It is time for Duluth public schools Superintendent Keith Dixon and School Board Chairman Tim Grover to resign.
This public sentiment was repeated to me hundreds of times during my campaign for School Board. Having been on the School Board for nine months, I've found things even worse than what I was being told. There is a long list of grievances that indicate a failure of leadership.
On July 20, the board passed a $63 million teacher-labor contract. Teachers were given 3.1 percent pay raises and 13 percent medical benefit increases. They now have 100 percent of their health premiums paid with zero deductible. Most of their dental is paid, too.
This compares to a 0 percent increase for city workers the past three years and high co-pays.
Our teachers are the backbone of the school and deserve good pay, but this is an unsustainable increase, considering the reality of declining government revenue in these sluggish economic times. The stagnant economy is lowering Minnesota tax revenue, and a $7 billion state deficit is expected for the next biennium.
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It is perplexing this teacher contract was approved more than one year before the old contract was to expire and before the state budget will be set.
Furthermore, this contract was negotiated in the absence of any elected School Board members, which violates school rules. Instead, it was negotiated solely by an administration that has a conflict of interest in that it probably will reap the same pay increases. Worst of all, the public and the media were denied any prior access to the terms of the contract and its budget implications.
To add insult to injury, the school superintendent and School Board chairman ruled there could be absolutely no public discussion of the terms of either the agreement or its total cost to taxpayers. So the School Board rubber-stamped the contract with no disclosure or debate. Not only did this violate state guidelines and customary legal procedures, it was ethically shocking to citizens that expect government to follow rules and not deprive them of their right to know.
The Duluth schools are not just schools "for the children;" they also are a large and important business. The District's $135 million annual budget (not counting the $300 million Red Plan) is almost twice as large as the city of Duluth's budget. Its 1,500 employees are almost twice as many as employed by the city. It has a work force as large as St. Louis County's. You would think that such a large governing entity would have its public body be accountable and transparent. But not so. The School Board's own bylaws are flagrantly violated either through ignorance or apparently whenever it is convenient to eliminate debate in favor of rubber-stamping something. Rudimentary procedures such as conducting votes and adjourning meetings are not followed. And even something as simple as taking accurate minutes of meetings seems impossible to accomplish.
Gallup polls show that two-thirds of Americans hold a less-than-favorable opinion of public schools, and that number is steadily worsening. Their approval rating is barely higher than prisons and television. In Duluth, there probably is even a lower approval rating, given the dysfunctional history here.
The superintendent and the School Board chairman are the ones who determine the tone and accountability of the board, how it interacts with the public, its ability to retain students, how it transacts its business, how it assures that rules are followed and that the will of the public is heard. These all set the tone for the rest of school operations.
Openness, transparency, integrity and accountability are what should be leading the Duluth Schools. The present leadership has failed to do that.
Art Johnston represents the 4th District on the Duluth School Board.
