Open Forum message to Decorah School Board: start over with the city on elementary school discussions

On Monday night during the Open Forum segment of the Decorah Community School Board meeting, Decorah resident Ben Wollenzien addressed the Board on matters related to their search for a new elementary facility. He said the project was absolutely necessary and expressed support for the work the board had done. He reaffirmed his opposition to the proposed site on the Anderson Prairie site at Luther College, and called on the Board to reconnect with city officials regarding the originally desired downtown site.

Wollenzien said that downtown site was the best possible location, and thought the City Council had acted prematurely in voting down that possibility.  He also said the price tag that had been floated around, $700,000, was an unreasonable price that could not even be justified in a large city market. He also questioned what role the tennis and basketball courts might play in a downtown project. Since the matter was not on the agenda, there was no further discussion about his suggestion and questions.