Unsold properties a burden on Duluth school district
December 16, 2012 at 6:00 pm in Duluth News Tribune
Central High School and Secondary Technical Center sit on 76 acres high above Duluth with what real estate agents would say is a “view, view, view!”
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“Gronseth said the district would consider all offers, but it’s unlikely to recommend selling to another K-12 institution based on the School Board’s preference against it.”
This just shows the District cares more about itself than the tax paying residents of Duluth. And they are going to be coming to the well in 2014 for more money. Sadly, Duluth residents are blinded by the shiny objects because they keep reelecting these fools.
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Little late DNT. People were all over this financial scheme long ago. Just not the newspaper in town that should have been investigating.
Heres a better headline. “Unsold properties a burden on Duluth taxpayers.”
The blame lays at Gronseth’s feet too.He was a champion of this plan from the get go. Wasson, Judy, Tim Grover for not asking the money questions but instead having sugar plums dancing in their heads and JCI for concocting this ruse.
And FI Salter, wouldn’t trust them to sell the dog house.
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It’s supply and demand. Dump all the unused properties at one time….the price falls through the floor.
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Craigslist? A 16 million dollar building on Craigslist? Is the ad listed between two ads for snowmobile parts, a girls bike, and action wanted at Thompson Hill?
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When this all started many of us figured some realtor or real estate company wanted that Central School site for development. I still think in the end it will become a real estate development – probably low income as that is where the incentives are. With a sluggish market the developers can just sit back and wait until the property value drops to what they want to pay for it- just my opinion.
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I could hardly contain myself when I read this article. I thought the DNT verified information before they printed it? Jana Hollingsworth, the reporter, is still obviously receiving her information by being hand fed by the District rather than doing true investigative reporting. Let me tell you how this works Jana – you do the research and bring forth new information, not the same regurgitated garbage the District has been feeding you since you came. F I Salter, the District’s realtor, has made millions off this gullible board. They treated citizens like nothing when they forced them out of their homes with threats of eminent domain for fractions of what those families would be able to buy similar when they were displaced – The District is not in debt – or the fund balance has not dwindled because the properties are unsold – the fund reserve has gone from ? 27 million to less than 3 million in a couple years because the Board made one bad decision after another when they refused to listen to the community and forced a too expensive plan on a struggling community – ie – we couldn’t afford what they were selling but that didn’t matter – we got it anyway. Since then they have spent the last 6 years blaming everyone and everything for the financial problems as the schools deliver less of what goes on inside the classroom. Central was worth more using it as a school – but that didn’t matter to the board, Dixon and JCI – they chose instead to build a 65 million dollar copper sided mansion just 3 miles away instead of considering using Central. What a waste. These buildings were never worth what they said – I am still not sure if they were just gullible or not smart enough to see that. Build it and everything will fall into place – and Dixon is off. And the other comment on Gronseth was right on – he was Dixon’s right hand man during a good part of it, along with the rest of the bobbleheads. Art Johnston is the only one with any fiscal sense on that Board, and unfortunately one man can only do so much. Gary glass spent years trying to bring these injustices to light but was shut down time and time again. This Board is unable to admit that decisions made over the last 6 years got us where we are today – with 40+ kids in classrooms, laying off teachers and a fund balance that has dropped to nothing over the last few years. – What a mess.
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You are spot on. The DNT spent lots of time criticizing Harry and the Let Duluth Vote but they were right. They can give the district a “Told ya so.”
The opposite group of Move Forward Duluth owes taxpayers an apology. You got what you asked for.
“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
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This is the News Tribune, Elizabeth. They jumped on the Red Plan bandwagon at the beginning. You’re not likely to get a lot of objective reporting from them about any of this.
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That’s right. The DNT makes tons of money off the ads placed by the screwel district. It is a simple matter of selling out the taxpayers for the sake of a little more profit for the DNT.
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It WILL be the new casino.
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It would make the whole world better if people were held accountable for their actions. The people of Duluth, Mn. should hold the school board accountable.
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Amen. We need to clean house next fall! I agree with what Elizabeth B said…”Central was worth more using it as a school”. JCI and the district justified getting rid of Central because they thought it would sell for 14-15 million. And I suppose JCI made more money by inflating the size of the Red plan. They make a percentage off the total price. No need for trying to save money…..it would cut into their profits. Why does the DNT keep quoting Ann Wasson in these articles? She is completely clueless.
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Mike – I truly hope Central doesn’t become a casino – just what the city needs is prime property for gambling. John- you hit it spot on – Wasson is the biggest issue on that Board right now. She is the lone signature on the original JCI contract and what are her qualifications to make that almost a half a billion dollar decision for the rest of us? She is still hasn’t once taken a bit of responsibility for the mess she championed from day one. The only one on the current Board who has been a champion for the taxpayers is Johnston – The rest need to be replaced before voting for a levy.
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Elizabeth B…..Good points…all! Mrs Wasson was the only signer on the original contract, as she was the Chairwoman at the time! BUT, the kicker is….she, nor anyone else on the board…..did NOT read the contract! If you were to ask them if they know what is EXACTLY in the contract….they would NOT be able to tell you ( without feeding you a bunch of garbage ….to try to convince someone that they KNOW what is in the contract….and it’s ramifications ). Mr Gronseth says anyone ” can play the part of being an armchair quarterback….with hindsight” as to everything going South in this deal……that is so much baloney…..countless people in the area warned the Board….warned Dixon…..and JCI…..that all of the financials did not add up…….BUT, they refused to listen……so, now we are holding the bag….for a lot more than they originally told the public! And, what is worse…..the kids are getting crammed into the classrooms….programs have been dropped….books and supplies are scarce….and a great deal of teachers, assistants, office personel, maintenance people….etc have been let go…..as they are out of money. They have to quit blaming the State of Minn for their shortcomings and mis-management! Again….the are not done strapping on the feed bag here……they want more and more……each and every year! A lot of folks have said in the past…..the board members have got to go….well….they are still here! Don’t the voters EVER learn around here? …….NO, they DO NOT!
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But Gronseth isn’t willing to point fingers at anyone from the past for the district’s current predicament. “When we’re in a process this long, you make the best decisions you can, given the information you have at the time,” he said. “I think it’s pretty easy to be an armchair quarterback and in hindsight say, ‘This is what I would have done.’ Gronseth is either a liar or a fo*l, probably both. The entire country was diving into a deep recession at the time the fo*ls of the screwel board made the decision to line their pockets with taxpayers money while building monuments to their egos. Most of the population was aware of the stup*dity of such action and many spoke out against such action but greed and egos blinded the screwel board members and they lied and lied and pushed forward with the ill conceived plan.
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To put FI Salter in charge of marketing the property is a stup*d mistake. The Hoffs are property developers and did Moose Mountain and are in the process of doing the old cement plant on the waterfront among other properties. Just how hard do you think they are going to push the property right now? They probably will let it sit until the cement plant development is well under way and then step forward as a buyer for the school property (for a drastically reduced price, of course). This is like putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop.
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Why not put the properties up for bid? Maybe have a set minimum price and sell to the high bid? Advertise the bid to the entire Midwest. Why keep heating and maintaining empty schools? How much money does it cost the district to sit on these schools each winter? I think the district is putting off the inevitable….that these properties are going to sell for peanuts.
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Exactly- see my earlier post-
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This red plan was forced down the throats of Duluthians, and now the Board needs to raise taxes to pay the debt they’re in. Typical. Worse yet, the board has Duluthians over a barrel. If you don’t support the tax increase, ultimately it’s the students that suffer most.
We need to clean house during the next school board election. If it says “incumbent” next to the name, vote for the other candidate.
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We lose Gary Glass and retain Art Johnston. We re-elect perpetrators and elect additional foxes to protect the hen house; and we expect change. Lets see, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. So…now we know that Winston Churchill was correct when he said, “The case against Democracy is a 5 minute conversation with the average voter.” The inept members of the Duluth School Board and the Administration can do nothing but continue to defend and rationalize their decisions. None will ever admit they were duped by Keith Dixon and Johnson Controls because they were totally and disgustingly intellectually unequipped to study or understand the scope of the Red Plan. When you allow a “for profit” organization to “sell” a plan with inaccurate, misleading and sophist arguments for an action because “it sounds good.” And you refuse to examine the alternatives or listen to an opposing view because that view is “branded” as dissension instead of a responsible and reasonable alternative. When the effort is more about vilifying the opposition than dialoguing with them, then, we get what we got: A complete folly and an insurmountable burden on the taxpayers. The taxpayers in the district were blindfolded to the details of the process. What did these buildings get us that we didn’t have? Answer: Nothing! Should you doubt this, take a drive to Duluth Central on the hill and take a drive around the property; then drive to 40th ave east and on to 40th ave west and look at the replacements…decide for yourself. Of course this doesn’t account for the lost programs or teachers. This School Board and the Administration has lost the confidence of thinking Duluthians. The current School Board, absent Art Johnston, has done irreparable damage to the confidence and trust between them and the people of Duluth. This board should do the right thing and resign from office before they can do any more damage to the citizens who foot the bill for their ignorance and arrogance. Not allowing Duluthians to cast a vote on the Red Plan and moving ahead with an extremely dangerous and disastrous plan was the height of official arrogance. Too late, but let’s hope there are people left in Duluth who will come forward and who will act responsibly when making multi-million dollar decisions about the future of our city. Those buildings did nothing to the quality of education, but the fallout, loss of programs and teachers, did. Shame on the Duluth School Board and shame on the School Administration for continuing the lie. How are we to teach our children, our students, citizenship, trust and responsibility…when our school systems exhibit none? Do we think our kids didn’t notice? The divide in Duluth is huge and cannot be repaired with the current school board and superintendent.
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This is the type of commentary that should be on the written Opinion pages. Send it in.
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sid……Unfortunately….we will never see a commensurate # of letters to the editor about the “Downside” of the Red Plan as a % of the # of folks who do write in…..as the DNT only prints on average….2, maybe 3 letters daily! ( Years ago, they promised to print an average of 6 letters per day……but, that never materialized. Anyway, they will usually print “off-setting” letters….pro / con….so, the public never sees the true % of “con” letters….expressing people’s feelings about this. In addition, they will say”this is not the only story in town”…..which is true…..BUT, this whole Red Plan is giant….in our area! Sure wish they would “investigate” the Red Plan…..like the Timberjay newspaper did for the St Louis Cty school district! That folks…..will NEVER happen in Duluth! We who are in Duluth, will be the “vampire’s victims”……and I do not see an end to it.
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Sid – unfortunately when you send in that kind of hard to read, brutally honest letter in, you are denied the space – unless you change the wording to fit what they are comfortable printing…. so much for free speech on an opinion page.
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Time to fire the entire screwel district staff and board and hire an independent contractor (maybe Edison) to run the district.
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As much as many would love to see that happen, it will never happen, because school boards and educators are bought and paid for pawns of the labor unions.
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Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
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Merv…I can only speak for myself. The idea that we needed to upgrade our schools does not bother me. Our facilities did need upgrades and consolidation. Doing nothing was not an option. The way the plan was executed makes you wonder.
1. Putting Johnson Controls in charge of the plan created a conflict of interest. They produce and maintain building operating systems for commercial buildings. This puts them in the driver’s seat when it comes down to specifying products and services that go into these school buildings. JCI is also making a percentage of the costs to manage the Red plan. The school board should have written a performance clause into JCI’s contract. The board should have been able to recoup money if the cost savings didn’t materialize that JCI promised.
2. Not letting Duluth vote on such a monumental project.
3. Choosing to sell off Central as surplus property. I’m not sure reducing the number of high schools was a bad idea. Could they have turned Central into a middle school and saved a few dollars? Might have been worth a look considering what it cost for the new middle school out west. As it stands Central will sell for next to nothing.
4. The board should have banked the construction savings when the recession gave them favorable construction costs. The district chose to invest the savings back into the buildings by adding additional features. And as it turns out they were over budget at the end of the construction bid process. And they are getting a fraction of projected selling prices for surplus schools. Our tax dollars are covering the difference while educational programming suffers.
I’m not sure I agree with your statement “It’s rather narrow minded to think that all of this could have been avoided if one governing body had simply made better choices.”
We pay them to make choices….now they have to go.
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“Almost every public service, in almost every city, in almost every country in the world is facing very similar problems”
What does that tell you? Government has grown by leaps and bounds, and can’t keep up their projected spending, without going to the money tree, also known as tax payers, who, at this point in time don’t have money either. It was mentioned in another thread somewhere, that people on Social Security might get a 2% increase, while the school district wants a 12% increase for their horrible budgeting. Not to mention, if Dayton has his way, taxes will go up, taxes associated to ObamaCare, and I haven’t mentioned the costs of bread and milk. At what point in time is enough, enough. I just can’t wait to be paying for the new transportation hub and the Northern Light Express next.
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Our rulers refuse to prioritize their spending. There’s money to fix the pipes. They just refuse to make it a priority.
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Merv…..We all know what you are saying….BUT, as to what you are saying…..does that allow for us to just roll-over and play dead? We warned of the ramifications and fall-out that would happen with the Red Plan…..the financials NEVER added up! We SHOULD have been able to control the Boards actions…..but, they deliberately side-stepped the vote….and shrugged off our input! This was pure contempt …..against the public’s concerns. Point being….we SHOULD have been able to control this thing…..who wants to roll-over and play dead….with matters that control our LOCAL lives? I certainly see your point…..BUT, if we WERE able to control the fall-out locally……maybe it would spread?? LOL!!
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I’m just saying that we would almost surely be in a similar situation even if the school board had done the exact opposite of what it did. The problem goes far beyond the school board and far beyond the government. If you don’t care to study global economics and our system of ever-expanding credit, then I can’t help you.
The problem is this big:
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And you’re all only looking at this much of it:
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Merv…..We are looking at the VERY LARGE picture here….we know what you are saying….but unfortunately, we can only do 1 piece at a time….start with the local school district, the city of Duluth, St Louis Cty, the State of Mn….on up to the Fed Gov’t and beyond! How do you expect us to fix the worlds problems…..when we cannot control our own school board…..AGAINST our wishes. And that, is just the start of our problems. ! piece at a time, Merv…..so, you can’t help me?? Merv….you are not the “all knowing” guru here…..understand?
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All politics is local.
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Of course I’m not “all knowing”. The difference is that I understand that. I don’t live in a world of contradictions. I don’t oppose excessive government spending on schools, yet ignore excessive government spending on the military, corporate subsidies, or whatever other cause is apparently more justifiable. I don’t oppose the private contracting of school construction, yet turn a blind eye toward private defense contractors, private prisons, private hospitals, and the litany of other public-private dealings that also have the same conflict-of-interest problem as the Red Plan. You only get agitated by the Red Plan because it’s easy. It’s in your face. You don’t hear about all the other issues I described (which are much more pervasive and corrupt than public education) because you CHOOSE not to research them. It’s political laziness.
If there were ever an example of a local, media-fueled political movement, the anti Red Plan group is it.
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Merv…..You have no idea about what I support, or what I object to….as far as this country or this world. Now you are (trying) to play the part of a shrink, and analyzing what you (think) what conflicts in life are important to different people! You think that I or other folks are oblivious to other events that happen all around us on a daily basis….whether it be defense contractors….the economy….prisons, or what have you. Bottom line…..roll in your so called diatribes and stop judging other people! Why do you think you always get thumbs down…..it is certainly NOT because people do not understand you……it is because most all the time….you are wrong about your continued mussings……about things that you THINK you understand. So, quit judging other folks…..lest, you be judged! Now, please stick to the subject without 2nd guessing others! Time for some self-reflection….Merv!
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I only get thumbs downs on stories like these, where a small but incredibly vocal minority feels like they encompass the feeling of the majority. Last year’s election proves that. You lost by a 2 to 1 vote, but you monopolize this forum because nobody else wants to debate with you.
Perhaps it’s time for some of your own self-reflection about the proper use of ellipses. So everybody… doesn’t have… to …. read… sentences like … …. this.
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I can guarantee those schools to which you refer were built with intellegence and without the over-the-top excesses like our monuments to the screwel boards egos were. Do you think Afgan schools were built with glass enclosed atriums, 8 lane olympic sized pools, multi-million dollar stadiums, copper sheathed exterior walls and $10,000 “white” boards in each classrooms?
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No, Ulysses, but many current schools in Minnesota have been built, or are being retrofitted with some of the things you describe as being over the top.
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Mike: My comment to Levi was in response to his remarks regarding Afgan schools, not Minnesota schools. He seemed to begrudge the Afgans US rebuilt education facilities, which are primitive compared to what was crammed down our throats. And perhaps you are correct about some Minnesota schools being built or retrofitted with some of the features our screwel board crammed down our throats. Difference is those school boards used common sense and got approval from the voters first and then spent in accord with what the taxpayers approved. Our board of fools bought all the bells and whistles without any taxpayer approval and now find themselves in a world of hurt and are now requiring the taxpayers to pay exhorbinant taxes to bail out our board of fools and pay for the boards outrageous ignorance and arrogance.
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Merv…..perhaps you should think back over the last couple of years and reflect on the # of thumbs down you have received over a broad spectrum of topics you have written about! You say I LOST by a 2 to 1 margin on last month’s vote…..a statement like that means you THINK I vote to the right…..guess what Merv…..you are wrong ……again! Now, c’mon Merv…..play nice……and re-evaluate your positions on MOST subjects…..maybe the rest of the opinions expressed here will be a bit more favorable towards you! Don’t go back to thinking that people here do not understand you……or, are not educated enough to express themselves correctly OR accurately! I for one, am done talking to you…..try to enjoy life a little……maybe other folks will respect your OPINIONS….a bit!
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When it comes to people simply blaming the Red Plan for this, I have to use some of the slang kids are using these days, “ROFL”.
This is what happens when for decades Duluth voters couldn’t see the writing on the wall and instead of electing competent, educated board members; elected their BFFs, the cool people, people they identified with on a socio-economic basis, and any other multitude of reasons other than “Hey this person knows their stuff!”
As a high schooler in the 1990s we all knew that Duluth’s school population was dwindling and things needed to be done. So don’t run around simply blaming the Red Plan because surprise, when you lose 30+ percent of your students over time, you don’t need three schools. Now does that excuse HOW this happened? No.
Duluth has shown time and time again that it’s incapable of electing people who are fiscally and morally responsible. This is yet another example of that. And what most Northlanders still haven’t seen is the pain isn’t going to be confined to just Duluth, there’s a lot more coming to schools like Esko, Carlton, Wrenshall, Cloquet, Two Harbors and other places.
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—- The effect of that and the remaining unsold properties has created a $16 million albatross around the school district’s neck —-
The author makes it sound like the school board is an innocent victim of something enforceable beyond their control.
Unbelievable.
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Kennith K. good comments, right on!
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How can the estimate for the sale price for schools be so far off when they were so meticulously calculated on the Johnson Controls computers? You know, the same computers that accurately projected the windfall profits JCI would get by pulling the wool over the eyes of the school board and not letting the tax payers vote. All they needed was a good snake oil salesman and a cut-off switch on the microphone at the “open for comment” meetings. Oh, and just then Dr. Dixon rambled in to town. Go get some popcorn and I’ll tell you the rest of the story.
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Very nice to see the school board is going to raise taxes 12%. Now the City is getting a 3% increase. This is just great PR for Duluth, and I want to know how Donny will use the news to sucke….I mean lure, people to Duluth to create his 100k resident utopia.
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Just like any home owner trying to sell their house, if the realtor can’t sell it in set time frame (say 6 mos.) you get rid of the realtor and get a new realtor! The Salter Co. has had years to do so, time for a change.
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Gronseth calls us armchair quarterbacks using hindsight. Does he not remember all the people who told them all this was a bad plan? Does he not remember the Let Duluth Vote group? Just because they refused to listen doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
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Interesting to see Wasson saying “they are great facilities and great acquisitions”. Of course they are and yes they would make great schools. Upgrading them would cost a fraction of what it would be to build new. This is especially true of the newest sitting on 70 acres with a view. And of course they won’t let it be sold to be a school. Can you imagine our school board driving by a modern (beautifully upgraded) school that cost a small fraction of what they paid. Opps, correction, tax payer paid.
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I remember back when the Dead plan was starting I predicted the citizens of Duluth would live to regret it, the mass voted for it and it became reality. Welcome to your nightmare!! LMAO!
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Tim….This was probably an oversight in your post, but the mass never got to vote on the Red Plan. The School Board, Dixon, and JCI steered clear of a vote by the public!
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Merv – your comments have a familiar tone – Your name really isn’t Merv is it? I recognize the condescending tone. Actually Vern’s comments usually get a clear majority of thumbs up – He’s clearly educated on the issue. Perhaps you are as well but maybe you received much of your information by the move forward group or the school board – in any event – the promises that were made to us all have not happened – by the Board, by Johnson controls, Dixon etc. – The majority of the people in the community that publicly supported the Red Plan have begun to open their eyes. It’s not who is right in the end because we all have to fix it – unfortunately the handful of die hard Red Plan fans are running out of excuses and explanations on why we are in much worst shape now then we were before. An apology from the Board would go a long way.
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