Comments on: Reporter’s Notebook: School Board Meets City Hall

By: High-School Redesign: An Unofficial, Chronological History | Willamette Week | Thursday, February 25th, 2010

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:30:54 +0000

[...] including Amanda Fritz in her pre-City Council days, present a resolution to the board highlighting increased segregation by race and class at PPS schools as a result of the district’s transfer [...]

By: Comprehensive high schools rule!

Comprehensive high schools rule! — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 01:08:55 +0000

I’m not surprised Phillips lied/covered up the whereabouts of the grant money. It’s her legacy in Portland. Ask most parents with kids in a PPS school affected by her hocus pocus. One example of many: she lied face to face to parents, teachers, and community members while trying to convince them why Rose City Park needed to be closed. Then she lied about all the planning PPS was doing to start a great new school. Months and months went by before it was discovered that they had NO PLANS. All the planning was done by parents and staff of those schools. Same scenario at other "merging" schools.

I will not be voting for anymore funding, even with children in PPS, until Shore’s request is fulfilled and truthful easily comprehended accounting of funding is available to us all. Thanks to Lynn and Jeff’s PTSA for standing up for kids in PPS!

By: Beth Slovic

Beth Slovic — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 19:03:55 +0000

I made a factual error in this post when I gave credit to the Neighborhood Schools Alliance for the two resolutions. They are from the Jeff PTSA.

By: Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock, Arkansas — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 16:02:35 +0000

Commissioner Sten is right, it is up to the school board to reshape the district’s transfer policy. But 18 months after the city and county audit of the PPS transfer policy revealed how much the policy has harmed schools in minority and low income neighborhoods the district has so far done nothing.

Every Portlander, Commissioner Sten included, can speak out against the hideous institutional racism and classism inherent in our city’s current school system, and urge the school district to do something about it. The silence of leaders who are aware of the problem is no better than their outright endorsement of the discriminatory policy.

If city leaders would be less tolerant of discriminatory public policies for Portland’s residents, we would have less need for a Human Relations Commission to mend relations.

By: Zarwen

Zarwen — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 03:57:48 +0000

Trudy Sargent dummies up? Big surprise!

I wonder how Carole Smith would answer the same question? The entire COUNTRY is entitled to answers on this one–or at least, everyone in the country who pays federal taxes.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 02:06:57 +0000

Now PPS wants to spend BILLIONS on school facilities reinforcing and validating the inequities in school offerings the transfer policy has fostered. Let

By: Beth Slovic

Beth Slovic — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 20:49:24 +0000

Good point. Thanks, Steve.

By: Steve Rawley

Steve Rawley — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 19:39:30 +0000

The 2003 Multnomah County income tax gave the city and county some oversight of PPS policy. At least to that extent, City Hall has something to say about PPS policy.

The joint county-city 2006 audit report, "Portland Public Schools Student Transfer System: District objectives not met" (commonly referred to as "Flynn-Blackmer"), noted that district policy was undermining neighborhood schools and increasing segregation. The audit report requested that the school board clarify the purpose of the student transfer policy in light of its conflict with other district goals and policies.

The school board still hasn’t clarified the purpose of this policy. That is why I personally went to the City Council with my concerns. Nancy Smith also referred explicitly to this audit in her testimony.