Luther College officials says there's no set deadline for a decision on whether to allow part of Anderson Prairie to be used for a new Decorah elementary school

Luther College vice presidents Rob Larson (Communications and Marketing), Kevin Kraus (Academic Affairs), and Eric Runestad (Finance and Administration) have told local news reporters there already has been significant feedback about the potential long term lease of part of Anderson Prairie to the Decorah School District.

The three say the college is in the process of establishing ways to work with faculty and staff for additional feedback via panels, question and answer sessions, electronic feedback or other means. Kraus labeled this as "the beginning of the public comment period."

The Land Use Committee, a faculty and staff advisory committee to the administration that has already been engaged in the discussion, will continue deliberation and make a final report to the college president.  It has not necessarily been charged to make a yes or no recommendation, but could do so if their list of pros and cons is heavily weighted one way or another.

After these various avenues of input, if a decision is made to continue negotiations with the school district, then that positive recommendation would go to the Facilities and Sustainability Committee of the Board of Regents. That group would then evaluate further (they already  had been consulted at the earliest stages of discussion) and make a recommendation to the Board of Regents.

The three vice presidents said there is no definitive timeline for input, discussions and decision making. The end of semester and January term make some of that input a bit harder for the college to gather, so it is possible that the process might not get to, and through, the Board of Regents by their next scheduled meeting in February. The Regents also will meet in May and October. Decorah Community Schools Superintendent Mike Haluska has hoped that the district might be able to begin the process of initiating a bond referendum by September 1st.

College officials acknowledged the issue is complicated, particularly when the campus landscaping and educational use of the prairie is considered. However, they said that the approximately 7-acre potential site at the corner of College Drive and Ridge Road is noted on long range college planning documents as a potential for future campus building expansion. At the other end of the prairie is land that is plotted for any expansion of Baker Village apartments.