I’ve received a number of emails from District staff desperate to sell Central who offered eloquent reasons for doing so. I don’t want to subject them to DFT insubordination inquiries so I’ll keep them anonymous. Here’s one I received yesterday:
A worn out subject for all you I am sure. Sorry you were forced to go through this mental exercise.
Did you read in today’s paper the article from Bonnie Jorgeson (Edison Charter Schools)? They are NOT our enemy. We are a community with the (wishful) goal to help the children. THE CHILDREN.
My saddest thought in this: Because as adults, we are so short sided, we again have done damage to our education system and thus all our students.
And may I wish you the best of luck in getting the next bill passed. People are angry and they will not be giving the district the more money. Not with this mistake in recent history. Sure wish the outcome was different.
In contrast I recently recovered this email from Bill Hanson answering the question of how much we pass on to the DPSA schools for the special ed costs.
“In response to questions from board members, unreimbursed special education expenses for our district attributable to students attending Duluth Public Schools Academy (DPSA) was $1,569,109.07 in 2014-15.”
What is particularly unhelpful about this otherwise accurate statement is that it omits a serious consideration. This is largely pass through money that simply goes to the DPSA schools to fund their special ed students so that we don’t have to educate them. If we did the money would stick with us. In fact, we are only obligated to give them 90% of their special ed needs leaving them to come up with the rest. And, in fact again, the DPSA schools dig deeper into their funds to put more into special ed thus robbing Peter, (their overall ed costs) to pay Paul (their Special Ed costs).
All this eviscerates the claim that ISD 709 is being drained of financial blood for Edison children.
We do suffer some in the transfer but this is a vastly more complicated topic than some of the know-it-alls like Judy Seliga-Punyko make it out to be. I’d like to sit in a room with both sides to work out some sort of truce. That isn’t going to be any easier after we refused Edison’s extraordinary bail out.
And about our staff emailer’s last comment: “I wish you the best of luck in getting the next [levy] passed. People are angry and they will not be giving the district the more money. Not with this mistake…”
That was reinforced by three letters to the Trib yesterday, here and here and here and two today here and here.
