Duluth Schools ISD 709 - Long Range Facilities Plan

Why only two high schools instead of three or one?

In the coming years Duluth’s enrollment will decline to only 3,000 students in grades 9 – 12 – that’s 4,000 fewer students than were enrolled when the last high school was opened in 1971. Keeping three high schools open for 3,000 students would cost significantly more – an estimated $1.7 million per year in operating funds. This would require the district to find additional revenue, or cut operating expenditures (for example, by increasing class sizes throughout the district).

Keeping a third high school would also increase the tax burden under the Long Range Facilities Plan. If an existing property was renovated, additional investments would need to be made to address the deficiencies at that facility, and the District would lose income from the sale of the property. If a new high school was built, it would significantly increase the cost of the Long Range Facilities Plan – perhaps by as much as $40 to $50 million, based on the cost of constructing a new middle school.

None of Duluth’s three high schools have enough students to support a robust, modern curriculum. Rather than spending valuable resources to maintain excess building space by keeping three high schools open, the Long Range Facilities Plan invests in better programs and resources for students in two high schools.

The School Board did ask for community input into a plan for one, 3,000 student high school. Many community members expressed concern that a single high school would reduce opportunities for our students. In addition, over 80 percent of Duluth residents who participated in a scientific opinion poll rejected the idea of one large high school for 3,000 students.

With all of this information and the unanimous recommendation of the citizen advisory group, the School Board voted 6-to-1 in favor of two high schools in the Long Range Facilities Plan.