Decorah Shareholders call for construction of new elementary facilities

The Decorah Shareholders group, an advisory group for the Decorah Community Schools, has unanimously recommended the construction of new elementary facilities to replace the outdated, overcrowded and deteriorating John Cline and West Side schools. Representatives Jason Soland and Mark Lovelace presented the recommendation to the Decorah Community School Board at their Monday night meeting.

Their report followed a presentation of teachers that summarized the results of a survey related to the buildings (see the earlier article on decorahnews.com, http://www.decorahnews.com/news-stories/2016/03/13122.html). That report emphasized extreme crowding, safety and security concerns, regulatory compliance issues, health issues, and deteriorating building conditions – all of which have negative impact on morale and student learning.

The Shareholders said their group had the same unanimous recommendation in 2012, but were even more resolute in their opinions now. Among other options for their consideration was a short term air conditioning fix. They said that was only short term and would not address the other major issues. They also said that grade sharing with North Winneshiek was considered but not considered a long term or viable facility option, while retaining the possibility of that concept if needed during the construction of new elementary facilities.

They also noted that new facilities would offer the option of different or flexible grade clustering. They also strongly recommended collaboration with the Decorah City Council regarding options for expanded community use in new facilities.