Duluth school wants town hall meetings before asking for more money
August 13, 2012 at 7:00 pm in Duluth News Tribune
The Duluth school district has decided not to ask voters for more classroom money this November, opting against an operating referendum after the failure of the last one.
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I’d like to see the school board disbanded and the operation of our schools turned over to a contractor, something like charter schools. The board turned over planning to Johnson Controls who is experienced in this work, I bet there is a good contractor to run the schools and manage our tax money also.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Talking time has long past by….
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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The school board simply does not have the trust of the voters. Anyone on the board more than 2 years should seriously conisder resigning if this district wants to have a chance of gaining the trust of the peole of Duluth.
My kids are in a charter school and we live blocks from the “newe” Lester Park School. Class size at the Duluth schools is one big reason. The bigger, consolidated schools are a reason, too. New schools that have fewer teachers just is not a draw for me. The benefits promised to us by the Red Plan proponents are not materializing and people wonder if they can believe anything the board says.
Older building with smaller classes would be more appealing. The buildings are built and that is a done deal, but now they must deal with class size issues. Issues of class size exacerbate many other issues in the school, including bullying and student performance. The current board may be trying to address this, but are facing parents and taxpayers who are don’t trust them no matter what.
One reason charter schools run well is because their size makes them more flexible and responsive to the needs of students and families. The board at a charter school only has to worry about one( or maybe two schools) and they can make decisions that are best for that one school. Scrapping ISD709 is probably not a feasible plan, but if it could figure out how to operate itself on a more localized level and deal with its schools, families/students, and parents on an individual basis rather than on a big umbrella cookie-cutter approach, then it might work better. Bigger schools in the Red Plan just made the problems worse, but it didn’t make is so the problems are not fixable. We need to start with new people on the board that the people of Duluth can trust.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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This doesn’t mean they wont get more money for the by bumping up the levy. They can increase the levy by around 5 percent without voter approval. It just means they wont ask for anything above that amount. Voters turned down the last request and they still were able to get more money for the schools. Probably a wise move not to ask for more money considering how things have gone the past few years. They need to do a lot of damage control before they can earn our trust.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Too little too late for the current Duluth School Board. Those people will never earn my trust again, never. Thank heaven that Dixon left, but that is only just one small step in the right direction. The tax payers need the board to acknowledge what they have done. They took away our consititutional right to vote, and now they want to become friends with us so that they can ask for more money? They obviously mistake us as complete fools. Well, the buck stops here.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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I can’t believe you weren’t allowed to vote on that issue. I’m stunned the school board was able to pull that off. It is truly unbelievable for me as an outsider to understand how they did. What nerve by the school board to make this huge of a decision on their own. I’m surprised they weren’t ran out of town.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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I wish they would have been run out of town. They closed our beloved Duluth Central High School knowing that the public was against that. The school board in Duluth is a total disgrace.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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The screwel board exploited a law that allowed school districts to commit to this size of expenditure without a vote, for the purpose of desegreation of a citys schools. Ironically when the Duluth screwel board used this law, Duluth ended up more segregated than it was before the Red Ink plan was forced through. The screwel board really messed up and now us citizens want an apology and immediate resignations.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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I fully understand why. They should apologize and then resign. If they had any dignity they would.
Thank you for the explanation Ulysses.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Yes, the red plan being rammed down our throat was the ultimate “bullying”. Lead by example first before expecting others to alter their behavior!
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Trust is the big issue, Duluths’ taxpayers have learned beyond a shadow of a doubt that we cannot trust the screwel board. Town hall meetings are just a publicity stunt to attempt to convince the public that the superintendent is actually listening. If Gronseth is listening to the public he should require the members of the screwel board who pushed through the Red Ink plan to resign immediately. He would also have to make a promise to the taxpayers that the increased taxes or levy would go to the kids not to raises for the teachers as has happened with past levys that passed. That might start to rebuild trust.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Not going to work. Hundreds of people showed up at school board meetings to tell them what they thought about the wasteful red plan.Didn’t budge. Didn’t compromise. Then the board used those “community meetings” to justify building more like the Duluth East stadium that wasn’t even a part of the original plan cause they were listening to the people.
Look at the mess up north. JCI promises didn’t materialize. They are in the red.
This mistake is way too big for a few coffee chats to make nice.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Like Art said another levy would fail, he’s a smart guy. Of course it would, they are not even done spending the over run on the Red Plan that we also didn’t get to vote on. If we could vote to take money away, that would pass.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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I’m a former supporter of the LRFP. I no longer support the LRFP, primarily due to the actions of the current school board. I would consider supporting the LRFP if all members of the current School Board resigned. Sorry, but I don’t trust them. I may trust new board members, if given the opportunity to see how they act on issues – I will give them my trust if and when they earn my trust.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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I wonder how many people remember the details that got us in this mess. Dixon brought in Johnson Controls who came up with 3 plans, expensive, ridiculous and absurd. They called these plans White, Blue and Red. Next they forced the most expensive (Red) plan down everyone’s throat and found and abused a law to prevent the citizens from getting a vote on it. Then with no bidding process Dixon and our school board gave Johnson Controls a contract to manage the implementation for a huge percentage of the total spending. The more they spend the more they get. Too bad they get an automatic increase every year even without requesting and passing a new levy.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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A good start would be resignations from wasson, seliga, Cameron, but don’t hold your breath, these three are still patting themselves on the back for the Red Plan and blaming the shortages on the State. Meanwhile 5 million dollars a year is pulled out of the general fund (think books, teachers, programs) to pay for the Red Plan buildings leaving us coincidently… 5 million short each year. Still waiting for those savings promised or for the DNT to have the guts to admit they were wrong as cheerleaders for the Red Plan and do some actual investigative reporting on just how those promised savings are adding up? I suspect, just like the Schools up north that were decieved by Johnson Controls, that our numbers won’t look much better. Remember who’s lone signature was on that Contract… Wasson and yet there she still sits.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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The DNT’s position is that since they’re never wrong, they don’t need to do follow-up reporting that might show otherwise. If they were ever to admit they were wrong about anything, they ought to sell frames, too, because that would be an edition worth saving.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Libs cannot admit they were wrong on anything, it is all part of the mental illness that makes them libs. Look at the Flea Party and what a joke it was, but yet the libs defend it. Look at Bidens NUMEROUS ridiculous statements, but yet the libs defend him. Look at the outrageous statements made by Obamas surrogates, but yet the libs defend them. Look at the utter failure of Husseins ideas and policies, but yet the libs defend him. Look at the lies told by the DNT and the screwel board, but yet the libs defend them. St*pidity is part of being a liberal and when they surround themselves with other libs all exhibiting profound st*pidity all libs feel normal and thusly stand by their ridiculous statements. You can’t fix st*pid, only vote it out of office.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Kinda like the authorities keeping mum on Kerry Gauthier? What do they have to hide? Why is this “incident” still under wraps a month after it happened?
Hot debate. What do you think?
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In a democrat controlled city all sins will be swept under the rug, at least until after the elections, because the democrats don’t want people to realize how corrupt and despicable the democrats truly are. The truth would cost the dems control of this city.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Wasson should definitely resign – but she won’t. She should be the most ashamed of herself than anyone else on that board. Obviously the reason we never got to vote is because the board knew that it wouldn’t pass. They put people in jail for lesser crimes. The members of the School Board who forced the red plan belong in jail.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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dixon got out after he made amess and now we have the burden on us and it is a mess they keep working on gran go by and see that mess money does not grow on trees I have tried it and it dont work
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Kris….like you said….Dixon vacated town afterwards! Funny thing though….Most of us new he would run tail out of town….after the Red Plan did not pan out the way they “sold it to everyone”……this was all so predictable…..and most everyone knew this! The only folks who did NOT believe this was going to happen….was the Red Plan Cheerleaders…….including, the DNT!!
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Dixon did exactly the same thing in Faribault before coming here and they ended up with shiny new schools they couldn’t afford to open. People here tried to warn everyone about this incompetent boob, but they were chastised and ridiculed. Even people from Faribault tried to warn Duluthians about Dixon and what he’d do, but again, nobody wanted to hear it. People forget that Dixon was only hired because nobody else wanted the job. And he was even passed over the first time around when the board was going through applications. They only came back to him because the other candidates for the job said no. He was the only one left. And here we are.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Now lets start with a honest public response to these posts by each board member
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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I hear Dixon is now retired and living on leech lake. How appropriate.
Meanwhile Johnson Control is still in Duluth ripping off millions. Oh, and our school board wants more money.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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The most disappointing part of this whole Red Plan debacle, is that the majority of Duluthians saw exactly what was going to happen and therefore were against it. We heard the warnings from Faribault, we asked the questions about the ridiculous savings amounts, we criticized the incestuous relationship with Johnson Controls, we pointed out the foolishness of closing the newest and most valuable high school in the city – We doubted every lie that Dixon and the School Board told. We told them it was a bad deal, would bankrupt the city and increase class sizes. They denied and continued to lie. Dixon, Wasson and Grover were the biggest frauds in this whole racket. Yet, even though the MAJORITY of people saw the Red Plan was a bad deal and didn’t want it, It was still rammed down our throats. That is what is so frustrating and disheartening as an American. This is example #1 of why most people don’t trust any government entity. They abuse their power and screw the common man out of his hard earned $. I am also one of those who has lost all hope in this School Board, I will NEVER vote for any spending increase for these clowns. Sorry kids, but blame the aforementioned thieves that stole your education $, not us taxpayers. My only question now is WHERE are Dixon and his cronies? Where is Grover? Where are the frothing-at-the-mouth, mini-van driving moms that were literally screaming at me that I was a kid-hater by being against the Red Plan? Where are these fools now? I notice they are pretty quiet.
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Mike – I would give you 10 thumbs up for that comment if allowed. You nailed it. Grover is doing everything he can to avoid everyone right now – and wasson, well, she still doesn’t have a clue and is still busy patting herself on the back for the new schools and blaming the state for the shortfall – - somehow these Board members still can’t seem to understand that the public is angry and isn’t going to give them anymore money until the last one resigns.
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