La Crosse School Superintendent Dr. Aaron Engel joined and we got right into it with school starting next week, teacher raises, truancy on the rise, selling Lincoln Middle School and consolidating elementaries. 

Began the show talking about truancy, as it was higher than it had ever been last year, and what the district planned over the summer to bring that number down. 

After that, we discussed the new state budget and how that affected the district. Part of the budget was an increase of $325 per student for the next 400 years, put in place through the governor’s veto pen. There was a lot of outrage over that funding but it sounds like it still isn’t enough.

We also talked quick about where the district is with school meal debt, before getting into some of the building situations its dealing with.

We talked about the process of elementary school consolidation through the Facilities Advisory Committee, which is a little over halfway done with its studies. We then discussed the sale process for Lincoln Middle School and how the district wasn’t happy about it getting a historic designation, just as it was being listed for sale.

SHOW LINKS:

Facilities Advisory Committee
https://www.lacrosseschools.org/facilities-advisory-committee/

Lincoln Middle School historic designation
https://www.wizmnews.com/2023/07/13/historic-status-for-lincoln-middle-school-upheld-appeal-by-la-crosse-school-district-denied/