Big Boo Boo

I made quite a fuss in this recent post about our lost ISD 709 students (30% of the total students we could be educating) only being lost do to “open enrollment” to neihboring Districts. In that post I incorrectly explained, “By the way, Open Enrollment DOES NOT INCLUDE ENROLLMENT IN CHARTER SCHOOLS!!!!! That’s extra.”

I was sooooooo wrong. I am prone to such mistakes when I hastily review old info without reading it carefully. It turns out that charter school students are the bulk of the students 709 has lost.

Ironically, the Red Plan was partly motivated by the hope that our new schools would lure the charter students back in the system. But in the complicated game of chess for enrollment it did not occur to the Duluth School Board that state law permitted our Charters from using state money to build their own new school. So, the Red Plan did help drive more students to Charters because of a chaotic transition from old schools to new schools.

But the fact remains – I WAS IN ERROR.

Trust me. It won’t be my last mistake.

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