Our View: Speak up on schools, Carlton residents

It’s not a done deal.

That was the rally cry from Carlton school board members Monday night when it comes to the possible closure of the district’s high school and the continuing talks about a tuition agreement allowing ninth- through 12th-graders to attend school in Cloquet.

The first refrain came from board member Tim Hagenah. He said he’s tired of hearing dribs and drabs from the public concerning the loss of the high school. If there is a preferred solution, which likely won’t be as financially healthful as the one on the table, he admits, “I need to see it.”

The school board is in a bit of a box. A district that is losing $1 million a year doesn’t have very rosy options. To shore up the ledgers and keep things as they are would require massive cuts in staff and programs, superintendent John Engstrom repeated Monday. If approved, another operating levy referendum that would further tax residents is unlikely to come close to resolving the budget woes either.

If people are willing to pay up, maybe there could be another route, Hagenah said. But so far, he hasn’t heard enough of a groundswell to change course.

The board has seen a handful of adults and an equal number of students show up recently opposing the tuition agreement and end of the high school.

Credit the board for asking that the public come and let them have it. Members seemed to be in agreement that silence — and a persistently incorrect rumor mill — is much worse than a gymnasium full of pitchforks and torches.

Of course, as member Sue Karp reminded the room, there were full gymnasiums in the recent past when it came to referendums and perceived support. “We were soundly defeated.”

But at least there was a feeling that everyone had a say. This vacuum business is rightly bothersome. Where does the community stand?

Perhaps district residents get it. Maybe they’re just grumbling futilely while reality continues to sink in. Or maybe they wanted consolidation and now they’ve given up.

The board is at work shoring up some points about its predicament — some facts sheets, a sheet of “frequently asked questions” and the hard answers. It will share that information soon. It still doesn’t know if it will do a survey.

Meanwhile, the clock ticks. A tuition agreement most likely needs to be in place by January so students and school districts can prepare for the next school year. The committee of board members from Carlton and Cloquet meets at 7 p.m. Monday at the Garfield School in Cloquet. Although the public is not invited to speak, the meeting is open to the public, just as most of the Carlton board meetings have been.

For those wanting better answers from the board, speak now or forever hold your peace. Board members and the superintendent have publicly and eloquently expressed the sadness that comes over them when thinking about losing a high school on their watch. No one wants their name on a plaque stating, “Once the home of Carlton High School.”

If you have ideas, or just want to vent, do it at a public meeting. Create a meeting of your own. The board will appreciate any side you fall on. Just so it’s something.

It’s the silence that adds salt to an already painful district wound.