Another Note on our Duluth Public School Situation

Some of the signs I saw in yards over the weekend were the “Let Duluth Vote” signs. These signs are referring to the fact that the plan that the school board approved a few months ago, they approved without a referendum. They were allowed to do this, and they took that option. There are people who are upset that we are not allowed to vote on it.

I am not one of those. The plan was well studied and thought out. The board wanted to move forward without a referendum, not because they wanted to dupe the citizens, the plans were made public and meetings held for every citizen that was interested to attend and see these plans. The reason they opted for no vote, was the time factor and the fact that waiting would cost more money, they felt the need to move forward and not wait around until election time. The longer they wait to get things started, the more money is going to be added, and there’s no reason for that, when this study and plan was well thought out.

Yes, everyone might not agree on the plan chosen, of the three plans proposed. I know it wasn’t my choice, however, we must get on with this process and not keep postponing, as other school boards have done in the past. I applaud this school board, that they have actually taken action!

The cost to bring our buildings up to date is not much less than the figure to overall them all, and that would just be a band aid, we’d still have old buildings. The average age of our schools is 53 years old.

There is a very good letter on the opinion page of the News Tribune today. (I have a link on this page to the News Tribune).

I agree with the writer when she said, quote:
“I support the School Board moving forward with the proposed long-range plan. In a democratic system it is the right of every citizen to be represented. We citizens vote for people to represent us, to do the research, to see the big picture and to make informed decisions that serve the interests of the community as a whole. For the citizens to step in and approve or disapprove of representatives’ well-thought-out decisions is micro-managing and could lead to individuals (many of them uninformed) making decisions based on self-interests rather than the greater good. All who contributed time and ideas to the process deserve thanks. I welcome the opportunity to pay my part for the future of the Duluth public schools.”
– -Robin Downs