I heaped skepticism if not quite scorn on the idea that Duluth’s Catholic schools would be up to competing with ISD 709 by expanding. A friend threw out a yellow penalty flag of sorts and pointed out something I didn’t know. The Catholic schools in Duluth are apparently no longer under the wing of the Duluth Diocese. I presume they once were because their teaching corps was made up of nuns and priests.
I asked my friend with the yellow flag if they had been separated from the Diocese in recent years. Behind this question was my suspicion that such a separation would have been prompted by the Catholic Church wishing to protect its assets from lawsuits over generations of pedophilia and child abuse. My friend didn’t know. Does it make a difference if child abuse is a thing of the past? Perhaps the best answer to that last question is forgive but never forget. That would be my real attitude which is line with Santayana’s warning that to forget the past is to relive it.
What happened is a tragedy and I don’t mean to make light of it. My sister-in-law’s estrangement from the church on its account is a tragedy. The new Pope Francis is a breath of fresh air but even he has had to navigate the issue with some political restraint.
I am neutral about the proposed expansion of the local Catholic Schools. I wish them well for the sake of their students and the larger society that has a stake in their preparation for the future.
I say the same for the Edison Schools which have foundered recently on the Point of Rocks. Today it was announced that a new high school would not be opening as planned in the fall of 2017. Whether there is justice in the buzz saw of opposition to Edison’s expansion depends on one’s point of view. Certainly the very fortunate placement of PTSA leadership and union supporters on the Planning Commission and in Duluth’s Planning Department is worthy of a raised eyebrow. It strikes me that the opposition comes from those who resent its perceived successes and fear that its future growth will come at the expense of ISD 709. But, as with the Catholic Schools, we all have a stake in all of our schools doing well. If the Duluth Public School Academy should eventually become a high school it does not have to be at the expense of the ISD 709 Public Schools.
The recent sale that fell through struck me as an opportunity to change the dynamics between our public schools from scorpions in a bottle to chivalrous competition rather like the example of the American runner who offered a hand to the New Zealander who stumbled in the Olympics.
I have no doubt that they will eventually build a new high school. In fact the opponents of Edison might have been too clever by half. There will be another ISD 709 school board election in 2017 the year a new Edison was to be completed. If the school stays on the drawing boards by the time a new school board is seated in January of 2018 the need for an extra $14 million dollars might be even more apparent. If the Central white elephant is not sold before that date woe to the board members running for reelection who opposed the sale this year.
Ah, but these same Board members saved the District $25,000 last week when they decided to keep our lowliest workers tethered to poverty level wages. Some people would call that penny wise but pound foolish.
