Board of Education Workshop - September 28, 2026

The La Crosse Public Schools Board of Education held a workshop on September 28, 2026, to review middle-school and career and technical education (CTE) facility planning. Staff presented options including new middle schools, additions and renovations to Logan and Longfellow, or adding grades 7–8 at the high schools; projected budgets were escalated to estimated 2028–29 construction costs, but specific capital totals were not stated in the transcript. Board members generally favored further examination of additions and renovations over new schools, and several described the 7–12 configuration as a poor fit because of cost, parking, and separation concerns. The discussion also raised impacts to sports fields, parking, and building access, and proposed exploring whether Central High School could move to the train building. Staff said work at the train building is being funded through the existing capital maintenance budget and will not require a referendum. No contract awards, procurement approvals, or votes were recorded.

The board discussed a draft timeline for refining facility scope and budgets, with possible community engagement and a survey in 2027–28, and considered the timing of future operating and capital referenda without making a decision. A later discussion addressed staffing impacts from elementary school consolidations, including possible reductions through retirements, attrition, and fewer class sections; staff described $2.3 million in savings as realistic, but this was a staffing estimate rather than a facilities or procurement allocation. No procurement action was identified.