Paul Scott comment--Here's where the new Decorah school ought to be built!

(The following is a comment by decorahnews.com's Paul Scott):

It seems almost a certainty the Decorah City Council will vote Monday night to reject the Decorah School District's request that the city sell the school district the city-owned softball diamond property on Heivly and Claiborne Drive.  Four out of the seven city council members voted Friday to reject the school district's request and one of them would have to change their vote on Monday night--even assuming the other three city council members would vote in favor of selling the school district the property.

So it's likely the school district will have to find another location for a new elementary school.  Suggesting a location for the new elementary school has become somewhat of a hobby among a good deal of the public.  "We can build it on property near to St. Benedict School," one group of people will say (Traffic problems rule this out).  "Move the Fairgrounds to North Winneshiek School property and build the school on the Decorah fairground property," says another group of people.  (Waaay too expensive).

So I'm reluctant to join the group of amateur school building locators, but I think there's one site that hasn't been considered yet and I believe it would be the best site out of all the suggestions I've heard.  That's the former Burg AgriCenter property on Highways 9 and 52.  When combined with the property owned by the City of Decorah that is leased to the Fox & Coon Club--and maybe even some of the property along "The Cut"--this location has a lot of positives and only a few negatives that need to be overcome.

Here's what I think are the positives:

1)   The site has anywhere from 13 to 16 acres of property that could be used for a school campus.  Contrast that figure with the 4 acres at the current John Cline location and the 2 to 4 acres at several other suggested locations and you can see the school district would finally have enough property for a school building and adequate green space.

2)   The school district had offered to pay the City of Decorah $700,000 for the softball diamond property.  The commercial property on the corner of HIghways 9 & 52--if it is sold--might bring a lower price.

3)   Several people have mentioned possible traffic congestion at other proposed school locations.  This site has access from both Highway 9 and Highway 52--the two major traffic corridors in Decorah.  And because the site has 14 acres of property, there's enough room for turning lanes, dedicated bus lanes and enough parking on-site to avoid congestion.  It also is a big enough parcel of land that turning lanes into the school site could be set far enough back from the intersection.  Finally, for North Winneshiek parents driving their kids to school in Decorah, there couldn't be a more direct route than Highway 52.

There are two questions about this site that I think could be raised--but also could be answered:

1)   The accessibility of the site for students who want to walk or bike to school.  If this is a big issue, the project could include an underpass beneath Highway 9 to connect into the Trout Run Trail extension.  But at a Friday morning meeting with city officials, Decorah School Board President Ron Fadness noted, "Very few students arrive at school by foot or bike anymore."  Road access and parking space are much bigger concerns these days.  But if it's important to have the little ones walk to school, the school district could build an upper elementary school on the site and convert Carrie Lee into the lower elementary school.

2)   Locating a school for kindergarteners and other young students right next to highways and a water culvert.  Two approaches are possible--building an upper elementary school on the site and converting Carrie Lee into the lower elementary school, or the cheaper alternative of installing fencing along the highways and culvert to keep kids out of trouble.

As I have noted before, the discussion about the site for a new elementary school has involved the search for the ideal parcel of land--and that's difficult in a community that is located in a meteorite crater.  But the Highway 9 & 52 location checks off a lot of important boxes on what to expect in a new school site--lots of space; easy access by buses and cars; a cheaper acquisition price; and a way to move forward on what the whole community agrees is the need for new elementary school facilities.

What's your opinion?  E-mail us at news@decorahnews.com