Be very afraid.
An email to Duluth’s forward thinking people:
From: mlarson@**********.com
To:
Subject: MoveForwardDuluth email update: Vote No on Plan B
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 2010 05:51:31 -0500Dear Friends,
Last fall, after the school board elections, I thought the need for MoveForwardDuluth was over. The community vote maintained a majority support on the Board for the District’s Long Range Facilities Plan, buildings were under construction and feedback was incredibly positive about the completed school projects. And it has been a pretty quiet year for contested issues relating to the LRFP. However, now I know there still is one more obstacle we need to address before all of us can breathe a sigh of relief that finally the debate about which school facility plan is best for our community is over.
MFD is getting involved in the Plan B referendum. Plan B, as you remember, is Let Duluth Vote’s alternative facilities plan that the District is legally mandated to put on this November’s ballot. Over the next 8 days until the election, you’ll hopefully notice some newspaper ads and a few radio spots that we are sponsoring. Frankly, I am as tired of this debate about which plan is the best for our community as the rest of you — and I want to move on as much as everyone else does, and start enjoying these great new schools.
But the Plan B referendum, even though it is only advisory, is a big deal. Plan B supporters are now saying it is only intended to send a message to the school board, but look at what it would do:
n It would immediately double the tax increase that we are paying for the Red Plan
n It would increase operating costs by $2.2 million a year (where would that money come from?)
n It would eliminate the middle school program
n It would reduce high school electives
n It would create inequity in the construction of facilities, especially in the Central neighborhoods
n It would result in increased costs from delaying construction to await approval of an amended plan
n It would increase costs to redesign buildings, undo current construction and rebuild to meet Plan B
specifications
n It would increase costs to reissue bonds
n It would likely result in costly legal battles that would result from breaking current construction contracts
So, if it passes would it simply be advisory? Perhaps but consider the consequences if it did. There would likely be an increase in pressure on the board to undo the Red Plan, no matter what it costs or how much it damages kids. Just as worse it would take the District and our community back to a place of unending debate and arguments that only serve to distract away from where our focus has to be; on the classrooms and the kids.
I considered saying nothing, voting No, and hoping the public would also vote this way. But then I started hearing from school board members and staff that strong supporters of ISD 709 are confused. And I have heard that too. People are asking if they should vote yes to Plan B since they are used to voting “Yes” on referendums in support of the District, and they aren’t sure what to do with this election.
That really worries me. If our friends don’t understand what to do, how can we sit back and say nothing? Especially when the district must be neutral on this silly referendum.
So, MFD has come up with a theme that will be in the ads and radio spots. We are calling it the Backwards Election and encouraging people to Vote NO. Backwards because this time voting no is the right thing to do for kids, our District and ultimately our community. I have attached the final ad here — feel free to share it with all of your email friends. And start talking to people about this Backwards Election. If Plan B gets defeated, the right message will be sent to the school board, the community, and especially the folks who think that the politics of chaos and confusion works.
Help us out — spread the word to vote No on Plan B.
Thanks!
Mimi Larson
