Others are not mollified

I just received two stunning indictments the first of the Trib here from today’s online comment section:

“Personally, I am not a Duluth resident so I don’t get to vote. But neither did Duluth residents. And no one gets to vote on the BIAS on the DNT except by a withdrawal of subscriptions. Clearly, the DNT is also on the side of denying the populace the right to vote. This can be seen by the incredible statement at the beginning of this article. The CHAOS was created by the school board who deceitfully advertised the meetings as ‘input’ and then took the incomplete ‘preferences’ of the few who attended as a mandate for the city. Those meetings were not advertised as a mandate. Citizens were not told that this was how the expenditure of millions would be decided. NO. It was thought that they were offering suggestions and what ifs. Instead, the ‘wish-list’ was presented as a fait acompli to the public WITHOUT a vote. That is where the chaos began and why it is still roiling. Confusion is not the issue, the denial of a vote is the issue. This used to be the USA where we participated in a government of, by, and for the people. By the DNT’s mocking derision of those who think this right should continue in every sphere, including spending between $293 -497 million dollars on new school buildings in Duluth MN, they demonstrate their bias and short-sightedness. It is never better to acquiesce to a bully. It is better to do what is right and let the chips fall where they may, knowing that, in the long run, if done properly, no one can argue on the basis of a denial of a vote.”

And this of the vaunted process that was open to everyone to design the Red Plan:

“I attended some meetings at Nettleton when the three plans were originally proposed. Here’s what happened. At the first meeting this ***** ********* took over and we spent two hours coming up with a list of questions for Dr. Dixon and the folks from Johnson Controls to answer. Keep in mind that they were there. We were promised that at the second meeting all of our questions would be answered. The school district even had the presence of mind to bring a staffer to record all the questions in addition to the flip chart questions we had assembled. No questions were answered at this meeting. One week later, ***** ********* (now my arch-nemesis — believe me) informed me that he and another parent from Nettleton had met with Dixon privately and had gotten the questions answered so he had changed the purpose of the meeting to figuring out a way “for us to all get along during this process.” So many of us felt disenfranchised — even teachers walked out of the meeting.

At that second meeting however, I was able to squeeze in a few questions and speak privately with a few folks involved in all three plans. The savings the district will realize after the plan is implemented versus the current expenditures and repairing the things that need to be fixed is just over 1%. REALLY? All this over less than 1.5%? Isn’t that less than the rate of inflation? Some parents even said they’d rather spend that little bit extra. Clearly Dr. Dixon and Johnson Controls found their pockets of support and capitalized on them. I could (and have) go on and on about how we have been raped of our rights by people that don’t have a dog in the fight. It’s important for people to know that this situation has been manipulated from day one. And, as I told [a friend] earlier today — I know of two people who were citizen advisors on the Long Range Planning Committee who will shout how great this plan is from the rooftops — when they found out their kids would be attending Morgan Park instead of their preferred Woodland, they pulled every string they could to get their preference. One finally succeeded by falsifying his address. Am I angry? You bet!!!”

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