Interviews.

These are interviews that I did for a story you can read athttp://duluthpolitics.duluthcitizen.org/2009/10/19/is-the-school-board-vote-importain/ . They are with school board candidates and Harry Welty from Let Duluth Vote. I may get more interviews in today or over the next couple of days I will add them.

Harry Welty interview: Let Duluth Vote

1. What is so important about this election?

Duluth Voters will be telling the world whether they support a School Board that denied them the right to build the biggest school construction project in Minnesota history without a referendum. I believe voters have a responsibility to mete out the most serious penalty they can to this school board even if they support the Red Plan.

2. What does your group see are positive about the red plan (if anything)?

Personally I think that it made sense to go to two high schools.

3. What are the negatives of the red plan?

This is my short list. It was not given to the voters to decide. It was too big. It has relied on a school board that ceded all power to the Superintendent and to a construction company that had no incentive to pinch pennies. It has been sold with faulty data. It will burden taxpayers for twenty years and has hidden time bombs which will only be revealed in future years because they were carefully concealed to avoid criticism.

4. Why should the voters vote out the incumbents?

Because the incumbents have acted ignorantly, arrogantly and have offered virtually no oversight of the biggest thing to hit the Duluth schools in the last hundred years.

5. Anything else you would like to add?

I was grateful that other candidates who honored


Mary Cameron interview: At-Large board member

1. What is the importaince of this election?

As with any election, it is important for citizens to elect those individuals that they believe will listen, study the issues and make tough decisions, with the goal of doing what is best for the students in this community taking into consideration the taxpayers. The ultimate goal of any board member or school district should be assuring that all students receive the best education possible so that they are able to thrive in a world that is more diverse and global than ever before.

It's unfortunate that this particular election is centered around the LONG OVERDUE Long-Range Facilities Plan (LRFP).

This election is also important because there are alot of people criticizing the LRFP. It's easy to do so, but difficult to come up with a betterplan. Citizens really need to study the Alternative Plan that is out there. It will cost them more and will does less. It will also further instability within the district (keeping open all schools, making quick fixes, then after 10 years bring a committee together to decide which schools to close).

It is also important because citizens need to investigate what the cost to them will be if those who want to stop the LRFP are elected. Not to complete this plan would not only be a fiscal calamity that would negatively impact all students and taxpayers enormously for many years to come, but it would also deprive our students of quality academic options unattainable in under-populated, wasteful buildings.

2. The major issue seems to be the red plan. You are a supporter of the plan why? What is possitive about the plan?

The plan is long overdue. I have lived in Duluth all of my life. I'm a product of the Duluth Public schools as our my children and siblings. Right-sizing our building infrastructure has been a painful conversation for me and others. It is a conversation that has been on-going for over 20 years, and I've been part of a board who bucked under community pressure when we were trying to implement a plan. This plan will allow us to close buildings that we do not need due to declining enrollment. It will allow us to allocate savings from operating cost into our classrooms, the plan will bring equity across the district, allow students to have state-of-the art technology and be in energy efficient and safe buildings.

3. Do you see any negitives in the plan?

No plan is perfect, and not one would satisfy 100% of the Duluth community. However I do believe that this is the best plan for Duluth.

4. What does your experince on the board give to other board members?

I bring experience, I am currently serving my 3rd term. I have served as chair of the board, co-chair, clerk,have chaired the education committee, and am currently serving as chair of the human resources committee. I am a human resource professional. I serve on the DeSeg Council, as well as the budget subcommittee, recruitment and retention and monitoring subcommittee.

I have introduced and have had implemented Innovations in Education which created the labor management team, have advocated for student representation on the board since my first election and because of my board experience, I have grown and learned how to respect other board members even though we may differ on various and numerous issues and respect the majority vote.

5. Any thing else you would like to add?

Thank you for asking these very important questions.


Art Johnston interview: 4th district candidate


1. Why is this election so importain?
The Red Plan was poorly justified, voters were disenfranchised, it was poorly planned, and it was way too expensive. This happened on the watch of the current Board, and they have been asleep at the wheel. This is a question of elected officials lacking trust, honesty, and accountability. This is why we have elections--to remove elected officials that have failed.

2. What are the negitives in the red plan?
First of all, its justification was based on an exaggerated claim of building defects of our existing schools. Anyone who has looked at our schools knows they don’t need nearly ½ billion dollars in repairs. Perfectly good schools are being closed and given away at pennies on the dollar.

Secondly, it claims to be “reducing” square footage to “save money”. The actual square footage reductions of the buildings are only a fraction of what they originally claimed. And these miniscule saving are undocumented and we are spending $438 million to save pennies.

Thirdly, whole city blocks are being razed, streets being widened with houses bought with the threat of eminent domain. At the same time they are giving away (for nickels on the dollar) the Central High School site that has plenty of excellent room and the newest schools.

Fourthly, this plan builds buildings at the expense of educational programming and academics. The Red Plan “savings” are by eliminating 50-100 program and teacher jobs permanently from the schools. That is not the way to improve education.

3. What are the postivies if you see any?
None. If hard pressed, the only positive that I can see are the right and left political movements in Duluth have come together to elect a new school board.

4. What was one or two top resons you decided to run for the board?
I wanted to bring attention to the facts that the Red Plan was based on poor and misinterpreted engineering and financial data. I wanted to emphasis smaller, safer, saner, successful neighborhood schools that have the trust of our community.

5. Anything else you would like to add? The poor discourse, the poor journalism, and biased reporting that the Duluth media have done on this issue have been very sad to see. An informed electorate depends on an informative media, and Duluth has failed at that. And this does not bode well for intelligent and wise decision-making