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Pella Community School District, Iowa, elections

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Pella Community School District
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District details
School board members: 5
Next election: November 4, 2025
Students: 2,476 (2023-2024)
Schools: 5 (2023-2024)
Website: Link

Pella Community School District is a school district in Iowa (Marion, Mahaska, and Jasper counties). During the 2024 school year, 2,476 students attended one of the district's five schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.

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Elections School board Location Budget Academic performance Students Staff Schools

Elections

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Pella Community School District, District At-Large

General election

The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.

General election for Pella Community School District, District At-Large

Elisa Klahsen is running in the general election for Pella Community School District, District At-Large on November 4, 2025.

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Elisa Klahsen (Nonpartisan)

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Pella Community School District, District One

General election

The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.

General election for Pella Community School District, District One

Jesse Peterson is running in the general election for Pella Community School District, District One on November 4, 2025.

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Jesse Peterson (Nonpartisan)

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Pella Community School District, District Two

General election

The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.

General election for Pella Community School District, District Two

Joan M. Corbin is running in the general election for Pella Community School District, District Two on November 4, 2025.

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Joan M. Corbin (Nonpartisan)

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About the district

School board

The Pella Community School District consists of five members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameYear assumed officeYear term ends
Travis Thompson2023
Paul Weesner2023
Jesse Peterson2021
Elisa Klahsen2020
Joan Corbin2004

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District map

School district map

Overlapping state house districts

Pella Community School District
Office NameCurrent OfficeholderParty% School District Covered% Other District Covered
Iowa House of Representatives District 37Barb Kniff McCullaRepublican Party 96% 23%
Iowa House of Representatives District 88Helena HayesRepublican Party 3% < 1%

The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]

Revenue, 2021-2022
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $3,018,000 $1,225 8%
Local: $18,502,000 $7,512 48%
State: $16,628,000 $6,751 44%
Total: $38,148,000 $15,488
Expenditures, 2021-2022
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $36,028,000 $14,627
Total Current Expenditures: $28,790,000 $11,688
Instructional Expenditures: $18,504,000 $7,512 51%
Student and Staff Support: $2,668,000 $1,083 7%
Administration: $2,463,000 $1,000 7%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $5,155,000 $2,092 14%
Total Capital Outlay: $5,591,000 $2,269
Construction: $4,286,000 $1,740
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $222,000 $90
Interest on Debt: $1,017,000 $412

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 85 80-89 40-49 60-69 PS 80-89 86
2018-2019 86 70-79 40-59 80-89 PS >=80 87
2017-2018 88 80-89 40-59 60-79 PS 60-79 90
2016-2017 88 80-89 60-69 60-79 PS >=50 89
2015-2016 89 80-89 60-79 60-79 PS >=50 90
2014-2015 86 80-89 40-59 60-79 PS >=50 87
2013-2014 85 80-89 40-59 60-79 PS >=50 86
2012-2013 85 80-89 40-59 >=50 PS >=50 86
2011-2012 83 70-79 40-59 60-79 >=50 84
2010-2011 87 70-79 40-59 60-79 >=50 88

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 85 70-79 50-59 80-89 PS >=90 86
2018-2019 85 80-89 40-59 80-89 PS >=80 86
2017-2018 88 80-89 40-59 60-79 PS >=80 89
2016-2017 88 80-89 >=80 60-79 PS >=50 89
2015-2016 89 70-79 60-79 >=80 PS >=50 90
2014-2015 88 80-89 60-79 60-79 PS >=50 89
2013-2014 87 80-89 60-79 >=80 PS >=50 88
2012-2013 85 80-89 60-79 >=50 PS >=50 86
2011-2012 86 80-89 60-79 60-79 >=50 86
2010-2011 87 80-89 40-59 60-79 >=50 88

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 >=95 >=50 >=50 PS PS >=95
2018-2019 >=95 >=50 PS PS >=95
2017-2018 >=95 >=50 PS PS PS >=95
2016-2017 >=95 >=50 PS >=50 PS >=95
2015-2016 >=95 PS PS PS PS >=95
2014-2015 >=95 PS PS PS >=95
2013-2014 90-94 PS PS PS PS 90-94
2012-2013 >=95 >=50 PS PS >=95
2011-2012 >=95 PS >=50 PS >=95
2010-2011 >=95 >=50 PS PS >=95

Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2023-2024 2,476 -0.6
2022-2023 2,491 1.1
2021-2022 2,463 1.9
2020-2021 2,416 -2.3
2019-2020 2,471 1.2
2018-2019 2,441 8.8
2017-2018 2,226 -1.1
2016-2017 2,250 1.1
2015-2016 2,226 0.2
2014-2015 2,221 -0.5
2013-2014 2,233 -1.1
2012-2013 2,257 0.3
2011-2012 2,251 -0.9
2010-2011 2,271 2.4
2009-2010 2,216 -2.4
2008-2009 2,269 0.6
2007-2008 2,256 1.0
2006-2007 2,233 4.2
2005-2006 2,139 2.1
2004-2005 2,095 0.2
2003-2004 2,090 -2.4
2002-2003 2,140 0.1
2001-2002 2,138 0.3
2000-2001 2,132 3.5
1999-2000 2,058 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2023-2024
RACE Pella Community School District (%) Iowa K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.0 0.3
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 1.9 2.5
Black 1.5 7.0
Hispanic 4.1 13.0
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.7 0.7
Two or More Races 3.5 5.0
White 88.2 71.5

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Staff

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]

As of the 2023-2024 school year, Pella Community School District had 161.65 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 15.32.

Teachers, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 5.27
Kindergarten: 12.31
Elementary: 97.41
Secondary: 46.66
Total: 161.65

Pella Community School District employed 8.26 district administrators and 9.00 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.

Administrators, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 8.26
District Administrative Support: 10.11
School Administrators: 9.00
School Administrative Support: 10.20
Other staff, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 108.29
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 6.84
Total Guidance Counselors: 5.51
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 0.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 0.00
Librarians/Media Specialists: 1.88
Library/Media Support: 4.82
Student Support Services: 7.50
Other Support Services: 51.32

Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

The Pella Community School District operates five schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Jefferson Intermediate5024-6
Lincoln Elementary School334PK-3
Madison Elementary School486PK-3
Pella High School7919-12
Pella Middle School3637-8


About school boards

Education legislation in Iowa

Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.

See also

School Boards Education Policy Local Politics Iowa
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External links

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    • Footnotes

    1. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    2. ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
    3. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    4. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    5. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
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