The fate of an abandoned school building in northeast Iowa has been ordered to go before voters in September. A group of Decorah residents took the school board to court asking for the issue of whether or not the east side school building should remain standing to be put to a vote.
An organized local group had been working to establish programming for a community and arts center for the building, which was shut down in 1998 after concerns addressed by the state fire marshal.
The school board voted to tear down the building in May. In June, the board was presented with petition asking for the referendum. Instead, the board chose to accept a challenge to the petition, an act the court ruled illegal.