6 October 2023
DULUTH The Nov. 7 general election pits an incumbent against a first-time candidate in the race for an at large seat on the Duluth School Board.
Alanna Oswald, a former Duluth Public Schools employee who is pursuing a third term on the board, is challenged by Stephanie Williams, also a former district employee who is now a business adviser and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) community advocate.
The two spoke with the News Tribune on key issues facing the district.
Tech referendum
Both Oswald and Williams support the two questions on November’s ballot aimed at improving technology as COVID-19 emergency aid expires. If voters approve the two questions, a $200,000 homeowner would pay $1.78 more in taxes per week, or $92.55 annually.
But what if voters reject either or both of the questions?
Williams said the district would face “tough decisions” about where to cut money.
“I’m really hoping it passes … It’s keeping us on par with where other districts in the nation are going. I mean, it’s ludicrous to think that we are going to be on pencils and paper for the rest of eternity we’re already not. And so we need to make sure that our kiddos know how to use technology,” Williams said.
Oswald cautioned that it will force the district to “look at targeted cuts where it doesn’t hurt the kids, and we’re going to have to move backward rather than forward.”
“You’re going to have to advocate from different funding sources to provide the minimum of what we can and for any extras that we want to pursue. That includes lobbying legislators at the federal and state levels and local investments and increasing valuations and those things for local property taxes, and working closely with the business community in partnerships,” Oswald said. “Everything we need to be doing anyway, but it would be much more critical.”
Top priorities
Each candidate was asked what their first priority as a board member would be.
Oswald said hers would explore scheduling changes that allow “more chances to take more classes” beyond just the state-required curriculum.
It could take the form of block scheduling, with longer classes meeting less often than the current schedule. It’s been explored by committees before and is again being looked at by a committee under a new directive by the current administration.
The committee presented the School Board with a glimpse of those plans for middle schools Tuesday.
“The sooner we can get that done, the more opportunity our kids will have to be successful, to experience more education and for an ability to feel connected to their school and community,” Oswald said.
For Williams, it’s hiring more people of color into roles as teachers, support staff and administrators. With a number of retirements looming, Williams said the district should push to recruit more people of color into those roles.
“Kids need to see themselves,” Williams said. “Kids need to see themselves in charge. Kids need to see themselves running classrooms and making decisions for the school and for the school district.”
And to retain them, the district needs to be more culturally sensitive, Williams said. For example, Williams said, the district’s bereavement leave should allow employees to attend dayslong ceremonies or the necessary travel to and from a funeral overseas.
That, in turn, would help close the achievement gap between white students and students of color, she said.
Achievement gap
Williams said her son attended Lester Park Elementary School from first through third grade. Now a sophomore in high school, he’s no longer in Duluth Public Schools. The district’s achievement gap for Black students was too large, Williams said.
According to Minnesota Department of Education data, 41.4% of Black students in Duluth’s class of 2022 actually graduated that year, compared to 82.6% of white students.
“I didn’t want my kiddo to be a casualty of that,” Williams said.
She said she’s running to close the achievement gap.
“I don’t want other families to have to make that choice. I want families to choose Duluth Public Schools because it’s the best choice,” Williams said. “And I want kids that look like me that look like my kid to have an awesome experience at those public schools. And so that’s why I’m running.”
Last month, Oswald reshared a post Williams made on her campaign’s Facebook page of a picture of her son on the first day of school. Oswald noted what school he attends.
“My opponent wants to be on the board of Duluth Public Schools,” Oswald wrote in the now-deleted post. “Yet, our district is not good enough for her own son.”
The Duluth Branch of the NAACP called the post racist and shared screenshots of it. The Duluth DFL denounced Oswald for personally attacking Williams and her family. Both highlighted the potential harm it could cause.
And it prompted the Duluth Central Labor Body to quietly unendorse her, said Lee Cutler, an organizer for the Northeast Area Labor Council, in an email to the News Tribune.
“They’ve chosen a narrative that doesn’t exist,” Oswald said. “I don’t want to respond to their narrative because I don’t see that it exists. It wasn’t part of the point, it wasn’t part of anything.”
But Oswald stands by asking why a School Board candidate wouldn’t send their child to a public school.
“I think it was a fair question to ask,” Oswald said.
Williams said Oswald’s Facebook post was hurtful and took her by surprise, but that she felt love in the community’s response.
“My child isn’t running for School Board … if you, as a sitting School Board member, are not aware of the inequalities that are in the district that would cause a BIPOC family to make different options, then maybe that confirms that it’s time for a change,” Williams said. “That it’s time for somebody who is really looking at the issues that affect all families.”
On student achievement, Oswald said it should be the “No. 1 goal of a school district.”
“We need to address the achievement for all students no matter what, making up for the pandemic learning loss, but also addressing the learning gaps that have been persistent even before COVID came along,” Oswald said.
School boundaries
Williams and Oswald said changes to school boundaries are likely coming and should be handled delicately. The district had tried in 2020 but put the plan on hold after significant backlash from families.
Oswald said “tweaking” of school boundaries is necessary, particularly for overcrowded elementary schools.
To make it more palatable this time around, she said the district could provide transportation to those who are willing to go to a different school voluntarily.
“If we offer the right incentive, or have the right reasoning, (families) will step forward and be leaders and their kids will benefit because they’ll have different environments that they can be more successful in,” Oswald said.
Williams said she was “not opposed to adjusting the boundary line,” but said additional information was needed before any vote.
That would include public input and talking with families, Williams said.
“There are decisions that are made that people are not going to agree with and you cannot please everybody and so difficult decisions are going to have to be made,” Williams said. “I promise to get all the information that I can gather to make the best decision that I can make.”
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