Keokuk School District Confirms Petition Had Enough Signatures, But Topic Will Not Go on Board Agenda

Via press release from the Keokuk Community School District:

KEOKUK, Iowa – The Keokuk Board of Education Directors would like to thank those individuals that have reached out following the recent Keokuk School Board meeting held on Wednesday, July 8. The Board of Directors would like to provide some additional information to the public regarding statements made during the meeting related to a petition regarding Keokuk Community School District personnel that the board received on June 15 from a community member. Please note that the recommendation by the district’s legal counsel is that in regards to the petition, which included personnel matters, that the topic should not be placed on a future board meeting agenda and in fact all personnel have privacy rights and there are procedural safeguards available in state and federal law.

In further detail, during the June 15, 2026, board meeting, the Board of Directors were provided a petition document from a community member. After which, the district contacted the Lee County Auditor and requested the number of community members that voted in the last preceding election of school officials per state policy on petitions regarding the requested addition of an item on a school board agenda (the number was needed to determine if the total of those that signed the petition added up to at least 10 percent of the total community members that voted in the preceding election of school officials, per Iowa Code section 279.8B). The number was required to determine how many signatures were needed pursuant to the law for the petition to be valid. It appears that, due to a misunderstanding, the County Auditor provided the district with the total number of community members who voted in the last preceding election overall, however not the total number of voters from the last preceding election of school officials.

Due to this misunderstanding, the district unfortunately stated that the number provided by the County Auditor was 4,056, which was the figure used to calculate whether the petition had a sufficient number of signatures to be valid. This number was then inaccurate. Upon further discussion with the County Auditor and after the district reached out to the State’s office to verify, it appeared that the number of voters who voted in the last preceding election of school officials was actually 1,458, and this is the number that needed to be used to determine if the petition had a sufficient number of signatures. Based on the updated numbers, the district can confirm that the submitted petition provided to the board on June 15, 2026, had sufficient signatures under the law to request the topic be added to a meeting agenda. However, as explained during the previous Board meeting, the subject matter of the petition is such that it cannot be added to a future Board agenda due to it regarding personnel matters. This is consistent with the law and the guidance from the Department of Education.

Click here to read the memo from district legal counsel. 

KEOKUK COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

CENTRAL OFFICES, KEOKUK, IOWA

MEDIA RELATIONS: Jessica Martin, [email protected]