Construction is well under way. Students are working hard to adapt to coming changes. And the fall election was unable to shake the School Board's voting bloc.
Yet, amazingly, challenges persist to the Duluth school district's long-range buildings plan. Void of any public input or buy-in whatsoever, replacement plans continue to be heralded anyway as superior to what was approved nearly three years ago and as better than what was conceived from hundreds of hours of public meetings and every opportunity for anyone and everyone to offer input and feedback.
Superior? Better? Even though much of what makes up the new proposals long ago was exhaustively studied and rejected for various good reasons?
Regardless, by law, district residents will vote on Plan B. Who could blame them for wondering, at least a little, whether it has merit? And what of this Red Plan Plus? Its small circle of keep-Central-open supporters promises $70 million in savings. That'd be significant. But is that projection based in any kind of reality?
Even the most ardent supporters of the red plan would be hard-pressed to admit they don't wonder, despite the reality the other plans' assertions of excellence are untested, unverified and unscrutinized.
ADVERTISEMENT
Is the Red Plan still the best way to go? It certainly isn't perfect, but it is a comprehensive, long-range building and facilities strategy that the Duluth school district has long needed. It was born from an extensive public process. And it can be made even stronger with a School Board that continues to be willing to tweak details during implementation, with parents and others involved in those tweaks.
But what of Plan B and Red Plan Plus? How do they stack up?
The News Tribune Opinion page invited proponents of all three plans to make their cases -- once and for all and all in one place. Why is their strategy the best and most financially responsible way to upgrade, modernize and improve the Duluth district's school buildings?
The arguments just might surprise you.
