READER SURVEY: Is it true that Decorah School District parents insist on having their children attend a school that's near downtown Decorah?

(decorahnews.com recently asked http://www.decorahnews.com/news-stories/2016/02/12936.html whether the commonly-held belief that the public wants school buildings in Decorah to be built downtown is actually true.  The following are several responses we received):

Crystal says: "In terms of location and student safety, I am strongly in favor of having schools built farther away from downtown.  As stated in the article, it would allow plenty of room for athletic facilities, playgrounds, and future expansion.  In addition, there would be more space for parking (especially if it were a high school, with students who drive) during the school day and for special events.  Ideally, this would prevent young drivers from getting into traffic congestion-related accidents that may otherwise be avoided.  Though I admit that one could argue that, depending on the location, there would be higher speeds which could increase damage and/or harm in the event of an accident.

My concern, in choosing a location, would be for children who live far from the school's location.  I do not have a full scope of how far students travel to get to and from school, within our district.  Whether riding the bus or a guardian, we need to keep in mind how the change would impact travel time and the implications of that.  Excessive periods of travel, especially for younger children, can impact students' abilities to focus and learn in the classroom.  So, to sum up my thoughts: Building a school away from downtown would be excellent – as long as it isn't TOO far."

Priscilla favors a location away from downtown--but for a different reason: "There is a usable facility at North Winneshiek.  I think it would be fine to have 3rd through 5th grades at North Winneshiek.  Use the facility at North Winneshiek that exists. Many children in the state of Iowa are bused far further for all of their school years."

Rick questions how decorahnews.com framed the question: "I noticed in your article that the only solution you propose is to build a new school, and you seem to be asking the people of the school district WHERE we want it built. I don't think that is a viable solution at this time...Our property taxes have never been so high.  As a more scientific survey done by the city of Decorah revealed not long ago, the people will not support yet MORE property tax increases. If you can't wait until you have paid down the existing tax bill, expect to have a very vocal opposition to any call for new buildings."

(Thanks for your e-mail, Rick.  We want to clarify that decorahnews.com is not proposing a solution of building a new school building--just questioning why when school facilities are being proposed, it's taken as a matter of faith that they have to be built within a few blocks of downtown Decorah).