Who will carry the torch for the Red Plan…

…with Dr. Dixon gone?

Perhaps it will be the District’s PR person Katie Kaufman. I read her “column” in today’s Budgeteer explaining the improvements in our new schools over the old ones they are replacing. Whether these improvements justify the $297 plus the recent additional $15 million of cost is a subjective consideration. That will be clearer as the buildings are completed.

Up until now Katie has taken the lead in correcting all the misinformation supplied to the public by your’s truly, usually with an eye roll. She became Dr. Dixon’s Girl Friday especially as his Red Plan took on more fire and fewer of its partisans bothered to defend it in the face of that fire. That silence was emphasized when a school board member’s spouse clumsily attempted to have a student defend the actions of the School Board.

It was Dr. Dixon who needed a shield. His successor, Dr. I V Foster might not need a PR person’s help nearly so much as he will need money to channel into the classroom. I recall the vigor with with Judy Seliga-Punyko, as the President of the city-wide PTA, attempted to gut administrative jobs during a period that was far less financially perilous than the District’s current situation.

Putting a good face on the Red Plan may be useful in the short run but its of more use to the reputation of the Superintendent who left us than to the new kid on the block who is saddled with the old Super’s legacy.

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