After reading the April 25 story, " Community group proposes ways to raise graduation rates, entice new students to Denfeld ," I began to wonder: Has anyone concerned with Denfeld's future ever had the idea of a (radical) makeover of the school, growing it into a vocational-technical high school?
Despite city government's apparent desire to make tourism the chief industry next to health care, Duluth (and the Iron Range) will remain heavily tied to its bedrock roots in the mining and shipping spectrum. There always will be demand for an educated and trained labor pool to work the higher-paying careers industry-related jobs offer (as opposed to a job in the tourism industry). A vocational-technical school would seem to be a good match with many advantages over what has become the conventional high school curriculum.
Duluth's tourism tax is one major deterrent to this idea, in my opinion. It has a direct effect already on where I choose to do business when in the area. I simply refuse to pay the tax unless absolutely necessary. This tax in combination with the city's apparent inability to get a grip on growing drug-related problems does little to help put Duluth on the map as a go-to place.
Anyhow, it's food for thought.
Martin Karpa
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Sarona, Wis.
