Help Save LaCrosse High School

LaCrosse High School is at risk of being closed and abandoned – or demolished. Your help is needed to raise funds to conduct an alternative rehabilitation study. People Engaged in Preservation (PEP) and Indiana Landmarks have come together to help in this cause and need your help to make the case to renovate and keep open the historic LaCrosse High School. With your support, an alternative study to take a second look at the cost of renovation and how it can be accomplished – providing a preservation-friendly approach to meeting the needs of our high schoolers while maintaining this important multi-generational link to our community’s past. Our goal is to raise $7,500 to supplement the $2,500 grant being offered by Indiana Landmarks.

Background:

The School Board is moving quickly on this decision – necessitating this pressing need to prepare an alternative by the end of May. The school corporation announced their plan to hold public meetings about the Superintendent's recommendation to close LaCrosse High School - and construct an addition to the Wanatah Middle School to house the new high school - on February 20th. The first public meeting held on the 27th was followed the next week with a public open house.

If carried forward, the LaCrosse High School building would subsequently be abandoned, and like many shuttered schools, possibly demolished. The current plan does not include repairs, maintenance, or demolition costs for the historic building leading to questions about its future and later costs to the taxpayers. Languishing historic buildings don’t tend to age well. Concerns have also been raised about the total cost for a new build option since no funds have been included for the construction of a high school-sized gym, cafeteria expansion, or more than five classrooms.

In early March, a public tour turned out a large audience concerned about this proposal. Many who attended the meetings discussed a need for a second opinion. Your help can make that happen.

LaCrosse High School, built in 1915, is the oldest school building in continuous use in the State of Indiana. This school is the lifeblood of the town and its most important community and historic asset. Families in our community have attended this unique school for as many as four generations; some have even received their education from the same teachers that taught their parents. This school is where some met their future spouses, its where they discovered who they were and what they would become. This high school is a core part of our community’s culture. It defines us, and it has made us who we are. Those who have attended LCHS know it for its quirks, its special atmosphere, its free nature, and its tight community bond.

Now, this building needs the support of those who it supported during their formative years. Maintenance at LaCrosse High School has been deferred for a while, and the school is in need of work. There is no argument that the building needs updated heating, cooling, plumbing, and electric as well as necessary accessibility upgrades. The renovation will also need to update finishes and repair some water damage and any environmental concerns. The building may be old, but it has a solid core and with some attention and TLC it has the potential to serve many more generations and provide space for growth without future bond issues.

People Engaged in Preservation (PEP) is a LaPorte County historic preservation organization working to save our county’s historic heritage since 1997. As an affiliate of Indiana Landmarks, PEP has saved numerous historic buildings in the community and is eager to assist in the effort to save the LaCrosse High School.

Indiana Landmarks, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to preserving Indiana’s unique architectural assets, has a $2,500 grant available to assist in the cost of hiring a preservation-minded architectural firm. The firm will determine the cost of renovating LaCrosse High School. To produce a viable study, we need to raise funds to provide a match for this grant so that the people of Tri-Township can have a fair evaluation of the options regarding the future of the high school.

Your donations will first and foremost be used to provide matching funds for the Indiana Landmarks grant. We are aiming to raise $7,500 in order to fund a more comprehensive study of how the school might be renovated. Additional funds beyond this will be dedicated to protecting our high school, generating public awareness about this cause, and providing for a future where LaCrosse High School remains a centerpiece of the LaCrosse community.

To the LaCrosse alums, Tiger fans, and lovers of historic structures, we appeal to you and ask for your support in saving LaCrosse High School.