Duluth's public schools classrooms are grossly over crowded. Elementary classes are in the 30's and secondary classes are in the mid 40's.

This is about ten more children per class than when Harry Welty stepped off the Duluth school board in 2004.

These class sizes make effective teaching very difficult.

The Duluth School Board embarked on a massive school building plan two years after Harry Welty left the Board. In large measure the new superintendent Keith Dixon justified his building as a money saving move wrapping it up with Welty's old proposal to close an unnecessary high school and use the savings to enrich school programming.

There were several flaws in this proposal.

1. It was pushed through without a public referendum leading to a citizen revolt which Dr. Dixon's school board ignored for the following four years.

2. It was predicated on using classroom money if necessary should their be any shortfall in bond payments. There would be massive shortfalls.

3. It became a Christmas Tree with more expensive goodies added boosing the costs from an initial advertised cost of $259 million to $293 million to today's $315 million which is still apparently climbing.  For instance, when an ally of Dr. Dixon lambasted Welty in a 2007 school board campaign days before the election Welty was defeated when 300 voters switched to his victorious challenger. That challenger was the city's most enthusiastic swimming coach. After she was elected two new championship quality pools were added to the overall building plan. That was sixteen lanes at a million dollars per lane.

4. To keep demoralized teachers happy as he pushed the building plan through construction at break neck speed to stay ahead of the critics Dr. Dixon's Board voted to approve teacher's contracts that were overly generous leading to the need to lay off teachers the District could not afford. Just last year about 200 teachers were laid off or retired from the Duluth schools.

5. This process began a viscious cycle of parents pulling their children out of ISD 709 classrooms to send to half a dozen alternative schools. More than 10% of the enrollment is now being taught in other school systems surrounding Duluth.

6. This "elaborate explanation" barely does justice to the unfortunate consequences of the building plan called locally the "Red Plan." 

Candidate Welty put together an ambitious website for those demanding a vote on the plan, Led the community group that demanded a vote, Became a plaintiff in a case challenging the legitimacy of the Plan's bidding and authorization and for six years has kept track of the plan and the controversy logging well over a  million words on the subject.

Welty was a prophet who predicted terrible consequences if the School Board refused to give the public a chance to approve their high handed decision. He was more right about the unfortunate consequences than even he guessed would emerge.