1. They did it based on a novel interpretation of laws which previous
school boards knew nothing about.
2. They authorized it in a community with one of the highest
proportions of residents on fixed incomes and ranked one of the
poorest cities in the state. "According to the United Way of
Greater Duluth 2007 Community Impact Report, Duluth’s poverty rate is
nearly twice that of the rest of the state."
3. They did it in defiance of two petition drives
both of which
quickly and easily gathered 3,000 signatures first seeking a vote on and
then a compromise on the "Red Plan."
4. They did it despite $30 million spent by previous school boards
specifically to maintain older buildings.
5. In forging ahead with the plan they surrendered their oversight to a
Fortune 100
company with little comparable project management experience but an economic
incentive to boost the cost as high as possible. The
School Administration then lied or was
clueless about how much this company would earn. The company was
given the
power to award itself and its subsidiaries multimillion dollar bids for the project.
6. Its plan would divide the City into rich and poor halves while
abandoning its state approved desegregation plan.
7. It accepted a plan which created a new high school
on a tiny,
inferior and unsafe parcel while selling off the district's premier property
for a song.
8. They did it knowing an angry public might vote against critical
referendum for classroom spending slicing
$11 million from the budget leading to teacher layoffs, overcrowded
classrooms and canceled curricula.
9. They did all this on the cusp of a national economic
downturn.
10. They based their decision not on a vote of all the people but on a
survey of 300 people who had never heard the plan debated and who were not told
the enormous cost of the plan.
11. They did it without asking questions and in their arrogance many of them did not bother to
return email from unhappy voters who questioned their decision.
