A Ruthless School Board

… or a submissive School Board, is not as good as a School Board with

Remember a decade or so ago, when the cuts required by Measure 5 were really starting to hurt in Portland’s largest school district, Portland Public Schools 1J? Superintendents came and went faster than you could say “golden parachute”, and the headlines said the School Board spent a lot of time bickering. Then in 2001, former Chief Financial Officer Jim Scherzinger began restoring calm and fiscal responsibility as Interim Superintendent, eventually serving with honor and grace for three years. Four years ago, a slate of four candidates ran and was elected to the Board; in 2004, the Board hired Vicki Phillips as Superintendent. And Multnomah County voters approved the I-Tax, which took some of the most agonizing pressure off the schools. Things have been getting better, and will likely continue to do so if the Legislature allocates enough of the improved revenue forecast to funding education in public schools and colleges.

But now, the Portland School Board seems in danger of lapsing into a pattern of comfortably agreeing with everything Superintendent Phillips proposes – no matter how un-Portland-like the plans may be. Closing schools, or radically changing their size, grades, and location, with only token notice and short public process before implementing the decision. Moving for standardized curriculum and text books without adequate input from teachers and students, or from community members in different neighborhoods who know from bitter experience that one size rarely fits all. Protecting programs and boundaries in affluent areas, while not providing curriculum options in strong neighborhood schools in poorer parts of town. These are my concerns – read about Ruth’s, and her approach to solving them, on her web site.

I believe Ruth Adkins has the experience, skills, and mindset to be able to help the Board and Superintendent to think more broadly and prioritize the goal of a great school in every neighborhood, while not upsetting the entire apple cart. We don’t need Yes men and women on the School Board. We don’t need quarrels. We need people who can respectfully challenge top-down decisions, and facilitate problem-solving in the Portland way: with informed public input.