You probably read reporter Brandon Stahl’s surprise at the sudden insertion of a new agenda item in the last School Board meeting. Dr. Dixon has had no trouble setting secret agendas and calling last minute meetings to have his deeds done. But this was different.
The Board has a policy that goes way back as to how a lone board member can get an item on the agenda on the board meets. To accomplish this the board member must get a unanimous vote of all other members of the meeting. I asked for such a unanimous vote on at least one occasion and did not get it.
This is important because the public deserves a chance to know what decisions might be made ahead of time so as to give their elected representatives their input and to prevent the rule of secrecy. These rules no longer count under the dictatorship of Chair Grover.
Ann Wasson brought a motion on Tuesday evening to name the two Red Plan high schools. Several board members objected to adding it but board Chair Grover permitted a vote to be taken by claiming it was related to part of an informational item on the Education Committee report, even though it had not previously been scheduled for a decision. While this decision caught several board members by surprise Red Plan supporters were clued in well beforehand and succeeded in getting about 150 people to the meeting. This was the work of Dr. Dixon’s cheerleader Mimi Larson who sent out the email posted previously encouraging her troops to turn out and stay the course on the Red Plan.
The surprise motion on retaining the names of the existing high schools passed on a 6 yes – 1 abstention vote, after Dr. Dixon read a “letter” from Mayor Ness offering his support for the Red Plan. NOTE: DR. DIXON MAY HAVE MANUFACTURED THIS ENDORSEMENT. MORE ON THIS LATER.
Even more reprehensible was the refusal by Chair Grover to put items on the agenda brought to him by two Board members some days in advance of the meeting. Two of eight topics requested were not added denying these board members from having the opportunity to raise questions. I’ve been told that even the two members who acted in accordance with the procedures declined to fight this abridgement of their rights thinking that they already had too much on their plate for the evening ahead. The meeting did last until well past midnight which must have been a hard slog for members accustomed to the hour and-a-half rubber stamp sessions of the recent past. This was a mistake and the Board members should have raised holy hell. In disgust with the meeting new member Art Johnston left at about 10:30 to cool off. He is now being roundly criticized by Mimi whose scorn may well bear fruit. Its Mimi’s board members who have gotten used to collecting $540 a month for a couple hours work. If Art demands answers to long ignored questions he could help keep Board members going until 4AM. I know he’s capable of such hours because he put in a couple of nights like that working on alternatives to the Red Plan. Mimi’s darlings would have to stick out such meetings or risk losing their majority. My personal fantasy would be to have Mary Cameron leave early on a day when Judy Seliga-Punyko was off at a swimming competition and have the Board vote to ask the Minnesota State Auditor come and audit the District’s finances.
In ignoring the policies of the District Chair Grover violated one of the cardinal rules of American democracy – he denied the minority the opportunity to speak. It was a cursed thing for anyone to do let alone a minister’s son. My reading of State Statutes makes it seems unlikely that he could be impeached, recalled or removed from office for this breach. How often I have heard his better half tell me that her husband is a gentleman.
The Superintendent, however, is a different matter. He can be fired with or without cause by a Board majority. The drawback to firing him without cause is that he would get. He currently has a couple years left which would give him around a quarter million to take an extended vacation. This is what deterred the Faribault School Board from firing him even though the final election was won by folks who campaigned to remove him. Duluth hired him and put Faribault out of its misery.
If, however, there is just cause for a firing then the Board could safely fire him because the remainder of his salary under contract would be held forfeit. If the grounds were flimsy the Superintendent could take the Board to Court.
What grounds would hold up in court? I suspect that there are a great many available but the Superintendent has successfully prevented vast quantities of public data from seeing the light of day.
Case in point:
Last August Board member Glass asked to see the review and comment document and its approval letter by the State Ed Dept. on the proposed western middle school. He asked again in Sept. Three months had passed and the administration never turned over the document. Dr. Glass has finally received a copy of the approval letter for the Dept. of Education (not from Dr. Dixon), six months late. This document explains the terms for proceeding with spending another $71 million dollars a subject of some interest to the taxpayers who pay the freight. This dereliction on Dr. Dixon’s part alone should be ample grounds for cause. But this is just the tip of the ice berg. Over the course of the past two years one Board member has repeatedly asked for such information, and frequently, if not usually, it is denied him.
Finally, the State Board of Education has turned over the review and comment. The Dept. of Education only authorized the use of levy money to pay for this addition to the Red Plan. In violation of this authorization and coinciding with the hiding of the review and comment document from the board the Duluth School board voted to take $2.3 million out of the District’s operational funds to pay off bonds for this part of the Red Plan.
Of course this also constituted a broken promise to Duluth voters by the board which promised that they would not use such funds for the Red Plan. Duluth voters better get used to this. To date the District’s levy will only pay for half of the $400 million Red Plan over twenty years. Ten million a year will have to be found somewhere to pay back the banks. It could come either in the form of higher taxes or it could be stripped from the classroom. The board so far has chosen to strip it from the classroom but the $2.7 million in op funds which is being used to pay off debt obligations from 2008 is just like sticking a toe in cold pool. But then lots of Duluthians enjoy a good Polar Plunge. It’s coming. Soon. Don’t expect the Superintendent to be around holding up a dry towel when we emerge from under the ice dripping wet.
It occurs to me that leading the Board to violate the terms of the State’s permission is not simply cause for firing Dr. Dixon. It suggests cause for taking him to court. Maybe we could make him pay back his bonus for superlative work.
