In concert with the story about Garry Krause’s intention to ask the City Council to pass a resolution calling on the School Board to offer the Red Plan for a vote the DNT offered a page for comment.
It resuoted in four online pages of comments. At first they were all anti-Red Plan then for a page more pro-Red Plan folks spoke up. The last two pages were about two-to-one against the Red Plan.
I think the bump in pro red plan comments was prompted by the following email which was sent out to folks who signed up for Move Duluth Forward, the new pro Red Plan organization. Even after sending it out its supporters were in a clear minority. It was sent to me by someone who is on our side.
Possible Talking Points
We’re a year into the project, we’ve purchased property, sold bonds, and begun two projects. This is a school district issue, just like the city has their issues to address and the legislature has its own issues to address. We need to move forward and implement the plan.The decision making body for the long range facilities plan is the school board. A resolution passed by the city council would not require any action on the part of the school board.
More than any other Duluth project the LRFP had substantial public input, including hundreds of hours of meetings, with information shared and received over an 18-month period through a wide range of communication venues. The plan included nearly 18 months of community conversation. The process was transparent and inclusive. It relied on community input (over 150 community meetings) and was a plan that was developed with the public, not unveiled to the public.
In addition, a professional survey of residents helped decide between three potential plans. Ultimately the school board made the final decision.
The costs are reasonable. Less than ½ of the total cost of the plan has tax implications for the community.
For a home assessed at $125,100 the plan costs:
-A total of $110 in 2008
-A total of $113 in 2009
-A total of $116 in 2010In other words, the cost of the plan increases about $3 each year on a $125,100 home.
We believe the plan is a good one, good for students and the community, and fiscally responsible.
The plan improves learning spaces for children and provides schools that meet modern standards for education, safety, and efficiency.
The plan addresses more than 60% of school space that doesn’t meet code in areas including air and water quality, handicap accessibility, the ability to support modern educational programs.
The plan improves the safety of our buildings, and fixes classrooms that were built at a time when teaching and learning were done differently than they are today.
Our group also notified our email list about the poll but there are only about 30 people on our list. I did not recognize most of the names of the critics of the Red Plan.
