement. Few were willing to talk. Several recommended contacting J.J. Greiner. One responded “Please do not contact me again about this matter.” Another said “I have many thoughts, but I think the best play for me is to keep my mouth shut. I will say he is a great guy, and I enjoyed working with him.”

Counselor Vicky Graff responded “Mr. Phillips has been the best Superintendent I have worked with in over 20 years in education and I am saddened that he has been removed.”

Social Studies teacher Matt Hoffmann said “At this time all I would like to say is I appreciate everything Derek has done during his time at Pekin for our students, staff, and district and I wish him and his family the best.”

One teacher, who requested to remain anonymous, was less fond of Philips, writing “My experiences with Derek were not positive. There have been several moments that struck me as unprofessional and behaviors I would not expect from my superintendent. The experiences that I have had with Derek created a toxic and uncomfortable work environment. However, I think the issues at Pekin run deeper than the superintendent.”

“Let me start off by saying, 99% of the students, staff, admin, and parents at Pekin are amazing,” continued the teacher. “I have formed great relationships with students that have kept me pushing forward through all the negative that Pekin has brought me. However, that 1% of parents and students make the culture of Pekin unbearable. Teachers that have taught here for decades are considering walking out these doors. I have been sexually harassed, belittled by parents, had my license threatened, yelled at in front of a coworker/parent, called a liar, had student-word taken against mine, and personally blamed for student behavior. Those are a small few of the negative experiences I have had here. The 1% of these students that are preventing their peers from learning and are participating in racist, sexist, and insubordinate behaviors with absolutely no consequences at school or home for their actions. I have had many students and a few teachers/parents apologize for the way that I have been treated at Pekin and they are the only members of the Pekin community that have told me that I hold value as an educator or recognized the effort that I have put in to make Pekin a better place. I know that I am not the only one who has had similar experiences, I was warned before I even started to work here that I would be pushed out. I am not a perfect educator and am still growing, but I have given Pekin my 120%.”

“I reached out to the board about my experiences, but there has been no resolve or updates on concerns that I have shared,” said the teacher. “My experiences at Pekin are making me second-guess my decision to be an educator. I would not recommend any person to gain employment with the district, until positive changes are made to the culture and students are held accountable for their actions. I believe Pekin can be a great place to learn and work, but serious changes need to be made. I hope that the board can push to make changes that will allow teachers to do what they do best and what they went into this profession to do: teach.”

In an interview with KCCI, parent Katie Keith claimed that the September altercation, believed by her and several teachers to be the source of Philip’s falling out with the board, involved her African-American child, who had the n-word said to them by another student. The student was then suspended by Philips.

According to the minutes of a special board meeting held on October 4 of last year, the Pekin Board of Education met to discuss a suspended student. The suspended student, unidentified by the minutes, and their family were in attendance. According to the minutes, J.J. Greiner did not attend this meeting. The board went into closed session for more than an hour. Afterward, the board overturned a suspension and overruled a violation of the school’s Good Conduct Rule. Board members Mike Davis, Sherry Bemis, Heidi Baker, Michael Sieren and Ray Fear all voted to overturn the suspension, with Kortney Baumberger casting the sole No vote. Keith told The News-Review she was not told about this meeting and only found out about it after the fact.

Several parents who spoke with The News-Review stated they knew the name of the student involved and that they were the child of a school board member. The News-Review was unable to verify this.

“We just asked for transparency as to why this has happened and what's going to happen going forward to address racism, and that email was directly sent to the school board president, who did not reply...The current school board has no intention of upholding any policies they have made it clear that racism and the culture at the school is not one of their top priorities,” Keith said in her interview with KCCI.

“I believe the school board’s decision to overturn that disciplinary action sets a precedent going forward regarding racial discrimination,” Keith later said in a conversation with The News-Review. “Until It becomes culturally unacceptable to use that language at school, it will continue to be an issue.”

On March 27, the Oskaloosa School Board, who share a board secretary and operations management and transportation management services with Pekin, announced they were cutting ties with the district. “The Oskaloosa Schools Vision Culture guides the Oskaloosa Schools’ decision-making process and allows everyone a voice in the organization. Our purpose is to love, empower, and inspire people, and our values are to provide safety, embrace health, connect with kindness, inspire through learning, and operate with efficiency. We no longer felt that the sharing agreements with Pekin align with these values,” stated a press release sent out by the board. “We look to pursue sharing agreements with other area districts that provide financial and operational benefits to both schools. We ultimately look for a good fit and a healthy environment for our district and staff.”