Hello Mr. ______,
I appreciate your email and your questions. I got back very late last night and only have found time now to respond. I’ll answer your questions in the body of the email.
Hello Mr. Welty,
I am a parent of a Lester Park child, and one more to enter school in about 5 years or so. I have some questions for you and was wondering if you could take the time to answer them.1. You are running for congress, and school board? What would your priority be if you got both positions?
Jeff, I’m not running for Congress. I did that last year as a Don Quixote candidate angry with the politics of Washington. This is a serious race. I’ve served on the School Board before and I see the current Board destroying my legacy of financial well being.
2. If you are elected to the school board, would you rescind the decision and let the people vote,
YES!
and if so, how would you feel if only 800 people from Duluth actually vote on the issue?
If that were to happen, and it won’t ( More like 30% are likely to vote instead of 2% ) but if it were to happen I would go along with the vote. Those voters who choose not to vote have no one to blame but themselves.
I’ve seen decisions in the past (For instance, the DECC funding question 2/28/06 http://www.ci.duluth.mn.us/city/clerk/voting/eleress2006.htm) where only 13,330 people voted or 14% of the 92,000 Duluth residents. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think those 14% 1- have a good enough understanding of the issue to actually make the same informed decision as the school board could / would / did make and 2- I don’t think those 14% should be voice of all Duluth.
So, you think four of seven School Board members know more than the voters? I know those school board members. Three of the four majority members are among the least experienced Board members having served only an average of 3 years on the Board. They have made a colosal mistake. When you say you put more faith in them it reminds me of when I was a kid during the Vietnam War and an older woman told me we shouldn’t second guess President Nixon because he knew more than us. As for me, I served on the School Board for 8 years. I worked my butt off and I spent those eight years in a circle of state school board members who lobbied the state legislature. None of the four majority members have done that to my knowledge. Furthermore, my understanding of the politics of the District goes back well before 18 years ago when I was a teacher in the system. I then began running for the School Board, three times unsuccessfully, and grew very familiar with the demographics, facilities, and school budget of the District. More importantly, I saw a big $55 million bond (one sixth the size of this Red Plan) go down to defeat in a referendum. It was followed by a $35 million bond that was also defeated and finally by a $26 million bond that did go into effect. We made many improvements in our schools with that modest little bond and many of our schools are not nearly in as bad a state as the School Board has been telling us.
Finally, I’d trust 14% of the voters over .00005% (the four school board members who made up the majority) of the voters any day. Even if the voters were to make a mistake they are entiled to make it.
Like many have said, the board did what they were elected to do. Did you vote for anyone on the current board?
1st. They found a loophole no one knew about and took advantage of it. 2nd. I helped elect Mary Cameron twice.
I would be happy to pay to have our children have the BEST opportunity available- it will bring people to Duluth seeing our wonderful schools and if this does not happen now, it will be just like last time.
You have been woefully misled about how much you will pay. Even so, you may be able to manage the taxes. Our very large population on fixed incomes will find that much more difficult to endure. In fact, its because of that population, which constitutes a majority of Duluth voters, that your dreams of better schools will be dashed. When they see their tax bills next year and remember how the vote was stolen from them they will retaliate and your children will suffer. They will not vote for the excess levy which currently pumps $5 million each year into the classrooms. If that happens our school programs will be ripped to shreds and your fancy new buildings will ring hollow.
I know no matter what I say I’m not going to make you change your mind, I understand that, but what I don’t understand is why you won’t just let this happen?
See my answer above. I worked too hard to get excess levies passed to see this school board destroy the chance for them ever to pass again while your children and my grandchildren are in the schools.
If Duluth does have to vote, and the vote is for the red plan, what’s your next step to try to stop it or will you accept it at that point?
If the Red Plan passes in a referendum I will abide with it without complaint. In fact, I suspect I would have voted for it. But that was before the School Board and Johnson Controls tried to steal my vote and I began investigating what the Red Plan was really all about.
To me, it’s just common sense, it’s been accepted by the board, let it happen. It really is in the best interest of the children, and after all- isn’t that why you want to be on the board, if not, what is your reason? Kids come first!
Yes, Kids come first. That’s why I have to protect them from the consequences of what, to me, is obvious foolishness.
I’ve cc’ed the media contact Randy Wanke on this too, I believe that was the name I heard on the news this morning.
Yes that was his name. Feel free to cc my reply.
All the best,
Harry Welty
J_____ ______
