School Board Meeting | October 26, 2026

The Dubuque Community School District Board of Education meeting on October 26, 2026, focused on a strategic-planning recommendation to reorganize secondary schools beginning in 2028–29, in response to declining enrollment, limited state supplemental aid, and projected budget pressures. Internal and external task forces recommended placing grades 6–7 at Roosevelt, grades 8–9 at Hempstead with a Career and College Readiness Center, and grades 10–12 at Dubuque Senior. The superintendent supported the recommendation and asked the board to consider action at its November 9 meeting; the board did not vote on the reorganization at this meeting. The board approved the meeting agenda by vote. Members raised questions about the financial impact of delaying a decision, transition planning, and the pending traffic study.

Procurement- and facilities-related discussion included the planned Roosevelt expansion: design is being finalized, an RFP is anticipated this winter, construction could begin in spring, and the facility is intended to open for the 2028–29 school year. Potential future work discussed included additional parking and traffic-flow improvements at Senior, entrance and collaboration-space improvements for the proposed career-readiness center, athletic-facility upgrades, and Hempstead renovations. These were presented as implementation priorities, not contract awards or approved spending actions; no vendor selections, contract amounts, or procurement awards were identified. The superintendent also cited the district’s previously renewed and expanded PPEL as a funding source for building improvements.