A new deal could replace Franklin and Roosevelt, 8 years ago

In August of 2012, the La Crosse School District decided to schedule a fall referendum on whether to build a new north-side elementary school to take the place of two schools showing their age.  Franklin School was built in the 50’s, while Roosevelt had been around since 1923.  During a tour of Franklin, a pencil was placed on the floor of a second-story classroom, and the pencil rolled downhill.  Voters okayed the construction plan, with Franklin being torn down to make way for Northside Elementary.  Roosevelt was remodeled into an apartment building.  

The La Crosse School Board met one week that summer in an old classroom in the Hogan Administrative Center, instead of the school auditorium.  The board decided to skip the Pledge of Allegiance for the night, because it turned out there wasn’t an American flag in the room.

Former Governor Tommy Thompson was running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Herb Kohl.  Shortly before the summer primary, Thompson…who served as health secretary for Republican President George W. Bush…campaigned in La Crosse with Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House.  Gingrich called Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid “destructive,” and said it would be important to have a Republican-controlled Senate if Mitt Romney unseated President Obama, in 2012.