[October 28, 2025] My point is not necessarily one about dollars, but rather about continuity of community and neighborhoods.

My point does not carry significant weight or gravity with respect to the X's and O's, or "meat and potatoes," of the argument. But still, I feel compelled to speak on the dissolution of the neighborhood construct due to the closure of schools citywide, both public and parochial, and the displacement of students.

Schools used to be the very fabric and representation of neighborhoods and the families that reside in them. Schools kept neighbors engaged and invested in their immediate communities. Neighborhood schools keep neighbors tied to one another and each other's children.

The closing of Jefferson may be inevitable (I hope not), but it will come at a cost to the North End community. Displacing children from that part of town and consolidating them into a larger apparatus miles away will contribute to a lack of cohesion amongst our youth and Dubuque's North End community.

I know this point is not one of strong emphasis in this debate, and maybe I'm only being nostalgic, but I do believe it's worth contemplation now and​, certainly, reflection in the future. Not all costs are monetary.​

I applaud your efforts!