Shakopee board delays vote on major elementary specialist schedule change after hours of public comment

Shakopee Public School District officials presented a proposal to shift elementary specialist scheduling from the current 10-day rotation to a 4-day rotation and to move full fifth‑grade band instruction outside that rotation, but the School Board postponed a final vote for two weeks amid intense public comment and board questions.

The proposal, presented by Nika Sommer, assistant director of learning, teaching and equity, and Stephanie Vander, Eagle Elementary principal, would change how elementary students receive physical education, music/band, art and a STEM‑focused media position. Under the district’s description, the current 10‑day rotation gives students roughly 40% of specialist time for physical education, 30% for music, 20% for art and 10% for media; the 4‑day proposal would allocate one of four days (25%) to each specialist area and remove full band rehearsal from that rotation while keeping band lessons and concerts districtwide.

District leaders said the change is meant to address operational problems they identified in the 10‑day schedule: long travel and scheduling inefficiencies for specialist teachers, very large single‑class loads for some specialist sections, and uneven instructional minutes for students. “In a 10‑day rotation, a single specialist can see more than 1,200 students in that cycle,” Sommer told the board, arguing the 4‑day…