The Budgeteer’s columnist Peter Langr has, after a long silence on the subject, written about the Duluth Schools. Mr. Langr has been a supporter of the Red Plan if somewhat muted lately.
His column today is not yet available in the Duluth News Tribune’s website so I am unable to link to it. He begins by asserting that Dixon, whether you agree with how he did it or not, did what had to be done – build new schools which, Peter tells us, we will soon come to appreciate.
If, as Red Planners keep assuring us, our lost students do return to the District this might end up being true. Certainly little children today won’t remember the old farts like me who objected to the high handedness, deception and avariciousness of the people who built our new schools without our permission and taxed us to do it.
Peter’s commentary is, however, more of a resigned lament for the small number of people who are coming forward to help with the search for Dr. Dixon’s replacement. Langr accurately notes that whoever fills Dr. Dixon’s oily shoes will have a huge task before him or her. Truer words were never spoke – or written.
I would challenge one assumption made by Mr. Langer. He writes of our schools as though they were buildings. This reminds me of a perennial question that comes up in churches to wit: “What is a church?” Rarely do congregants conclude that a church is the building that houses a congregation. Rather a church, no matter how well appointed, is merely a place of worship rather than a place to worship.
I fear that Mr. Langr has confused what takes place in, or should take place in a school – education – with the building itself. He also asserts as though it was an obvious truth that our teachers are happy with the current direction of the schools. No matter how much the Duluth News Tribune or its subsidiaries avert their eyes from the problems in our schools such a presumption is wishful thinking.
The School District was in much better shape in 2004 when it hired Dr. Dixon and yet its rancorous reputation was such that the School Board found themselves with only a single candidate to offer the job to, Dr. Dixon, when they had finished their interviews. It will be interesting to see who will be interested in coming to Duluth in the aftermath of the Red Plan. Perhaps our community’s apparent disinterest in the search process will encourage candidates to apply. If the Red Plan has knocked all the fight out of Duluth perhaps a new superintendent will have a fighting chance. There will be one more consideration for an astute candidate, for most of the community any new superintendent will be an improvement over the old one because Dr. Dixon has helped lower the standards and expectations for a Superintendent of the Duluth Schools.
