This morning I got an email from someone who had called me earlier and told me he was troubled that I encouraged folks to vote for the operational levy referendums. Still he said he would vote for me. He’d read the old email from the DFT and my comments about it. It pricked something in his memory and he remembered clipping a story about it out of the Duluth News Tribune. He sent me the story.<\/p>\n
I told him I would put it in the blog as well as a note that the Federation of Teachers had tried to get the public’s attention something I did not recall the DFT having done.<\/p>\n
Hi Harry,<\/p>\n
Read your blog on Sept 8th and it had a familiar ring. I dug into some of the “stuff” I had stored and found this article from the DNT, dated 12\/12\/2009. I don’t recall where the direction was or why it fizzled, maybe it just got shelved and nobody seemed to care; the course was already set and the wind was right, but the DFT at least did publicly raise the issue: <\/p>\n
Duluth News Tribune (MN), Saturday, December 12, 2009
\nAuthor: Sarah Horner, Duluth News Tribune <\/p>\nThe Duluth teachers union also is proposing a change in the red plan: to relocate the district\u2019s new western middle school to Central High School.
\nThe Duluth Federation of Teachers\u2019 executive board sent a letter Friday asking the School Board to revisit the middle school issue, according to Frank Wanner, president of the union and a teacher at Central.
\n\u201cWe feel the central part of town has been greatly shortchanged and that there isn\u2019t near the public support for the current western middle school site as there would be for Central,\u201d Wanner said. He added that many residents living in the northern section of the Central attendance area are turning to other districts because of the loss of a secondary school in their corridor. Placing the middle school there could bring some of them back, Wanner said.
\nDuluth Superintendent Keith Dixon said there was solid information that led to the selection of the middle school site, mainly that it\u2019s in the student density center, but that it might not be too late to reopen the discussion.
\n\u201cI still think we made the right decision with that site, but if the board directs me to I can look at that option again,\u201d Dixon said. \u201cI\u2019d have to look at what we\u2019ve already spent on design and look at what we\u2019d lose on the revenue side by not selling Central and see what impact those have on the budget and go from there.\u201d
\nNot all board members behind the red plan said they would be opposed to considering the switch.
\n\u201cI know there is a lot of work that would need to be done to make that work at Central, but if we could stay within our budget I\u2019d be willing to look at it,\u201d board member Mary Cameron said. \u201cI think it could help with the
\nhealing process for the community.\u201d
\nBoard member Ann Wasson said she would be hard-pressed to support the change, while newly elected members Art Johnston, Tom Kasper and board Chairman Tim Grover said they\u2019d at least entertain the idea.
\n\u201cI think it\u2019s a better situation than what\u2019s currently posed for the central corridor, but I worry that it doesn\u2019t really solve the problem,\u201d Kasper said. \u201cI think the people out west will raise the same concerns about moving it away from them as the Central folks do.\u201d
\nMembers Gary Glass and Judy Seliga-Punyko could not be reached for comment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nGood luck tomorrow, our families will be supporting you, but we just can’t get behind the levy, sorry.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I looked back to see if I’d made mention of the news story in the blog but I hadn’t. However, within five days of its publication the School Board chair was cutting off the microphones of people coming to criticize the Red Plan. I did post that information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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