Davenport board approves special use for Oakmont’s Great Oaks vocational high school

The Davenport Zoning Board of Adjustment voted unanimously Dec. 11 to approve Special Use SU25-06, clearing the way for Oakmont Education to establish Great Oaks High School and Career Tech Center at 3562 Brady Street in Ward 7.

Chair Dan Darlin opened the hearing and called for a staff presentation. Scott, a Community and Neighborhood Services staffer, summarized the applicant’s site plan, said the 25,000-square-foot tenant space would be repurposed as a school with parking in front, and reported that notices went to 28 adjacent property owners with no written responses. Staff recommended approval, concluding the proposed location, design and construction meet the zoning ordinance’s special-use criteria.

Dr. Jerry Farley, vice president of career technical education for Oakmont, described the organization’s mission to re-engage overage and undercredited youth with vocational pathways and work-based learning. “Every 26 seconds in the United States, a youth drops out of high school,” Farley said, citing national dropout estimates and a lifetime-cost figure his team uses to frame the need for alternative pathways. He told the board Oakmont’s model emphasizes nationally recognized industry credentials, employer-focused instruction and one year of post-graduation support to boost placement and retention.

Farley said the Davenport site will focus on older youth (17–21) who have disengaged from traditional high schools and that graduates will receive a diploma, not just a GED. He listed prospective pathways including construction, manufacturing, healthcare and business and said students would earn credentials such as OSHA 10 and NCCER instruction; he also described work with the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) and local advisory committees that adjust curriculum to employer needs. Oakmont is also pursuing concurrent-credit arrangements with Eastern Iowa Community Colleges so students can earn college credit while obtaining industry credentials.

On funding, Farley said Oakmont operates as a public-school option using the baseline public-education funding to which a student is entitled and that Oakmont itself does not bring in local tax dollars for those students; he noted the organization pursues additional grants and partnerships (for example, Department of Labor youth-build grants) to support students.

Board members asked clarifying questions about enrollment (Farley said students must want to be there or have support from their circle), the school’s size and timeline, and local outreach. Farley said he had met with about 21 local partners, including contractors, workforce groups and city leaders, and listed meetings with PJ Foley’s workforce-development staff, Estes Construction, Kelly Grubbs and Grow Quad Cities. He told the board the planned opening for the Davenport campus is August 2026.

After brief board discussion that described the proposal as straightforward and potentially beneficial to local employers, a motion to approve SU25-06 was made and seconded. The board conducted a roll call and the motion passed; the chair told the applicant the approval satisfies the zoning special-use requirement.

The board did not receive any public comments on the item during the hearing. Chair Darlin noted the board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Jan. 8, 2026, and the meeting was then adjourned.

What happens next: approval of the special use clears the zoning hurdle; Oakmont and the property owner will proceed with any required building permits, occupancy approvals and operational arrangements with the local school district and partnering employers before the planned August 2026 opening.