Dubuque school board votes tonight on closing Jefferson and Washington middle schools

REAL DUBUQUE NEWS (RDN) The Dubuque Community School District Board of Education votes tonight on whether to close Jefferson Middle School and Washington Middle School and reconfigure the district's secondary schools. The regular board meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. tonight in The Forum boardroom, 2300 Chaney Road. The consolidation vote is item XII.A under New Business on the posted agenda: consider the recommended reconfiguration of secondary schools, including closure of Jefferson Middle School and Washington Middle School beginning in the 2028-2029 school year. Also on the agenda, item VIII: a petition under Iowa Code 279.8B asking the board to delay any vote. The recommendation comes from the district's facilities task force groups, presented to the board Oct. 26. Under the recommended plan, known as Scenario 3, Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School would serve all sixth and seventh grade students, Hempstead High School would serve eighth and ninth graders along with a new career and college readiness center, and Dubuque Senior High School would serve tenth through twelfth graders. 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. Declining enrollment and state funding increases that have not kept up with inflation are behind the push to consolidate buildings. Two other scenarios were weighed. Scenario 1 would close only Jefferson, saving an estimated $2.14 million. Scenario 2 would close both middle schools, with Roosevelt serving grades 6 and 7 and eighth graders joining the high schools, saving an estimated $2.64 million. Jefferson closes in every scenario after the 2027-28 school year. 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. Board member Mike Hoskins has said he is not comfortable proceeding with the plan until questions are addressed. The grassroots group DCSD: Before We Decide, which says it has about 750 petition signers, has urged the board to pause the process. The group, led by founder Nicole Powers, spoke against a rushed vote at the board's October meeting. Real Dubuque News will stream the meeting live.