Yesterday the Trib had a terse news story about a a 4% ISD 709 tax reduction for the coming year. I wish it was something we achieved through hard work but in this case its the dumb luck of exiting students, increased property valuations and more state financial help.
ISD 709 is working hard to attract students back to the District or at least state dollars when students outside of the District enroll in our new online classes. I only read this article yesterday as I finished a stack of unclipped and only partially read DNTs. I got a nice tour of our first floor in Old Central where the Online classes are offered last year. I was impressed with the operation but sensed even then that its ambitious goals would be tough to achieve. I’m rooting for it.
I blogged last week about a presentation I attended at the West Duluth Business Club. The speakers were Nathan Glockle, principal at Laura MacAuther Elementary, and Russ Salgy who is the Director of the Valley Youth Center. Today’s DNT reports on his efforts to find a new and more expansive location for the kids his organization helps. I reported a small fraction of the concerns Russ shared at that meeting. If anyone could use that space to good effect its the Valley Youth Center.
Meanwhile last night, while I was tending to Grandsons at our church, Alanna Oswald was the only school board member in attendance at Denfeld where State Education Commissioner Brenda Casselius gave a presentation on ESSA to an audience of about sixty people. ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) is the new happier face of the old and much maligned NCLB (No child left behind).
Alanna who is no stranger to the MDE having brought about our District’s compliance with state rules on curriculum allignment and sitting on the state’s Title One Committee sent me a two-page list of things she learned at the meeting.
In light of our District’s and the state’s sorry attempt to redress the learning gap there was much talk about State Statute 124D.861 ACHIEVEMENT AND INTEGRATION FOR MINNESOTA. Much may be expected of Duluth in the wake of the Red Plan’s crude division of our district into unequal halves.
