DES MOINES, Iowa — Des Moines Public Schools currently have 5,000 employees on staff, but David Schoop has stayed with the district for over four decades.
Schoop grew up in Iowa, and both his parents worked for DMPS. He said that his parents talked highly of their jobs in the district, and that's what led him to work there as well.
"It was a good upbringing for me, so I thought, I went, ‘I’ll try to raise my family through the Des Moines Public Schools,'" Schoop explained. "I got hired on and fell in love with it ever since.”
Once he started with DMPS, he worked in the Food and Nutrition Center as a truck driver, transporting food to different schools for kitchen staffs to turn it into lunches that day.
After he finished his work as a truck driver, he continued with DMPS' Food and Nutrition Center. He mostly worked out of their warehouse using the forklift, unloading and reloading trucks that would arrive around 6 a.m. daily.
For the past three years, Schoop has served as the warehouse manager overseeing teammates that do the same job he had years before.
Going on four decades of work with DMPS, Schoop says it's not hard to remember why he's stayed with the district this long.
"There's nothing better than to see the smile on the face when they wait in line to get their lunch," he explained. "'Cause you know, they enjoy that. I can't remember every teacher that I had in high school, but I can remember my favorite lunch when I was in high school. I think it's rewarding."
And some of his coworkers like, logistics II worker Burke O'Connell, think working with Schoop is rewarding in itself.
“He’s all about getting the job done no matter how bad things get in this place," O'Connell said. "He’s always figuring out a way … lots of positive things [with Schoop]."
Schoop said he's got a few more years until retirement. Once he does so, he’s looking forward to spending time with his two granddaughters as well as camping, fishing and hunting.