Virgil Swing: Plan B has plenty of hurdles to jump before residents get to vote

Let Duluth Vote's Plan B may get a vote from Duluth taxpayers as an alternative to the much-maligned Red Plan that the school board and superintendent tried to force down residents' throats.

The word "may" is unfortunate, but realistic. The school district has agreed to explore Let Duluth Vote's less-expensive proposal for upgrading and realigning schools.

Harry Welty, spokesman for the protest group, says it will meet with district officials to work out details of a plan to submit to the state. Assuming the board agrees to send Plan B to the state (hurdle No. 1), the plan must also be approved by the Minnesota Department of Education (hurdle No. 2).

Actually, those should be called hurdles two and three since school district attorneys threw up an earlier road block to Let Duluth Vote's petition by first calling it invalid. However, the district agreed to send it to the state attorney general, who cited court cases and declined to call the petition invalid.

Plan B, which now exists only in skeleton form, calls for three high schools and three middle schools and would cost an estimated $194 million. The Red Plan would have two high schools and two middle schools. Both plans call for nine elementary schools.

The district's actions remind me a little of what China did to protesters during the recent Olympics: it set up a permit procedure for those wanting to protest and promptly arrested those who sought one.

The district hasn't had anyone arrested, but it sure tried to stifle voices of dissent to the Red Plan. When a petition with more than 3,000 signatures shows up -- no matter what the topic is -- any governing body should listen to the dissidents, not try to stifle them with a spurious challenge to its wording.

Likewise, even when it became clear that thousands of Duluthians opposed the $293 million Red Plan, board

members ignored pleas for a vote on it.

And, if the district and state review of Plan B are hurdles two and three, then hurdle No. 4 is the board's ability to ignore the vote results. Normally, in politics, no elected body dares ignore a strong vote on some proposal. But this board has shown a lot of political will by ignoring earlier public pressure.

I think board members have persuaded themselves that the district has dithered for years on a long-range plan (true) and they must risk being political martyrs by going ahead with the Red Plan no matter what the

public says and does. So, I wouldn't be surprised if they shrug off even an overwhelming vote for Plan B.

Some other thoughts on this fiasco:

• Superintendent Keith Dixon says no vote on Plan B can come before January 2009, and that's likely true even if it's unfortunate. Turnout at the Nov. 4 general election would be higher, but filing deadlines make a vote then impractical. It is interesting but uncertain what the effect will be on the general-election vote on renewing an operating levy if the district has set a future vote on Plan B while saying it might ignore the results. Welty thinks most voters won't vote for such a levy until they know a practical long-range plan is in place.

• Plan B is better than the Red Plan, but it may not be the best available. I'd favor a public airing also of an even-less expensive proposal by former a superintendent, Mark Myles, and University of Minnesota Duluth education professor Tom Boman and one by ex-school board member Tony Stauber.

• The public should ignore constant warnings by Superintendent Keith Dixon and board members about horrendous costs of delaying a decision. That's based on a supposition that construction costs will continue to rise rapidly. But everyone with gray hair knows those costs go both ways over time.

• The superintendent and board should not get away with plugging in grade 9-12 high schools into all plans. There's nothing magic about such a grade configuration. The Duluth district (and many others) have had grade 10-12 high schools over the years. If the latter grade split reduces costs, it should be used. Welty said Plan B calls for grade 9-12 high schools, but his group is open to other grade configurations if they produce a better and cheaper solution.

E-mail Virgil Swing at vswing2@chartermi.net .