Page 2
Portland Observer
Thursday, September 90th. 1876
School finance
We see the world
through Black eyes
by Yvonne Brathw aite Burk«
Copley New» Service
A 70 year-old man planned to live out
his years in a little home he bought 19
years ago for $6,000. Now. he cannot
afford to pay tho taxes on it. The tax
assessor values his home at $28,000. Just
the taxes would take half of his only
income, his Social Security check. He is
angry.
Disruptive behavior is everyone’s problem
The Portland Public Schools received the report o f
the Blue Ribbon Panel on D isruptive Youths M ondoy
n ight - a report prepared by o lay com m ittee a fte r
e ightee n m onths o f w ork. The c o m m i.e reports that
school personnel estim ate up to tw e n ty -fiv e per cent
o f the district's students have le o rn in g d is a b ilitie s
that b rin g about or occentuate d isruptive b e h a vio r.
A lthough b ehavio r in and out o f the classroom is
one o f the m ajor school problem s across the country,
it is d iffic u lt to b e lie v e that o n e -fo u rth o f our ch ild re n
are handica pped m e n to lly or p h y s io lo g ic a lly to the
p oint that they cannot learn. O ne has to w o n d e r how
the b rig h t little fiv e -y e a r-o ld w h o e a g e rly begins
k in d e rg a rte n turns into the un ru ly fifth grader or the
d e lin q u e n t o f fifte e n . If this p ro b le m is caused by
le a rning problem s, there must be som ething lacking
in the teaching m ethods or in the te a ch in g p h ilo s
ophy rather than som e innate p ro b le m in this m any
children.
M uch m ore needs to be do n e w ith this study. The
com m ittee w as m ade up o f school personnel, busi
ness people , and representatives o f th e p o lice force
and the court, in the m ain. They are not p e o p le w ith
the expertise to analyse the causes o f d isru p tive
b ehavio r or to d e te rm in e corrective m ethods. The
com m ittee should have been p ro v id e d professional
staff to assist w ith a p ro b le m o f this d im ension. The
Portland Public Schools should n o w procede -- using
the report as background — to d e lv e m ore d e e p ly
into the causes of this in a b ility to learn.
One aspect o f classroom te a ch in g that w as m e n
tio n e d by J e w e ll G oddard to the school board is that
teachers do not have tra in in g or e xp e rie n ce in g ro u p
dynam ics. They learn how to teach subjects, but do
not learn h o w to control gorups or h o w to h e lp
students to control them selves a nd each other. This
tra in in g , as w e ll as kn o w le d g e o f hum an re la tio n s
and an understanding o f current trends in in d iv id u a l
freedom and student rights, w h o u ld seem essential.
W ith a w h o le new em phasis on the rights o f students,
teachers must be a b le to teach and inspire responsi
b ility .
A nother area that needs m ore e x p lo ra tio n is the
role o f the parents. It is easy to o la m e parents fo r
lack o f p a rtic ip a tio n in the child'» e d u ca tio n a l life ,
but it must be rem em bered that fo r m any years
parents w e re adm onishe d not to in te rfe re and th e ir
presence on the edu ca tio n a l scene was resented.
N ow w e w a n t that p a rtic ip a tio n , but m any parents
e ith e r resent the a ttitu d e o f the school personnel or
are fe a rfu l o f th e ir a u th o rity. The school has a great
re sp o n sib ility to encourage parents to becom e in
v o lve d at a il levels, in c lu d in g pla n n in g .
The C om m unity has a role, also. It is true that there
are not s u ffic ie n t resources to h e lp thoe c h ild re n w h o
have serious e m o tio n a l problem s. These kinds o f
resources take m oney, a nd th e P ortland co m m u n ity
has not been w illin g to spend that kin d o f m oney.
Treatm ent program s are still e x p e rim e n ta l -- they
d o n 't have a ll the answ ers an d they cannot g u a ra n
tee success. These are not the kinds o f program s that
appea l to the taxpayers.
M uch needs to be done to insure th a t every c h ild
has a secure life and an o p p o rtu n ity fo r a good
education. C h ild re n w h o do have p roblem s -- w h a t
ever the cause -- do have a rig h t to tre a tm e n t a nd the
schools must h e lp to see that this tre a tm e n t is a v a il
able.
The schools also must insure that th e y are not part
o f the p ro b le m — th a t they a re not co n trib u tin g to the
c h ild 's disturbance and that th e ir e ffo rt to m ake e a rly
diagnosis of p o te n tia l problem s does not la b e l or
w rite -o ff a ch ild .
As a part o f the co m m u n ity, the schools can o n ly
do w h a t the c o m m u n ity m andates, a nd w ill do o n ly
w h a t the c o m m u n ity insists. W e cannot a ffo rd to
discard a g e n e ra tio n o f c h ild re n as h a vin g u n d ia g
nosed le a rn in g d is a b ilitie s that p reclude th e ir le a rn
ing, nor can w e a llo w 'le a rn in g d is a b ilitie s ' to take
the place o f race or social class as an excuse not to
teach.
"i "
Another Point of View
And so to school
the V ancouver Sun
Did you take them fo r the first tim e , by the hand,
and put up w ith th e ir tears an d th e ir leg-clutching s?
Did you take them fo r the first tim e , by the hand,
and w atch th e m b o ld ly w a v e g o o d b ye and tw o
seconds later turn th e ir backs, a nd th e n com e hom e
yo u rse lf in tears?
Did you w a tch them fo r m aybe th e um pteenth
year go ru n n in g d o w n the steps to m eet th e ir friends,
d e lig h te d , a fte r tw o m onths, to be back in a society
that m ade sense?
Did you, as you w atched them go, fe e l hurt at your
ow n d im in is h in g in flu e n ce ? A t your o w n increasing
exclusion?
Look, th e y 're o n ly on loan to you.
SOUTHERN JUSTICE
THREATENS NAACP
A Mississippi judge has ordered th$ National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People to pay 12 white merchants
over $1.2 million because of a boycott the NAACP led against
their stores in 1966. The boycott was seeking employment for
black people.
The 1966 boycott, protesting job discrimination and other
racial abuse in the town of Port Gibson, Mississippi was called
by the judge an “unlawful conspiracy.” The NAACP calls the
judge’s decision a “legal lynching.”
We need your help to fight this injustice.
Mississippi law requires that we post a bond or cash in excess
of $1.6 million just to appeal the judge’s decision. This money
must be raised within the next ten days. If we do not appeal
—because we are unable to post the bond—then the NAACP
must pay $1.2 million it does not have. If this happens, we’re
out of business.
He is not alone. Taxpayers everyw here
are threatening to revolt and for good
reasons. The inequities of taxes on resi
dential property cannot be allowed to go
unexamined.
A substantial part of property tax is
spent for education.
Bach school district is financed by tax
ing the real estate w ithin its boundaries.
Consequently, the amount of money
spent to educate a child is determined by
the wealth of the school district he lives
in.
A comparison of the financing of two
California school districts gives a good
example of this kind of educational dis
Hays
(Continued from p. 1 col. 3)
Commission.
In 1972 she served as chairman of the
Governor's
Commission
on
Human
Rights.
She is a member of the National Asso
ciation of Social W orkers, the National
Association of Black Social W orkers, the
National Alliance of Black School Educa
tors and Pi Lamda T heta, national honor
and professional association in education.
Other local membership include the
Urban League of Portland, the T ri
County G overnm ental Commission and
the Rocky Butte Relocation Advisory
Committee.
She is m arried to Chauncey 0 . Hays
and is the mother of three daughters.
The 13-member Advisory Council is
chaired by Ira K e lle r, long-time civic
leader. O ther members are: Joaeph Blu
mel, president of Portland State U niver
sity; E d ith Green, form er congresswo
man from Oregon's 3rd D istrict: Leland
Johnson, president. F irs t National Bank
of Oregon; Roger M eier, chairman of the
Oregon Investm ent Council; R o e« « N el
son,, Portland attorney and estate plan
ner; Robert Notson, retired publisher of
the Oregonian. Barbara Schwab, a Salem
civic leader and form er Portlander whose
board activities have included the Parry
Center for Children; Robert Roth, presi
dent of Jantsen. Inc.; Rudie W ilhelm, Jr.,
former state legislator and past president
of the Portland C ity Club; Harold e. Sand,
executive vice president of the Georgia
Pacific Corporation; and Steve Bailey,
president of the HSC Student Council
COMPARE
COMPARE
N e w J b e droom hom e in V ancouver w ith 1 'A baths, range,
dishw ahser, fire p la c e , d o u b le garage, w / w carpet. Only
$29,600. 8'/ j % an n u a l percentage rate. ,
by W i l 1 B e rn a rd
Telltale Voice
Veterans m ove in fo r $75.00
FHA purchasers m ove in approx. $1,250.
HERMITAGE br.
Myron Lewis Real Estate Inc.
The court was reflecting the
law's usual view (hat the human
voice is a recognizable, telltale
characteristic. The voice o f a man
wearing a mask . . . the voice of
a man in a dark alley . . . the
voice o f a woman in another
room— all these have been held
identifiable in court.
The identification is especially
convincing if the voice has some
distinguishing feature.
In a bookmaking case, a prose
cution witness testified that he
recognized the defendant's voice
because it had a Boston accent.
This testimony helped the state
win a guilty verdict.
Nevertheless, even though iden
tification-by-voice is usually ac
ceptable, it is usually not conclu
sive— not enough
to convict
someone all by itself. F or exam
ple:
A masked gunman held up a
bank. A t a police lineup two
months later, the bank teller iden-
lifte tj a suspect solely on the
basis of his voice.
But at the trial, the prosecutor
could offer no other supporting
evidence to connect the man with
the robbery. The court finally de
cided to throw the charge out.
The case against the defendant,
said the court, was “pregnant
with the danger o f honest mis
take."
2 2 3 -8 2 2 9
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'Published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company, 2201
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The Portland Obaervor'a official position is expressed only in
its Publisher’s column (W e See The World Through Black Eyes).
Any other m aterial throughout the paper is the opinion of the
individual w rite r or subm itter and does not necessarily reflect
the opinion of the Portland Observer.
Address..
A L F R E D L. H E N D E R S O N
Editor/Publisher
National Advertialng Repreaontattve
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Now York
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Please make all tax-deductible checks payable to the
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Total m o n th ly paym ent
Could you identify a voice that
you heard only on the telephone?
" I can," said a woman witness
in a recent case involving an ob
scene caller. “It was definitely the
defendant."
The defense attorney objected
that such an identification was
too unreliable to be permitted in
the courtroom. But the court
overruled his objection and al
lowed the woman's testimony to
stand.
Enclosed is my check (money order) for $_
City___
campus reinforces a feeling of pride and
self worth. Pupils who are fortunate
enough to be a part of a “good" school
most often develop into high achievers.
The stimulating environment and the
high expectations motivate children.
A continuous supply of successful
teachers, new and imaginative teaching
tools and inspiring physical surroundings
cost money. Most criteria used to judge
schools are based on how much money is
spent.
The gross injustice of the present
method of financing schools was recog
nized by the California Supreme Court in
the Serrano-Priest derision in 1971. I t
ruled that basing school finance on local
property taxes discriminates against
children in districts with little taxable
property.
In the near future, five years after the
original decision, the California Supreme
Court is expected to call for a reordering
of the present system of school finance.
School finance cannot be reordered with
out opening the question of property tax
reform.
Residential property taxpayers are
ready to open the same question. Proper
ty taxes have risen so high that people
are losing their homes. The tax on higher
and higher assessed valuations works
great hardship on elderly and low income
persons.
The change of funding of education
from property tax to a more equitable tax
source is long overdue. Income tax. tax
on nonreaidential real estate and. possib
ly. sales tax are among the more logical
sources of school money.
School tax and property tax have been
linked in the law and in our minds long
enough. The link is causing undue hard
ship to students and residential taxpay
era alike. The problems are clear. The
necessary changes must not be delayed.
COMPARE
COMPARE
THE
r
EAMlEV’w
LAW YER
I WANT TO HELP WITH THE NAACP MISSISSIPPI APPEAL
State..
rrim it ation.
The wealthy community of Beverly
Hills in a year spends $2,063 for each
child. A t the same time, the nearby City
of Compton spends $1,116 for each child.
How ever. Compton taxes itself more
heavily for schools, at the rate of $4.86
por $100 of its assessed valuation rompar
ed to the Beverly Hills tax rate of $3.18.
How can it be that Beverly Hills taxes
itself less and spends more per child? In
Beverly Hills, there is $74,886 in assessed
valuation of real estate for each child.
In Compton, there is only $10,045. A
child in Compton is penalized because of
where he lives.
W e all struggle w ith the question of
how to judge effectiveness of schools. As
parents, school administrators or legists
tors, we know that the best circum
stances for education of children vary
w ith the child.
How ever, we do know that good salar
ies a ttrac t aggressive, bright teachers
who encourage and inspire pupil achieve
ment. The latest books and teaching
m aterials help students and teachers
alike. An attractive, well-maintained
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