Parents, students and employers assail proposed 45-minute high school schedule; board asks task force to review CTE

Davenport — Hundreds of students, parents, educators and local employers packed the Davenport Community School District board meeting on April 28 to oppose a proposed high school bell schedule that would cut many classes from 90 minutes to 45 minutes, saying the change would undermine career and technical education (CTE), reduce hands-on learning and raise safety risks.

The most urgent testimony came during the public-comment period after the district confirmed receipt of a petition on April 14 and the petition’s validity under Iowa Code 279.8b. Multiple speakers called on the board to halt or revise the schedule change and to protect CTE programs that provide internships, apprenticeships and employer connections.

Why it matters: Students and local employers said the proposed schedule would make meaningful CTE instruction — auto shop, welding, welding safety, and other hands‑on trades — “impossible” within a 45‑minute class and could cut roughly a quarter of existing instruction time across a student’s high‑school career. Board members acknowledged strong community concern and moved a formal board request to convene a CTE review task force; the board did not take a final vote on any schedule change at the meeting.

Public testimony and concerns

James Hotchkiss, a Moline resident who said he works with Davenport students through an employer apprenticeship partnership, told the board: “There is no possible way you can have a CTE class in 45 minutes.” He said the employer partners he represents would be unable to provide the same on‑the‑job learning if class time were cut.

Community member Corey Carter told the board: “It is my hope that tonight you will act and protect the futures of some Davenport’s most vulnerable students.” Carter said the Schedule Change Committee had misled the board and community and urged board members to “be leaders” rather than followers.

Several students described the classroom realities they said would be lost under the proposed schedule. Delaney, a junior at Davenport West High School, said shortening terms and reducing class minutes would “significantly reduce the hands‑on learning in CTE courses” and likely reduce the number of students entering trade careers. Michael Mitchell, a junior at Davenport Central who takes shop classes, warned that time lost to attendance, preparation and cleanup leaves only about 15 minutes for the actual hands‑on work if the 45‑minute model is used: “Cutting shop classes down to 45 minutes of time will not be effective for our learning environment.”

Safety and liability were raised repeatedly. Stephanie Dykema of Blue Grass told the board, “These 45 classes for hands‑on kids will embed the rush, rush, rush mentality into them … The liability of it is obvious.” Several speakers urged the board to consider the safety implications before approving a schedule that shortens shop time.

Employer and alumni voices reinforced the point. Electrical contractor Barry Van Blerikum said many students are not college bound and that apprenticeship or trade pathways can produce higher pay sooner than a four‑year degree; he urged the board not to “punish” students by shortening trade instruction. Rob Ewalt, a long‑time commentator at district meetings, and senior Carson Hume, who works with John Deere, described real projects and apprenticeships that depend on longer blocks of time.

Board response and next steps

Superintendent Schnecklock told the audience the district is “100% committed to ensuring that our CTE programs are successful” and described a Phase 2 planning committee the district established to review scheduling impacts; that committee, the superintendent said, had already met four times and included CTE specialists, assistant principals, teachers and industry partners.

Board member Director Poshin (board request filed 04/28/25) moved a formal request that administrators, CTE staff and industry partners “form a task force and review all areas of CTE,” with administrators and classroom staff evaluating needs this fall and a report to the board requested for the Sept. 22 meeting. The motion was seconded and recorded on the meeting minutes; the board chair said the request would be passed along. The board explicitly declined to take any final action on the schedule that night.

Discussion vs. decision

Discussion: The meeting recorded wide‑ranging concerns from community members about instruction time, safety, and the district’s communications and planning process. Several board members acknowledged shortcomings in outreach and pledged to improve collaboration among administrators, teachers, students and industry partners.

Direction: The board request to form a CTE task force and the superintendent’s Phase 2 planning committee provide two complementary review avenues. The superintendent’s team provided names of Phase 2 members and said the group was building a “sandbox” to model schedules and analyze pass rates, attendance, enacted curriculum and qualitative teacher and student feedback.

Decision: No schedule change or policy was voted on at the April 28 meeting. The board recorded the formal request to convene a CTE task force and asked for a report to the board on Sept. 22.

What the record shows (clarifying details)

- Petition received and validated under Iowa Code 279.8b (petition dated 04/14/2025). - Multiple public speakers (students, parents, contractors, alumni, employer partners) opposed reducing many high‑school class periods from 90 to 45 minutes. - Speakers repeatedly stated that the current 90‑minute block allows time for attendance, instruction, hands‑on work and cleanup; they estimated cutting class time would reduce real hands‑on time to roughly 15 minutes per period. - Superintendent Schnecklock read the Phase 2 planning committee roster and said the committee had met four times and again that day; the district is modeling scheduling scenarios and collecting qualitative and quantitative data (pass rates, attendance, enacted curriculum) to inform decisions. - Board request (Director Poshin) asks for a task force composed of administrators, CTE staff and industry partners and requests a report to the board on Sept. 22, 2025.

Next steps and outlook

The district’s Phase 2 planning committee will continue meetings and the newly requested CTE task force will be formed with administrators, staff and industry partners. The Sept. 22 board meeting is the earliest date the board requested for a formal report. The superintendent and several board members said they expect continued public engagement and additional analysis before any schedule change is adopted.

Ending

For now, the proposed bell‑schedule change remains under review. Community members who opposed the change called the board’s willingness to hear the petition and to form a task force an initial win; board members said they had heard the public and committed to more data‑driven collaboration before any final decisions.