“HE SAID IT MAY TAKE A DECADE FOR THEM TO COME BACK”

Maybe this is why Dr. Dixon regularly censored communications from the public to keep his School Board commpliant. This one went to Dr. Dixon (and then found its way to me)but because its not addressed to the Board so Dr. Dixon is under no obligation to share it. I doubt that they will see it unless they visit Lincolndemocrat.

B _ _ _ _ _ riffs off of today’s story about the bids being voted on at next week’s school board and crams her email with a lot of upsetting anecdotes.

Date: Tuesday, June 8, 2010 7:13 AM
From: B _ _ _ _ _
To: keith.dixon@duluth.k12.mn.us,

Bids totaling more than $32 million for the new Lincoln Park Middle School are up for approval at next weekÂ’s Duluth School Board meeting.

If approved, the majority of work for the project can commence. The board discussed the project at Monday nightÂ’s business committee meeting.

Member Art Johnston said it was foolish to vote on the bids with a pending lawsuit to stop the project and because of the November Plan B vote. The lawsuit, filed in April by three Duluth residents, contends that the cityÂ’s planning commission and the district didnÂ’t adequately consider the projectÂ’s environmental impact. (<-THAT IS THE ONLY LEG WE COULD STAND ON. B)) “The community doesnÂ’t want it,” Johnston said. “We should not be doing this.”OH REALLY? Board Chairman Tim Grover said the board has not been told by legal counsel that it shouldnÂ’t move forward. He also noted that he grew up in the area where the new school is to be built and said residents and business owners in Lincoln Park are excited about a new school. (I KNOW NOT ONE PERSON WHO ISN'T MAD ABOUT IT BECAUSE OF THE $ AND POOR LOCATION CHOICE, ABOVE WHEELER FIELD AND A&DUBS BELOW TACONITE TRAINS) SORRY, I AM A DULUTH BUSINESS OWNER AND HAVE TALKED TO HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WHO SAY THIS IS "JUST STUPID". EVEN PEOPLE FROM GARY AND SMITHVILLE AND MORGAN PARK HAVE TOLD ME THEY WOULD RATHER HAVE THE SCHOOL BOARD USE CENTRAL AS THE MIDDLE SCHOOL IN CASE THEY MAY NEED TO HAVE A 3RD HIGH SCHOOL 10 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD. THINKING AHEAD WOULD MEAN USING COMMON SENSE!! MAYBE BUILD A NEW MIDDLE SCHOOL SOME WHERE ELSE DOWN THE ROAD, WHEN THE ECONOMY IMPROVES. MY TAXES WENT UP ANOTHER $300 THIS YEAR IN PIEDMONT AND A LEVY HASN'T EVEN PASSED YET! SADLY ONE WON'T. IT WILL BE TWO HARBORS ALL OVER AGAIN. MY CUSTOMERS STILL WANT TO KNOW WHERE THE OPERATING FUNDS ARE COMING FROM FOR THESE SCHOOLS, AS "OVER THEIR DEAD BODY" WILL THEY VOTE FOR AN INCREASED OPERATING LEVY THIS YEAR AFTER NOT BEING GIVEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE ON THE LARGEST BUILDING PLAN IN THE STATE OF MINNESOTA’S HISTORY!! I DO NOT KNOW 1 PERSON WHO IS VOTING FOR THE UPCOMING LEVY, BECAUSE THEY ARE FED UP WITH NOT BEING LISTENED TO THE PAST 3+ YEARS! SAD FOR OUR CHILDREN, BUT TRUE. KANSAS CITY HERE WE COME, I’M AFRAID. WHEN I ASKED THE BOARD ABOUT THE 1,653 STUDENTS WHO HAVE LEFT 709 WITH ALL THE OPERATING FUNDS ATTACHED TO EACH AND EVERY STUDENT, THEY SHRUG. I ASKED AN ADMINISTRATOR AT OLD CENTRAL ADM AND HE SAID “THEY WILL COME BACK”…WHAT? BACK TO WHAT??? ARE EAST (SHOULD STILL OUT OF RESPECT REMAIN ORDEAN HIGH SCHOOL) AND THE REMODELED, ADDED ON TO DENFELD BEING BUILT LARGE ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE THE STUDENTS COMING BACK? HE SAID IT MAY TAKE A DECADE FOR THEM TO COME BACK. I REPEAT, IS EAST AND DENFELD BEING BUILT LARGE ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE THE STUDENTS COMING BACK INTO 709?? IF THE SCHOOL BOARD HAS TO REBUILD A NEW HIGH SCHOOL 10 YEARS FROM NOW, DO YOU KNOW HOW BALLISTIC THE CITIZENS OF DULUTH WILL BE ESPECIALLY WHEN OVER 80% DO NOT WANT CENTRAL CLOSED? PERIOD.

“I just do not hear the negativity,” he said. “ItÂ’s just not there.” <- HE IS THE CROOKED POLITICIAN I TOLD YOU ABOUT. I HAVE HEARD NOTHING BUT PEOPLE SAY "USE CENTRAL, IT'S ALREADY BUILT AND PAID FOR" I HEARD NOTHING BUT ANGER AND NEGATIVITY FROM ALL THE PARENTS AT MORGAN PARK, CENTRAL AND DENFELD. I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE WORKING WITH THE PUBLIC! I AM SORRY, BUT DIXON, JUDY SELIGA PUNYKO, AND ESPECIALLY GROVER. THEY ARE LIVING IN A "DREAM LAND". I BELIEVE 10 YEARS FROM NOW THEY ARE GOING TO REGRET CLOSING CENTRAL. HECK, I HAVE LISTENED TO THE TEACHERS FROM CENTRAL WHO ARE AFRAID OF SAYING ANYTHING PUBLICALLY ABOUT WHAT A MISTAKE THEY THINK THIS IS. I HEARD SUBS SAY "NO WAY WILL THEY SUB AT CENTRAL THIS COMING SCHOOL YEAR!" I HEARD AT A SOCCER GAME (DENFELD U15 RED WON AGAINST PROCTOR 7-2 LAST NIGHT ) THAT THIS FALL THERE WILL BE 90 GIRLS TRYING OUT FOR 40-50 SPOTS ON JV AND VARSITY CENTRAL SOCCER TEAM . IT IS BEING RECOGNIZED AS DULUTH CENTRAL TROJANS BY THE MINNESOTA STATE HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE THE 2010-11 SCHOOL YEAR. THE DENFELD HUNTERS ARE NOT RECOGNIZED THIS COMING SCHOOL YEAR. THIS WELL INFORMED PARENT SAID THERE WILL BE 40-50 GIRLS' HEART BROKEN, CRYING...WHO HAVE WORKED HARD FOR MANY YEARS FOR THIS CHANCE TO PLAY HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER. TOM PEARSON, A.D. TOLD ME HE WOULD TRY AND HAVE A C TEAM. BULL, CAN'T HAPPEN. DO YOU KNOW WHY?? BECAUSE EAST IS THE ONLY SCHOOL IN THE AREA WITH A GIRL'S C TEAM FOR SOCCER AND THE CENTRAL TROJANS CAN'T PLAY EAST OVER AND OVER AND OVER. SO THEN IT WAS PROPOSED THAT THE TROJANS ( & UNRECOGNIZED HUNTERS FOR A YEAR) TRAVEL AND PLAY C TEAMS IN MINNEAPOLIS. WELL...THAT WON'T WORK BECAUSE MANY OF THE WEST DULUTH, GARY, LINCOLN PARK, SMITHVILLE, ETC ARE FROM POOR FAMILIES, LOW INCOME COMPARED TO EAST~AS IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN SINCE DULUTH WAS CREATED! THE PARENTS WOULD HAVE TO FOOT THE BILL FOR ALL THE TRAVEL, COACHING, MOTELS, WHICH IS NOT POSSIBLE EXCEPT FOR VERY VERY FEW FAMILIES. I HEARD THIS FROM A DOZEN PARENTS LAST NIGHT. THEY JUST DON'T HAVE THE INCOME TO DO IT. SO GUESS WHAT? THESE ARE THE BEST OF THE BEST THAT ARE ON THIS TEAM AND THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO BE ON A TRAVELING C TEAM. SO THEN THEY SUGGESTED THAT THE JV TEAM COULD BE SPLIT IN HALF. HALF THE GIRLS PLAY ONE HALF, THE OTHER GIRLS PLAY THE OTHER HALF. WHAT WILL THEY WEAR. A RED AND WHITE JERSEY WITH MAROON AND GOLD SOCKS HAS BEEN SUGGESTED. I AM SICKENED BY WHAT DULUTH CENTRAL IS LOSING THE FOLLOWING YEAR. EVERYTHING. CAN YOU IMAGINE LIVING A BLOCK WEST OF KENWOOD AVENUE HAVING TO RIDE YOUR BIKE WITH ALL YOUR FOOTBALL EQUIPMENT TO DENFELD FOR PRACTICE THE FALL OF 2011? YIKES! PEOPLE SAY TO ME THAT SPORTS AREN'T IMPORTANT AND SHOULDN'T EVEN BE A CONSIDERATION. STUDIES HAVE PROVEN THAT STUDENTS WHO ARE IN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES ARE HAPPIER, HEALTHIER AND LESS LIKELY TO GET INTO TROUBLE AND STAY IN SCHOOL! AN UPSET DULUTH CENTRAL MOM TOLD ME AT TARGET LAST WEEKEND THAT HER DAUGHTER WAS NUMBER 1 IN THE CONCERT ORCHESTRA AT CENTRAL. THE CLARINET IS "HER LIFE". SHE IS GOING TO BE A SENIOR THIS FALL. SHE IS NOT IN SPORTS, DRAMA, JUST HER ABSORBED IN HER MUSIC AND THE BEST AT CENTRAL. SHE DID NOT MAKE THE CONCERT AFTER TRY OUTS BY THE NEW TEACHER WHO DOESN'T KNOW HER. SHE WAS BUMPED DOWN (THERE ARE ONLY SO MANY SPOTS) SHE DIDN'T GET A HIGH ENOUGH SITE READING SCORE~THOUGH MUCH OF HER TALENTS COMES FROM PLAYING BY EAR AS WELL AS SITE READING. SHE ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATED AND HASN'T EVEN STARTED HER SENIOR YEAR AT CENTRAL~WHICH NOW SHE SAID WILL BE HORRIBLE IF SHE ISN'T WITH IN THE CONCERT GROUP WHERE SHE DOES BELONG. NICE. I TOLD HER MOM TO WRITE TO MS MITCHELL-KROCHAK, AND THE DIRECTOR WHO DID THE AUDITIONS. DO QUIT FIGHTING THIS, I TOLD HER. I AM TRYING TO BE POSITIVE AROUND MY CALIANNE WHO WILL BE A FRESHMAN AT CENTRAL THIS FALL. SHE SHOULD BE AT DENFELD. SHE SAYS NOTHING BUT NEGATIVE THINGS. SHE SAYS SHE IS SCARED (ALL HER FRIENDS ARE TOO) SHE SAYS SHE WILL NEVER MAKE THE SOCCER TEAM. SHE SAYS SHE WILL NEVER MAKE THE BASKETBALL TEAM. SHE KNOWS SHE CAN LETTER IN TRACK, SHE ALREADY LETTERED AS AN 8TH GRADER FOR DENFELD VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY LAST FALL. WHAT CHOIR WILL I MAKE? SHE IS SIGNED UP TO BE IN ZERO HOUR EARTH SCIENCE; WHICH MEANS I WILL DRIVE HER TO CENTRAL EVERYDAY SO SHE CAN BE IN A 7TH PERIOD. SHE HAS ALL ADVANCED CLASSES AND NEEDS TO TAKE 7 PERIODS A DAY TO BE READY FOR THE CLASSES SHE NEEDS AS A JUNIOR AND SENIOR TO GET A GOOD SCHOLARSHIP TO GET INTO A GOOD UNIVERSITY. MOST OF HER SEVERAL DOZEN CLOSE FRIENDS ARE NOT SIGNED UP FOR ZERO HOUR AT CENTRAL NEXT FALL AND ARE VERY ANGRY ABOUT IT AS THEY HAVE NO TRANSPORTATION TO GET THEIR FRESHMAN TO CENTRAL FOR ZERO HOURS. YUP JUDY PUNYKO, SORRY, NAYSAYERS ARE NOT IN THE MINORITY!!!!!!!!!! Member Judy Seliga Punyko agreed, saying western middle school naysayers are in the minority. <- WHAT PLANET IS SHE FROM??? I WOULD LIKE TO MEET EVEN 1 OR 2 OF THESE PEOPLE! Member Gary Glass said there are more reasonably priced alternatives to building a new middle school, including using one of the schools meant to be vacated. AGE-OLD RIVALRIES BUT SHE ALSO SAID THAT THERE ARE SOME REALLY ROUGH GANGS AND ROUGH KIDS, SOME VERY TROUBLE CAUSING KIDS SHE HAS GONE TO SCHOOL WITH FROM LINCOLN PARK AND MORGAN PARK. SHE SAID SHE IS MORE AFRAID OF COMBINING THE TROUBLESOME KIDS AT CENTRAL WITH THE DENFELD TROUBLE MAKERS. SHE DOESN’T KNOW IT, BUT THAT IS WHAT I HAVE HEARD FROM TEACHERS TOO. SO SAD THAT THIS COULD HAVE ALL BEEN AVOIDED.

B_ _ _ _