Dubuque school board expected to vote Nov. 9 on closing Jefferson and Washington: what the three scenarios would do

REAL DUBUQUE NEWS (RDN) The Dubuque Community School District Board of Education is expected to vote at its regular meeting Monday, Nov. 9, on a consolidation plan that would close up to two middle schools and reconfigure secondary grades across the district. The district has not confirmed the vote on a posted agenda. At stake is how the district closes a budget gap it says requires $16.8 million in cuts over the next four years. The district's unspent balance stands at about $20 million, with a goal of keeping at least $12 million on hand. Projections show that balance falling to $2.5 million by the 2028-29 school year if nothing changes. The district has already cut about $5.8 million, including the closures of Fulton and Hoover elementary schools. Two task forces, one of district staff and one of community members, spent seven months studying the options and both recommended the third of three scenarios. The board decided nothing at its Oct. 26 strategic plan session, when the recommendation was presented. Here is what each scenario would do. Every scenario closes Jefferson Middle School after the 2027-28 school year. Scenario 1: close Jefferson only. Roosevelt and Washington stay open as sixth- through eighth-grade schools. Senior and Hempstead continue serving grades 9 through 12. Estimated savings: $2.14 million. Scenario 2: close Jefferson and Washington. Roosevelt becomes the district's only middle school, serving grades 6 and 7. Eighth graders join the high schools, with Senior and Hempstead each serving grades 8 through 12. Estimated savings: $2.64 million. Scenario 3 (the task force recommendation): close Jefferson and Washington. Roosevelt serves grades 6 and 7. Hempstead serves grades 8 and 9 with a new career and college readiness center. Senior serves grades 10 through 12. Estimated savings: $4.63 million, the most of the three. The Roosevelt piece is already in motion. Voters rejected a larger general-obligation bond in November 2025, but the board approved about $30 million in bonds backed by existing SAVE sales-tax revenue in May 2026 to expand and remodel Roosevelt, with construction targeted for spring 2027 through August 2028. On Oct. 10, the Dubuque Zoning Commission denied a landscaping waiver for a planned Roosevelt parking-lot expansion, sending the design team back to revise that portion. The plan has organized opposition. The grassroots group DCSD: Before We Decide, which says its petition has about 750 names, is urging the board to slow down. At the board's Oct. 12 meeting, Washington PTO vice president and external task force member Amanda Staade said the outcome felt predetermined after seven months of task-force work. She said current fifth graders could face four school transitions in five years under Scenario 3 as Washington phases out, and raised transportation worries including a 35- to 40-minute daily round trip to Roosevelt. Board member Dirk Hoskins has said he is not comfortable proceeding with Scenario 3 until his outstanding questions are addressed, according to the group's account of his remarks. The regular board meeting is Monday, Nov. 9, at 5:30 p.m. at the Forum, 2300 Chaney Road. Residents can sign up for public comment at the meeting.