Have a voice in the future of La Crosse schools

Governments at all levels are often accused of making backroom deals and making decisions without seeking public input. That cannot be said of the La Crosse School District, as they work to decide the future of education. The district is faced with declining enrollment and aging buildings. Declining enrollment means less state dollars, but also means many of the district’s buildings are under capacity. Five of the district’s buildings are over 80 years old and maintaining them is expensive. So, the administration is floating a plan to combine the city’s high schools into on building, either as one school or two separate ones. Another idea is to close on middle school to save money. No decisions have been made yet. This is simply long-range planning. The district is seeking community collaboration, asking for input about what model they think is best for the future. A survey has been sent to those living in the district asking them a series of questions to guide their decision-making. The district has no obligation to gather input from its taxpayers, but it is a smart decision. If you want a say in what the future of La Crosse schools looks like, take the survey, or call the Superintendent, or members of the school board and let them know. But if you don’t, you can’t say they didn’t ask.