Letters to the editor: Schools must choose

This year’s election ballot had four choices for three positions on it for the Wrenshall school board.

Upon responses by these applicants to questions published in the Oct. 2 issue of this newspaper, this taxpaying citizen abstained from voting for any of the four. Here’s why: After three failed referendums in Wrenshall, a survey on consolidation between Carlton and Wrenshall deemed that the communities were in favor of a merger, although the majority of folks I’ve spoken with find it to be obliquely skewed.

All four running seemed to be in favor of consolidation at a cost to taxpayers of $38 to $42 million without state aid approval.

How do we merge two failing school districts and expect to write a success story?

As a taxpaying Wrenshall resident, my concern for the Carlton school district is nil, as their mindset has never been in favor of Wrenshall, leaving both districts in a sink-or-swim situation.

As a former small-business owner, I look at the success of a district to be in the superintendent’s hands to make decisions by reading the handwriting on the wall.

Currently, Wrenshall would be only half-staffed if it were not for open enrollment contributing 50 percent of student-generated income in state aid at nearly $10,000 per student.

Recently, a prominent businessman visiting our home asked for my thoughts on a merger, as he has three children in three schools in Cloquet.

His 10-year-old son piped up, saying he would love to attend a K-12, as growing up he will attend three schools, learning new buildings and meeting new kids each time.

Neither of these two schools seems to have a marketing strategy, as do Hermantown, Proctor, Edison, Marshall, Esko and Cloquet. The low-hanging fruit is students and parents upset with Duluth’s Red Plan.

It’s proof that not all consolidation plans are successful. Will these schools sink or swim?

Tim Kaspari,

Wrenshal