Marshalltown High School proposes new CTE and elective courses for 2025–26, board discusses scheduling

Justin Boliver, Marshalltown High School principal, presented course proposals the high school is considering for the 2025–26 school year, describing how several would expand career‑technical education and provide more flexible options for students.

Proposals included vocational and CTE expansions (Welding II, an automotive exploratory course, Introduction to Woodworking), career prep classes (Bobcat Café prep), a personal‑conditioning course, AP Computer Science, Introduction to Computer Science, dual‑credit Abnormal Psychology, and a Prep for High School Math elective aimed at supporting students concurrently enrolled in Algebra I. Boliver said many ideas are in response to capacity in new CTE spaces and to offer college-credit alignment for students who cannot travel to community college during the day.

Staff and board also discussed a proposal to move the required financial‑literacy course from freshman year to junior or senior year to increase relevance and reduce failure rates. Board members raised concerns about graduation requirements and contingencies if a student fails the course in a later grade; Boliver and others said retake options and embedding financial-literacy content in other social‑studies classes can mitigate risk. Molly Walker described how an Introduction to Social Studies elective would support the district’s 3D freshman cohort while aligning social studies and ELA curriculum on community‑focused projects.

Most course approvals will return to the board for scheduling and master‑schedule decisions; Boliver stressed that approval of course offerings does not itself set the master schedule. The board treated the presentation as discussion and did not adopt a formal policy change.