The Board held two regular meetings and two workshops in May. These meetings included two School Showcases. One focused on how the district works to protect the rights of homeless children to attend school. The Homelessness Coordinator for the district noted a big increase in homeless students this year. The second showcase featured a presentation on SOTA I, the School of Technology and Arts, which is a public charter elementary school.
During the two workshops, the Director of Facilities gave a building by building rundown of capital improvements and maintenance for the year, and members of the architectural firm working on plans for the re-use of Emerson, Hintgen, and Spence elementary schools engaged Board members in an exercise to explore potential future uses of these buildings.
In their regular meetings, the Board heard updates from that same architectural firm, including an assessment of existing conditions and market data for the buildings. An additional informational item was a report that the Board will add two full-time cultural liaison coordinators with funds from Fund 80, the Community Service Fund, in an effort to better meet the needs of historically under-represented and marginalized student populations, families and stake holders.
Additionally, the Board approved the bid of CEL Marketing|PR|Design in Plymouth, MN, to complete a District Visual Re-brand. With consolidation, the District is seeking a unified vision and will engage CEL to create a consistent district-wide look with its logos and visual styles.
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CITY OF LA CROSSE COMMON COUNCIL
May 14
The Council’s May meeting opened with announcements from council members focusing on the many development projects coming to or currently underway in the city. The Council proceeded to pass the capital equipment budget. Representatives from Coulee Cap and Karuna gave status reports on the use of ARPA funds for programs to provide housing to the unhoused.
The longest discussion in the meeting involved a proposed new ordinance requiring e-bikes and scooters to follow the same traffic rules as bicycles. Amendments were proposed relating to the safety of people on trails who will share them with ebikes and scooters, but these amendments failed and the new ordinance passed.
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VILLAGE OF FRENCH ISLAND TOWN BOARD
May 12 Meeting
The Town of Campbell board met twice in May, with one regular and one special meeting. The major topic of discussion was the passing of a referendum to incorporate and become the Village of French Island (1497 in favor, 30 against) and the necessary changes to the board resulting from this referendum. The Village must now elect a Board, consisting of a President and six Village Trustees. Interested individuals will circulate nomination papers from May 26-June 12, with the Village Board Election occurring July 7 (polls open 7:00am – 8:00pm). The Board noted that the City of La Crosse is contesting the decision to allow the town to incorporate as a village.
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LA CROSSE COUNTY EXECUTIVE BOARD
May 12
May’s meeting was the first for the new board with a few new Committee chairs, so each department head gave an overview of their functions. In addition, the Executive Committee set their new meeting time (Thursday mornings) and reviewed the policy regarding public comment so that it could be enforced consistently.
The committee then unanimously approved two resolutions to bring before the whole Board of Supervisors. The first was to create an ad hoc committee to study data centers. Five county supervisors and an elected representative from each municipality in La Crosse County will meet for up to one year to study and potentially make proposals on data centers. As zoning regulations currently stand, a data center could come into La Crosse County, so they discussed establishing a moratorium until the study is complete, but legal recommended creating a separate proposal because of the need for review.
The second resolution was to accept American-Home Rescue Plan funding to support intensive housing support services for individuals experiencing homelessness. As a part of this resolution, they authorized a full-time social worker position.
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La Crosse County Board
May 21
The May meeting of the La Crosse County Board passed the resolution from the Executive Committee to create an ad hoc committee on data centers. An amendment to include members who have specific expertise on data centers was proposed and failed. The Board also passed the resolution from the Executive Committee recommending acceptance of the American-Home Rescue Plan funding to support intensive housing support services. The Board chair noted that county employees have raised over $8,000 for the Pathways Home project, which has had a high success rate in keeping people housed.
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LA CROSSE COUNTY HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
May 12
As the May meeting was the first of the new board, the two directors devoted a significant amount of time to orientation. Additionally, there were two presentations of special note. The first was a report of the Human Services Community Support Program (CSP) which offers comprehensive, unlimited, integrated, 24/7 services to persons struggling with mental illness. Though expensive, the program aims to keep these clients out of institutions and is currently serving 55 persons. Secondly, the board considered and approved a resolution, to be passed on to the county supervisors, to accept $100,000 in Home-American Rescue Plan Funding from the city of La Crosse to implement intensive housing support services for that 25% of the homeless population that faces special challenges in finding shelter.
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LA CROSSE COUNTY JUDICIARY AND LAW
May 12
The May meeting began with introductions for new members as well as an overview of departments. Additionally, the committee heard annual reports from three areas. First, the Clerk of Courts, which handles minutes from court cases, bailiffs for jury trials, interpreters, and collections of fees and fines, gave a report about the number of jury trials in 2025 (13) and about fee increases. Second, the Family Court Commissioner reported handling 536 matters related to paternity, child support, divorce, and restraining orders in 2025. Finally, the Medical Examiner reported on the 742 cases in 2025 involving the investigation of deaths which occurred outside of hospitals or nursing homes, cremation examinations, disinterments, death certificates, and transportation to autopsies.
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Criminal Justice Management Council
May 20
The May CJMCl meeting featured a panel presentation from the Sheriff’s department and the La Crosse Police Patrol and Neighborhood Resource Officers. One member of the county’s Mobile Response Team reported that they are often called to follow up on events or situations that have been initially responded to by other entities. They work with unhoused people who are resisting services, and they also get called to help with juveniles - often fostered or adopted - who cannot be controlled by their parents. Additionally, they are called to help with unhoused people who have been dropped off in La Crosse County from other jurisdictions with fewer resources. When asked by Council members what these teams need, they emphasized a need for 24-hour access to services for screening and providing shelter and healthcare.
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Civilian Review Board
May 14
The Civilian Review Board’s May meeting focused on three areas, including upcoming presentations to the County's Judiciary & Law Committee and to the Project Proven Community Resources Class in the jail, the response to the most recent complaint report and the small number of reports received, and concerns from City of La Crosse Police about how and when complaint reports would be filed with them.
~Observed by Chris Haskell
Links: Minutes