Duluthians are amazing, and I am so proud to work for everyone I have met while canvassing. Thank you for your ongoing support. Thank you for all the snacks, water, coffee, and even the bulbs and shoots out of your gardens as tokens of your love. I am determined to reach as many households as possible - while parenting a 2-year-old and 8-year-old - in the hope of having the honor to represent you on the School Board.
I strongly believe this warm and welcoming city deserves better. It deserves to be ranked better than 278th (down five spots from last year) out of 441 school districts in the state of Minnesota at SchoolDigger.com, while just few miles down the highway, Esko is in fifth place. We need to act; it is urgent.
I would like to share with you my planned to-do list. My goals are to create more transparency, act as a bridge to our community, enhance our children's learning, and make our budget sustainable. I aim to lower the achievement gap by pushing to reinstate the seventh period in schooldays; ensure that compensatory education dollars remain with the schools that generate them, thus providing support where it is most needed; and establish a grant-writing committee to help boost our funding. In our dire financial situation, we need to take advantage of all the financial resources we can.
I will continue to meet and talk with members of our community to help determine what the main obstacles are for kids, especially in graduating. And then I'll work tirelessly to eliminate those things.
I am glad to see that other candidates adapted my transparency idea into their campaigns and support my proposal for a budget committee. But these details are not enough, given that all endorsed candidates seem to be lockstep with each other in protecting the status quo. Their decisions dropped us to the 278th place.
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But we can change. There is more than one view. What one side is saying may feel warm and comfortable, but listening to the other side makes us smarter. We do not want to continue with a one-sided board for another four years. We do not want to live in the city where there is only one voice. I promise you, Duluthians, with me, you will have a new voice.
The reality is that our schools are in a critical state, and we need urgent action. As a parent, a scientist, and an engaged member of our community, I will stop at nothing to ensure the well-being and learning of our children, and I will work tirelessly for them.
Remember all the frustrating school headlines in the paper in the recent past and know I will vote for what our community desires. Please vote Nov. 7, and please help us make the School Board accountable again.
Bogdana (Dana) Krivogorsky is one of four candidates on Nov. 7 for two open At Large seats on the Duluth School Board. The others are Josh Gorham, Sally Trnka, and incumbent Harry Welty. They all contributed columns that are being published this week on the News Tribune Opinion page.
