KCSD petition to remove Dinger still viable

KEOKUK – A petition to have Keokuk Superintendent Dr. Kathy Dinger, removed from her position is still active, despite Dinger’s retirement on June 30.
According to a staffer at the district’s central office, the district is still paying Dinger on a per diem basis following her retirement and now the petition has been pulled from public discussion under a recommendation by the district’s attorney Emily Ellingson of Ahlers & Cooney out of Des Moines.
According to a release from the district Thursday morning prepared by Jessica Martin, the district believes the petition contains personnel matters and therefore falls under protections of Iowa Code 21.5 (f)(1). That code requires that Dr. Dinger request the issue be considered in closed session.
The release indicated the petition will no longer be on a public meeting agenda per the Ahlers & Cooney recommendation.
“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,” the release indicated.
The release went into further detail outlining a June 15th board meeting where the petition was presented. The district then contacted the Lee County Auditor’s office to determine the number of signatures that would be required on the petition to remove Dinger. State code requires a petition under code 279.8B to place a proposal on the board’s agenda, to have signatures from the lesser of 500 eligible voters or 10% of the total number of voters in the previous school election.
The district wrote in the Thursday release that due to a misunderstanding, the County Auditor’s office 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 the error, the district gave a number of 4,056 voters so 406 signatures would have been required. After further investigation with the county and the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office, it was determined that 1,458 people voted in the last school election and that would only require 146 valid signatures. The petitions listed on Keokuk Community School District website indicated more than 300 signatures had been provided with the petition.

“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.”
Ellingson provided additional information that was included with the district press release Tuesday.
“When a school district’s Board of Directors receives a Section 279.8B petition, the first consideration is whether the threshold number of signatures has been met for a valid petition,” Ellingson wrote.
“The Board of Directors must also consider whether the subject matter of the Section 279.8B petition is such that it must be placed on a Board meeting agenda. The Department of Education has stated that, when the subject matter of the petition involves privacy rights and/or other procedural safeguards under the law, the matter cannot be addressed through the petition process. The Department of Education has specifically recognized that a petition to terminate the employment of a district employee “would not be subject to public discussion under the petition process.”
Ellingson’s references were to guidance from the Department of Education, and her memorandum to the board and Keokuk school community district did not include any specific court citations regarding public discussion of the petition.
The petition is still considered viable to the district, and Ellingson wrote, “it is recommended that the Board decline to place the matter outlined in the June 15 petition on a Board meeting agenda. Members of the public who wish to speak on the topic of the petition may still speak at public comment, or may contact Board members directly to express their opinions.”
The petition was available on the district's website and reads as follows: 
"In accordance with lowa Code 279.8B, the undersigned residents and eligible voters of the Keokuk Community School District respectfully request that the Keokuk Board of Education take immediate action regarding Superintendent Dr. Kathy Dinger. Due to ongoing concerns involving leadership, transparency, staff morale, communication, financial management, and the overall direction of the district, we believe confidence in the current administration has been significantly damaged. Therefore, we respectfully request that Dr. Kathy Dinger resign or that the Keokuk Board of Education terminate her contract in order to restore trust, accountability, and stability within the district."