At its meeting on Monday, August 24, 2026, the Sauk Prairie School District Board of Education unanimously adopted a resolution opposing the proposed 765kV BECI transmission line project.
The proposed route through central Sauk County runs through the school district and through the outdoor education properties long used by students at Tower Rock Elementary immediately north of the rural school campus.
The resolution reads in part:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Sauk Prairie School District Board of Education formally expresses its strong opposition to the construction of the Bell Center–Columbia–Sugar Creek–IL/WI State Line 765 kV Project anywhere within the Sauk Prairie School District boundaries; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board condemns any transmission line routing proposal that places 765 kV infrastructure or associated high-voltage corridors in close proximity to school campuses or directly over outdoor learning spaces regularly utilized by students; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board urges the Public Service Commission to mandate comprehensive, site-specific environmental, visual, acoustic, and health impact studies that account for the integrity of public educational facilities in low-noise rural soundscapes; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board strongly urges that any necessary grid expansion prioritize the utilization of existing established utility corridors rather than creating new infrastructure corridors through rural communities and educational assets, and demands maximum protective buffer zones from public educational facilities and associated outdoor learning spaces.
To view the full resolution, click here.
To view maps of the proposed BECI line, click here.
According to the company proposing the new transmission line, the proposed towers are 170 feet in height, will have a right-of-way of 180 feet in width, and a typical span of 1,200 feet.
The School Board is sharing its resolution with Midcontinent Grid Solutions, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, State Senator Sarah Keyeski, and State Representative Karen DeSanto.