Here is my statement before the Portland Planning Commission on 4/22/08:

Good evening. My name is Lynn Schore. I am a homeowner in the Ash Creek neighborhood, PPS parent of two daughters, founding member of the Neighborhood Schools Alliance, member of the Oregon Assembly for Black Affairs, and the Jefferson High School PTSA. I want to thank our Planning Commission members for your volunteer service to our City.

Here is a letter to the Oregonian editor we sent today:

Portland Public Schools' plan to demolish 10 historic elementary schools ("District marks 10 for scrap," 2/28/08) focuses on the poor condition of these schools, creating a false impression that all these schools are in bad condition.  In truth, some of these schools, like Rieke and Winterhaven, are in good condition.  Other schools, such as Sitton, Chief Joseph, and Markham, urgently need replacement. And the new Whitaker Middle School has been promised for years.

It's not that children under Foster care can be in these schools it is that Foster kids don't have anyone to advocate for a school of choice unless they are in a familial Foster situation. Those Foster kids that bounce around in the Foster system are the cases that need the most out of our public education dollar.
Who would make the decision as to wether or not to place a child in what kind of charter school and to decide if it was the right decision after that?
Thanks

On 26.02.2008, at 16:00, Rep Macpherson wrote:

Mr. Sherbourne,

My Words to the Mayor, PPS Superintendent, Jefferson High School Principal, and State Superintendent

There is a survey available to provide feedback on the Mayor's week at Jefferson High School. It's easy. For the sake of Jefferson's children, and all children of Portland Public Schools, please take a few moments to fill it out:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=a8KClIp7lT6yUKDySnFBMw_3d_3d

As if having to play the PPS lottery for a chance to send your child to a school with adequate course offerings isn't bad enough, you can now gamble for a few extra school funding dollars from the Oregon Lottery. Please read this "Scratch-it for Schools" article from the Oregon Center for Public Policy.
http://www.ocpp.org/cgi-bin/display.cgi?page=cp0801lottery

Attached is the Jefferson PTSA's resolution that was presented to the School Board and City Council during the week of January 14th, 2008.

Today is the one year anniversary of the passing of our beloved Sheila Rae Brown.

(Reprint from her memorial service last year below.)

School Board Testimony 11/5/07

Hello: My name is Nancy Smith. I have children at Woodlawn and Jefferson, and am President of the Jefferson PTSA:

Parents want skilled, experienced food service workers and custodians, and want them paid appropriately. The District’s proposed pay cut is anti-worker, and would damage the effort to keep living wage jobs in Portland. Lower wages mean higher turnover, resulting in custodians who don't develop relationships with students, teachers and staff. There is no conflict between paying a solid living wage and having an effective operation -- in fact, those go hand in hand.

One of the agenda items at the 11/5/07 PPS School Board meeting was to address the audit of the PPS Transfer Policy, a full seventeen months after the audit was published by City of Portland Auditor Gary Blackmer and Multnomah County Auditor Suzanne Flynn.

A link to that audit, entitled "PPS STUDENT TRANSFER SYSTEM: DISTRICT OBJECTIVES NOT MET" can be found here: http://www.co.multnomah.or.us/auditor/PPS%20Student%20Transfer%20Audit.pdf.

Presentations made 11/5/07 by Judy Brennan, head of the PPS Enrollment and Transfer Office, and Adam Davis of the "research" firm Hibbits, were thin, inaccurate, unscientific, cherry-picked, and so utterly lacking that the Board should be ashamed.

With Portland’s Office of Transportation considering more taxes to pay for road widening and with Portland Public Schools considering more taxes to pay for enlarging elementary schools, it is time to consider if Portland wants larger schools and the resulting costs and traffic or if it could make better and more economical use of its current roads and existing school facilities.

Background: Elementary Schools Double in Size
Portland Public School’s target size for Elementary Schools has doubled, from 200 to 300 a few years ago, to a whopping 400 to 600 students now. This change to school size slipped into the “schools reconfiguration” process a few years back without much public debate. This doubling of the “ideal” school size was obscured by misinformation during the rush to close schools. There has been no proven savings from these school closures, but the costs of doubling the target size for schools continue to mount.