Accountability. Poor fiscal oversight. Broken promises. Before the Red Plan, everything was fine. These were sentiments expressed about Duluth Public Schools (DPS) in commentaries in the News Tribune by John Grandson (Local View: “
,” Oct. 19) and Loren Martell (Local View: “
,” Oct. 21).
These stale, outdated adages are inaccurate and perpetuate a negative attitude and perspective that some seem to carry about our schools. In truth, DPS is on the upswing, and we have a lot to be proud of as a community. Enrollment is up. Students performed above the state average in reading and science and outperformed 13 of 15 local schools. Graduation rates are on the rise.
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Yes, the Red Plan was expensive and difficult, but prior schools were decaying from deferred maintenance. Now we have safe schools that are welcoming environments where kids can focus on learning. As a parent and School Board member, I believe this is the minimum. Right or wrong, when this plan took place, most of our current students were not even born. They are our future, and they should not suffer the consequences from the past.
For leadership, “living large” on pandemic money (ESSER), as Martell wrote, mean...