Swords/Plowshares # 5 My email exchange with a former Duluth School Board member

Disclaimer

On Tue, Mar 22, 2016 at 2:52 PM, [former school board member] wrote:
Dear Board members,

I read in the Duluth News Tribune this morning that there may be a plan in the works to sell the Central High School property to Edison for their new high school. I feel strongly enough about this that I am writing this from a Florida vacation.

If we want our own school district to thrive, it doesn’t make sense to sell school property to a charter school organization which offers something different but also takes kids from the Duluth Public Schools. At this time, it seems that we can ill afford to lose kids to another school so why make it easy for that to happen?

Edison plans to build a school anyway and will likely take kids from our own population. But at least ISD 709 will not aid that to happen. After we closed Kenwood elementary and sold it to Edison, the result was not a good one for our school district financially. I am also concerned that the folks at Edison released this information prior to your negotiations, which should be in a closed session, on purpose to create a fuss and get people to email on their side of this proposal.

I hope you are watching out for the interests of the majority of students whom you represent. As a former school board member, I know that that is the job of the board.

Thank you and I do hope you will do the right thing for our students, staff and the district and community.

[former school board member]

My Reply:

On Thursday, March 24, 2016, Harry Welty wrote:
Dear [former school board member] ,

I hope your weather is fair down on the beach. I’m envious.

You explained that we sold Kenwood to Edison. That’s not accurate. The closed Kenwood building was leased to Edison until Edison moved out in the face of a new hostile School Board. I am unaware of any adverse finances related to its lease.

I’ll have to go back to my clipping file to verify what I’m about to relate (and I’m currently swimming in email on the Central sale) but my recollection is that state testing began in 1996. That testing revealed that Duluth’s schools found themselves in the lowest of 4 quartiles in both reading and math. I had just been elected and found myself on a school board on a mad rush to address these problems with a charter school. I had my reservations about Edison because I anticipated future antagonism with our teachers. I was correct in this. Nonetheless, our teachers gave the Edison model the highest rating of about five or six proposals that were brought to the school board.

I have always had a disagreement with the idea that “competition” guarantees better performance. I think ISD 709’s attempts to outflank Edison through the years up to the Long Range Facilities Plan has only backfired. I for one would prefer to see our two systems cooperate not compete.

As for the majority of our students they would benefit greatly if we could moderate the $3.3 million deficit we are currently working to address through massive cuts. The Central site has been empty and on the market for six years at an annual cost to the district of two teachers a year in maintenance. We have to crawl out of this and Edison has offered us half a million more to buy the property than we have it on offer for. This sale with state lease aid money, not local property tax money, would be a shot in the arm for us and our students. The cuts we will make in its absence are not in the interest of our students.

I believe my likely vote for the sale will be in concordance with the majority of the people who voted me into office. That seems to be borne out by the considerable email I’ve been receiving. If we ever hope to pass an operational levy again we must make sure we don’t turn down a once in a lifetime sale offer. Also, such a sale would give us a chance to put a cap on Edison’s future growth. The alternative is grim.

Thanks for your thoughts,

Harry Welty

The [former school board member] offers a cordial reply:

Thanks for your response. I understand the opportunity to raise money for the district. Will it end up in the general fund where it will actually help with programming? I just hate to give Edison a chance to take more of our students away- particularly they would likely come from Denfeld where there are not enough students now.

I hope both sides are given time for consideration.

[former school board member]

My second reply addressing the further concerns:

Harry Welty 5:15 PM (4 hours ago)

Thanks Again [former school board member],

That was the intent of the folks who financed the Long Range Facilities Plan but the value they placed on our closed schools was far too optimistic. As it is, we have been transferring up to six million from the General Fund annualy for several years to pay off bonds. This will not fully stanch that hemorrhaging of our General funds but it will be a good start.

Harry