Below are answers to the most frequently asked questions about the Long Range Facilities Plan. If you do not see the answer to your question, visit our Ask a Question page to submit your own.
How did the community participate in creation of the Facilities Plan?
Duluth residents joined the School Board in a comprehensive planning process prior to selection of the Long Range Facilities Plan. This process included over 120 meetings with community groups and organizations, 12 community-wide gatherings, hundreds of emails, phone calls, faxes, regular mailings, and individual meetings to gather questions, feedback, concerns and ideas about how best to address the challenges facing Duluth Public Schools. Once several proposals were drafted, a new round of community meetings and a district-wide scientific opinion survey followed.
Through this extensive community planning process, most Duluth residents agreed on a series of core principles:
- You told us that waiting 20 years to deal with these issues was too long. You wanted better schools now, so tomorrow’s families would start choosing Duluth.
- You believed Duluth Schools provide a quality education, thanks to great teachers and a supportive community. But Duluth has been changing, and with those changes have come reduced student enrollment and a need for fewer classrooms and facilities.
- You were concerned that too many of our current schools were built three or four generations ago. They no longer have the facilities to provide the modern education our students need, and some of them have been declared nearly obsolete by state education experts. We need to bring our schools up to code, make them as safe and secure as possible, provide better computer equipment and science labs, and meet state-of-the-art environmental standards. All of these measures will ensure our students have the tools they need to succeed.
- You agreed that we need to both close some schools and upgrade others. The best way to approach this is with one thoughtful plan – not doing a little bit here and a little there, and then finding out that we haven’t been smart or efficient with our tax dollars. Instead, we should have a single plan that reflects what the community needs from our schools, and uses taxpayer dollars wisely.
- Most importantly, the community asked the School Board to do the right plan, not the cheapest plan.
The Facilities Plan will address these fundamental issues.
There still are opportunities for community input as the Facilities Plan is implemented. Please sign up for email updates to stay informed about the latest developments, including opportunities for community participation.