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LA CROSSE, Wis., (December 6, 2021) – The School District of La Crosse has received the results of its long-range facility planning community survey. The results will be presented to the Board of Education at tonight’s school board meeting.
Of the over 25,000 surveys mailed to City of La Crosse residents, 4,664 responses were submitted, a return rate of 16.4%. The respondents were a cross-section of school district residents including parents and guardians, staff, and community members with no children in the district’s schools. The survey also provided information for residents about the district’s declining enrollment, financial planning, and future maintenance needs of the district’s aging facilities.
On the question of right-sizing the number of school district facilities, 71% of respondents indicated “yes”, based on the information provided, that they support a long-range plan to reduce operating costs, improve efficiency, and create more modern and supportive learning environments for students.
On the question of consolidating from three to two middle schools, 79% of respondents were supportive.
On the question of exploring the consolidation of Central and Logan High Schools into one high school campus, 55% of respondents indicated “yes,” they were supportive, 24% indicated “no”, and 21% were not sure or needed more information. If the two high schools were combined on one campus, 42% of respondents indicated they would prefer one consolidated high school while only 11% preferred maintaining two high schools in one building.
Finally, on the question of reducing the number of elementary schools, 70% of respondents were supportive.
“These results are encouraging,” said School District of La Crosse Superintendent Dr. Aaron Engel. “Our community understands the challenges we are facing with declining enrollment and aging buildings and has given us a clear sign to keep exploring all options to right-size our school district facilities.”
The district will now use the initial survey results to finalize a long-range facilities plan. Once complete, the district will provide a second survey this spring to La Crosse residents to help continue to shape specific options being considered for the future of its facilities, understand the level of community support for those options, and address any additional questions or concerns.
The full long-range facility community survey results can be found by visiting www.lacrosseschools.org.
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