Claudia came up to my office just now and gushed over the story of Alanna Oswald announcing her candidacy for the school board. I heartily agree.
She [Ms. Oswald] said Monday that she wants to improve Duluth’s schools to prevent the district’s enrollment from declining.
“I hope to make the district the place to come to for an education, not to continually be cutting back because we keep losing kids. We need to offer the same, if not more, than the surrounding districts,” Oswald said.
But Oswald said she isn’t sure if the current school board is set up for the change she envisions. Additionally, she said, the recent discord among board members is behavior that mirrors the problems students from underrepresented backgrounds in the district face.
“The school board models the institutionalized systems that create majorities and minorities, and bullying, and thinking some people are better than others,” she said.
She said including underrepresented voices in the decision-making process is important to her.
