Dubuque school board votes to close Jefferson and Washington middle schools

REAL DUBUQUE NEWS (RDN) The Dubuque Community School District Board of Education voted 6-1 tonight to approve the plan to close Jefferson Middle School and Washington Middle School and reconfigure the district's secondary schools. The vote came at about 9:44 p.m. at the board's regular meeting tonight in The Forum boardroom, 2300 Chaney Road, on item XII.A under New Business. Under the approved plan, known as Scenario 3, Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School will serve all sixth and seventh grade students, Hempstead High School will serve eighth and ninth graders along with a new career and college readiness center, and Dubuque Senior High School will serve tenth through twelfth graders, beginning in the 2028-2029 school year. Board member Mike Hoskins cast the lone no vote. Hoskins had said he was not comfortable proceeding with the plan until questions were addressed. Board member Lisa Wittman spoke in support of the plan before the vote, calling it a "transformational shift" and saying "I fully support the plan." After the vote, Superintendent Amy Hawkins spoke about the implementation plan and building trust as the district moves ahead. The vote went ahead despite item VIII on the agenda, a petition under Iowa Code 279.8B asking the board to delay any vote. The grassroots group DCSD: Before We Decide, which says it has about 750 petition signers, had urged the board to pause the process. The district estimates Scenario 3 would save about $4.63 million. The district's wider plan calls for $16.8 million in cost reductions over five years, and consolidation alone does not reach that total, so further reductions will still be needed. The district has already approved about $30 million in SAVE-revenue bonds to expand and remodel Roosevelt, with construction slated for spring 2027 through August 2028.