I've never been dogmatically opposed to any long-range school plan as long as the needs of the district were met. The Duluth district's red plan satisfies district needs and grants the wishes of most stakeholders most of the time.
There are those who want to send this district on a quest for the Holy Grail of plans that not only satisfies all needs but also grants everyone's wishes. Well, I'm sorry; it does not exist. Even those sending us on this quest don't seem to agree on what this mythical plan would look like. So if the red plan were indeed scrapped, this loose conglomeration brought together by their common foe would split into various factions.
But wait, I've seen the Holy Grail of which we have been searching, the Let Duluth Vote plan. The group's idea seems to be to spend about a third of the red plan to do nothing, to solve no long-range problems, but rather to buy $100 million in bandages, to wait 10 years and then to be right back where we are now.
Then it'll be OK to buy up homes (but not now). It'll be OK to expand a high school that seems to be on a small campus as it is (but not now). And it'll be OK to close schools that you've just invested money into upgrading.
To anyone who plans on moving or dying in the next 10 years, the Let Duluth Vote plan is probably in their best interest.
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It's not in the best interest of our current and future students, however. And it's not in the best interest of the district, which would continue to ooze money out of inefficient schools for the next 10 years. At which time, we can start this process all over again.
Kevin Flynn
Duluth
