ALC dean lists 10 questions about proposed use of former DNT building, flags space and safety concerns

Chris Fuld, dean of students at the Alternative Learning Center (ALC), used the Duluth Public School District (ISD 709) public comment period on Dec. 19 to raise ten detailed questions about the district’s plan to place multiple programs in the district’s recently purchased former DNT building.

Fuld identified himself as “the Dean of Students at the ALC and the coordinator of Academic Excellence Online (AEO)” and said he has worked in ISD 709 for about 35 years. He said the district proposes to house multiple populations in the DNT building, including middle school students, ALC students, AEO high school students, adult education, ECSE, preschool and other programs, and he said the planned build-out risks “shoehorning” vulnerable students into cramped spaces.

Key concerns Fuld listed include:

1. Programming space: He said some students would be limited to a single classroom for the entire day with “no gym, no cafeteria, no green space, no hands-on classroom spaces,” and added, “This is not alternative education.”

2. Staff roles and workload: He said teachers would be expected to serve multiple non-teaching roles (security, cafeteria, custodial, nursing) in addition to instruction.

3. Safety and referrals: He said a district principal previously told staff they “in good conscience could not refer any of their students to a place like this,” and asked what the programming model is based on.

4. Budget and staffing: In the context of the district’s budget difficulties, he asked what additional budget will support the proposed programs and how many certified staff would be added.

5. Floor allocation and needs assessments: Fuld said adult education had been allotted roughly 40% of the DNT second-floor square footage in draft plans, while ALC staff had requested the whole second floor to preserve separation and identity for ALC students; he asked whether adult education received a needs assessment comparable to ALC’s.

6. Enrollment versus space: He asked how the district justified allocating large amounts of space to adult education when ALC enrollment could be larger and more consistently on-site.

7. Alternatives and prior drafts: He asked whether board members had been shown multiple build-out plan options, including versions that placed ALC alone on the second floor.

8. Location trade-offs: He asked whether the district had considered moving some district employees currently at the downtown DSC to the DNT and putting proposed downtown student programming at the more accessible DSC site.

9. Parking and logistics: He asked whether there would be enough safe on-site parking for staff.

10. Equity and scrutiny: He urged the board to scrutinize plans to ensure students without a voice receive planning that is “good” rather than merely “convenient.”

Fuld repeatedly framed the questions as requests for the board to ask staff for clarifications; he said stakeholders had been invited to meetings but that staff concerns were not sufficiently acknowledged. He concluded by asking whether all community students, especially those “without a voice,” were worthy of closer scrutiny by the board.

The transcript does not record a formal board response or vote on the DNT building plan during the public comment period. Fuld's remarks were delivered as public comment; they functioned as a request for further information and board scrutiny rather than a formal motion.