Are "downtown" options still on the table for new elementary school facilities?

A lot of talk and questions continue to surround the location of new elementary school facilities in Decorah.  decorahnews.com thought it would be a good time for some updates.

Decorah school officials continue to wait on a final response from Luther College – expected by mid-March – on the potential for a site on the Anderson Prairie, but that doesn't mean a downtown option has been written off.

Decorah City Manager Chad Bird and Decorah Schools Superintendent Mike Haluska confirm that informal discussions continue regarding the original site preference of the school board at the Heivly and Claiborne intersection in downtown Decorah. Both parties are open to going back to the table.

Although the downtown site was not approved by the City Council in a vote last fall, there is community feedback coming in to them about reconsidering that site. Some of that was public comment at a recent school board meeting. At the time of their vote last fall, council members had received letters and input from constituents, but there was no formal assessment regarding the level of broader community support.

One Council member confirmed that a number of local citizens and school board members have been in touch with him about the site and he thinks it is possible that the City could put it back on the table. He feels that one of the biggest concerns is the issue of relocating the softball diamond. He also said "solving the school issue is very, very, important... and I do think the School Board has been working hard and have nearly exhausted the options available to them. The number of sites they have considered is much larger than most are aware of.  But land ownership issues are difficult in cases like this.  If we can work together to solve this problem, great!"

One downtown location that is definitely not under consideration is the Army Reserve complex. Superintendent Mike Haluska says the space is simply not big enough for the needed space of seven acres. Haluska noted that many people are not aware of the significant regulations regarding required green space for elementary facilities.

On a related note, the Army Reserve complex is actually on property owned by the City of Decorah, and on a 100 year lease to the Department of the Army.  Any new use of that property (some have suggested a community recreation center) would involve a detailed process of the Department of the Army deciding if they wanted to vacate that lease. On a further related note, the adjacent bowling alley property has not been the subject of discussion by any officials for either the City or School Board.