LACROSSE, Wis. — The North La Crosse Business Association announced opposition to a proposal to consolidate Central and Logan high schools into a single LaCrosse high school. Vicki Markussen, the association’s administrator, said 86% of its 90 members want Logan, which is on the North Side, to sray where it’s at. The School Board wants to repurpose both Logan and Central high schools as middle schools and combine the high schools probably at an existing Trane building on Pummel Creek Drive, which, like Central High, is on the South Side. The proposed consolidation is part of a $194 million referendum going to voters in November. If passed the referendum would raise property taxes $8 per $100,000 valuation. The referendum deals mostly with the school district revenue issues resulting from dwindling state aid triggered by enrollment declines. The Board says the merging of the high schools will save the redundant expense of keeping both aging buildings.
Markussen: “What’s good for businesses is good for neighbors. We’re intertwined. If our neighbors are going to hurt from this. We have to take a stance.”