School Board fires Superintendent Blanchard
M onday night the P ortland
School Board voted to terminate
their superintendent, Robert Blan­
chard, ending a year o f turm oil and
speculation. Blanchard’ s problems
began when Steve Buel was elected
to the Board; Herb Cawthorne was
appointed to f i l l a vacancy;
Johathan Newman resigned and
Sarah Newhall was appointed to his
position.
The Superintendent, who had
always had a supportive - often
called a "rubber stamp’ ’ board was
faced with a majority o f four who
are independent, who have no ego
involvement with past policies, who
have no constituency other than the
voters, and who seek change.
Although some members o f the
Board and many members o f the
public felt Dr. Blanchard should
have been replaced last fa ll, the
Board decided to complete their
desegregation planning before con­
returned to the public meeting
sidering the issue. That period o f
which was attended by many Blan­
planning including much o f the
chard supporters inclu d in g ad­
highly publicized rangling demon­
ministrators, principals. Bob Hazen
strated decisively the inability o f the
ot Bcnj. Franklin, form er Board
superintendent to adjust to new
members Dr. Howard Cherry and
philosophies and the inability of his
Jonahan Newman. Am ong those
s ta ff to produce accurate in fo r ­
who spoke in favor o f retaining Dr.
mation for the Board.
Blanchard was Warne N unor o f
Monday night’s decision followed
Pacific Power & Light, who said the
a three part process - evaluation,
d iffic u lty between Blanchard and
determ ination o f the role o f the
the Board revolves around one issue
superintendent and deliberation as
which many others "equal or more
to whether Blanchard could fu lfill
im p o rta n t’ ’ need to be resolved.
that role. The Board went into exec­
LeRoy M oore, principal o f King
utive session (behind close doors) to
school who is under fire from the
protect the confidentially o f per­
BUF, said the superintendent, "sets
sonal matters. Although this fact is
the tone and atmosphere” and must
being used to im ply secrecy, Dr.
respond to the entire community,
Blanchard had the right to have the
and not a "special interest group.”
meeting open to the public but
Dean G isw old, rum ored school
didn’t.
board candidate, and unsuccessful
Following the closed meeting with
former candidate, said it will be d if­
their attorney Jack Faust, the Board
ficult to find a quality person for the
job. Charlotte Beeman, unsuccess­
fu l school board candidate and
form er assistant to Neil G o ld ­
schmidt, said she heard Blanchard
"passed” his evaluation. Charles
Davis, form er P ublic U tilitie s
Commissioner, said Blanchard is
being used as a scapegoat.
Mrs. Oslcy Gates, a long time,
volunteer and unsuccessful can­
didate fo r appointm ent to the
School Board, praised Dr. Blan­
chard for his accomplishments in
desegregation saying he has had the
courage to face difficult problems.
Pointing to the d istrict’ s "benign
neglect” o f school organization she
praised his reorganization attempts.
She praised his elevating the office
o f Human Relations (Dr. Hartzog)
to Assistant Superintendent status
and said access has been provided at
the Superintendent level and
m inority groups are to blame for the district to negotiate a settlement
not using it. She pointed out that the on the remainder o f the contract.
d istrict is 30 years behind in
In voting for termination Wally
specialization and organization. She Priestley said he thought the city
asked the Board to retain B lan­ came to a decision in about 1976
chard.
that Blanchard should leave, but it
Gary W itherspoon o f 122nd
took the Board four years longer.
Avenue blamed "se lf-in te re ste d
Buel explained that his vote to
dissidents” and Louise W eidllck,
terminate was not based on integrity
frequent candidate for the School
or character, that Dr. Blanchard is a
Board and other public offices,
fine man.
spoke for the superintendent.
Cawthorne said the Board had
The School Board voted on a decided to change its executive
m otion
presented
by
Herb
leadership, somethin done often by
Cawthorne - that the superintendent
public bodies, the Board believes a
be terminated June 30th with 90
d iffe re n t type o f leadership is
days pay and benefits, and
required. " I ’ m e n titled to that
authorized the Board’ s attorney to
opinion...and I w ill be happy to be
negotiate with Dr. Blanchard on his
subjected to whatever accoun­
contract. Thezcontract had been ex­
tability for that decision.”
tended through June, 1983, as one
Sarah Newhall said she has come
o f the last acts o f the "o ld board”
to the conclusion that the break­
last June, during the desegregation
down in trust between Blanchard
controversy, that action now forces (Please turn to Page 2 Col 1)
■RISS
PORTLAND OBSERVER
MAno*AI
W
NfWtPAPCft
X ;
Volume 10 Number 24
June IS, 1SB0
10C per copy
USPS 959 680
Scott attempts unsuccessful "end run"
^ School
rh n n l UisorJ
Board C'
C hairm an U.ll
B ill
Scott might have salvaged his own
p o litic a l am bitions according to
some "school board watchers” af­
ter his Saturday afternoon press
conference. "F o r Bill to have come
out like this - publically endorsing
retaining Blanchard as Superinten­
dent when it is known that he
privately feels Blanchard should go
makes us wonder why.”
Scott called a press conference
Saturday alternoon to announce his
support for Blanchard. The four
members o f the Board who were
believed to favor Blanchard’ s ter­
m in a tio n . Steve Buel, W ally
Priestley, Herb C aw thorne and
Sarah Newhall, were not informed
o f the press conference although
Buel and Ms. Newhall heard about
it and attended. Board members Joe
Rieke and Frank McNamara, who
favor Blanchard’ s retention, passed
out press releases to the crowd that
had been invited.
TU«
_ x_ _ in a
The Board u««
has u.-.—
been involved
process for evaluating Blanchard - a
process designed by Scott. Three
meetings were scheduled - the first
to evaluate Blanchard, the second to
determine what the role o f a
superintendent should be, and the
th ird
to determ ine whether
Blanchard should be retained. The
Board members agreed that none
would discuss the issue and that
throughout the process all questions
from the press and public would be
directed to Scott.
Scott broke the agreement by
holding the Saturday press con­
ference prior to the third meeting,
held Monday, June 16th. By way of
explanation, Joe Rieke said, "They
are going to do their thing Monday
night, so we are doing ours now.”
In his prepared statement Scott
said the district is facing critical
times including the need to improve
education o f children; enrollment
decline; needs o f handicapped and
....
immigrant children; desegregation;
coordination with the community; a
looming financial crisis.
"W hile we should be establishing
p rio ritie s and in itia tin g com ­
munication with our citizens and the
State Legislature, we have instead
engaged in non-productive and o f­
tentimes petty bickering over
narrow issues...
"The strife and disagreement that
have characterized many o f our
transactions on the Board o f
Education have narrowed our
reason and impeaded our ability to
deal w ith these overriding con­
cerns.”
Blamming the "lo g ja m ” in the
functioning ot the district on con­
flicts within the Board and between
the Board and the Superintendent
and his administration, Scott called
on the Board to "begin to act in a
way that generate confidence and
trust.” He called on the Board to
work together on the "real issues,”
the Superintendent to support the
Board, and he called on the citizens
to pull together to resolve the issues
that divide. " I t is clear to me that to
seek new administrative leadership
in this d is tric t w ould be ill-
considered and ill-timed.
- " Therefore, I call on the Board to
join me in working together with the
administration to resolve the major
issues that I have identified. These
are the real issues, not the matter o f
Superintendent Blanchard’s tenure,
as some would have it. U ntil we join
with the whole community to define
Portland’s expectations for schools
in the 1980s, we can’ t expect any
superintendent to be successful; the
Board has to lead the community in
fulfilling the needs o f our children,
for the sake o f Portland’ s future.
“ I call on Superintendent Blan­
chard to support the Board o f
E ducation w ith earnestness and
dispatch in its already established
(Please turn to Page 7 Col 4)
Children need protection from volcanic dust
Linda A n d re w s w a s is the firs t re c ip ie n t of the an n u a l P ortland
O bserver Jo u rn a lis m T ro ph y, to be a w a re d e d each year to th e o u t­
standing eig h th grade s ta ff m e m b e r of Boise S p e a k s ” , th e Boise
E lem en tary S chool stu d e n t n e w sp ap er.
The d a u g h te r of M r and M rs R o b e rt A n d re w s . Linda is an o u t­
s ta n d in g s tu d e n t a n d a v e te r a n r e p o r te r . S h e lo v e s to re a d ,
especially a b ou t science She w ill a tte n d Benson H igh S cho o l.
P ictured w ith Linda is ' Boise S p e a k s ” ad viso r. Beth N ance.
BUF applauds Board decision
‘The Black United Front called
lo r M r. B lanchard’ s resignation
more than six months ago, so we are
very pleased that the Board te r­
minated his c o n tra c t," Ronnie
Herndon, co-chairman of the BUF
told the Observer. " M r . Blan­
chard’ s policies had a catastrophic
effect
on Black children and par­
ents. Our children were scattered all
over Portland. The psychological
and emotional damage caused by this
is immeasurable.
"Even when our children attend
neighborhood schools the education
ihey received remained at the bot­
tom ot the academic ladder. We
hope the Board will now show the
same kind o f courage it displayed
with Mr. Blanchard and keeps the
promises it made to the Black com­
munity last August.
"T h e resolutions the Board
passed last August were a package
agreement designed to bring
q u a lity education to the Black
com m unity; the plan the Board
passed in A pril was fragmented and
left out asome of the most essential
ingredients needed to make quality
education a reality fo r Black
children.
” The School Board has a rare
opportunity to join with the Black
com m unity to develop academic
and c u ltu ra l programs that w ill
properly educate Black children.
Hopefully the Board w ill take ad­
vantage o f this.”
( hildren
h 11 d r p n
m
a v
ts
i <•> «» »
h »» same
c » m A
C
may
face
the
hazards from the suspension in air
ot volcanic ash as other age groups,
except they are u n like ly to be
routinely exposed to heavy concen­
trations o f ash as are certain oc­
cupational groups. However, their
exposure may be increased because
they are physically smaller and are
less like ly to adopt reasonable,
prudent, preventive measures to
avoid undue exposures.
A p re lim in a ry study o f the
effects o f the ashfalls ot 5/18 and
5/25 on high risk pediatric
populations has been initiated by
the U niversity o f W ashington
Schools o f M edicine and Public
Health. At this time, it does not ap­
pear that asthmatic children in the
paths o f these ashfall plumes have
had any significant increase in their
symptons compared to children with
sim ilar respiratory problems who
live in unaffected parts o f the state.
The volcanic ash may cause
irrita tio n ot the lungs or exacer­
bation or symptoms in children suf­
fering respiratory illness (asthma,
cystic fibrosis, tuberculosis).
Preliminary samples o f the ash show
only low levels o f free crystalline
silica (5«To by weight o f the inhalable
ash).
A t this tim e it is not known
whether
continued
periodic
;
_ *•
..
■
_
.
emissions o f volcanic ash, per­
sistence o f airborne ash in the
respirable size-range, and extended
inhalation o f low levels o f the ash
over long periods o f time could
potentially cause chronic respiratory
disease or silicosis among the
general p o p u la tio n , including
children.
The most obvious step that can be
taken to protect children from
inhaling airborne ash is to keep
children indoors when ash is visible
in the air. Children should certainly
be advised against strenuous play or
running when ash is in the air, since
exertion leads to heavier breathing,
drawing small particles more deeply
into the lungs. Parents might plan
quiet games and indoor activities
during such times. Communities in
heavy ashfall area may wish to
organize day-care programs to
reduce the economic burden on
working parents.
I f children must be outdoors
when ash is present in the air, they
should wear a mask, preferably one
marked with " T C - 2 IC " and ap­
proved by the National Institute for
O ccupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH). However, commercially
available masks are manufactured
for industrial use and therefore are
designed to fit adults rather than
children. One such approved mask,
Number 8710 o f the 3M C o r­
poration, is stated by the manufac­
turer to be adaptable to children as
young as 5 years.
Fabric masks, including those
improvised from handerchiefs, will
tiller out the larger dust particles,
and should be dampened with water
to be used when the dust is visible in
the a ir it no approved mask is
available. For children old enough
to understand the difference, it
might be helpful to breathe through
the nose, where natural filtration o f
(Please turn to page 6 Col 4)
Black United Front plans convention
/J I I
I J b
tty
John M ttlank
An event o f world-wide historic
significance will occur in Brooklyn,
New York, this June 2bth through
29th: the founding conference tor a
N ational Black U nited F ront.
Delegates from at least 18 states will
meet, according to the conference
announcement, " t o forge and
develop a mass-based activist,
progressive movement to speak and
act on conditions lacing the Black
com m unity nationally and in te r­
nationally."
The conference is the logical
outgrowth o f grassroot struggles led
by Black U nited Fronts in New
Y ork, P hiladelphia, P ortland,
Oregon, C ario, III., and East St.
Louis, as well as M ississippi’ s
United League, around issues like
education, jobs, and police
brutality.
The delegates will participate in
sixteen workshops on issues affect­
ing Blacks, in cluding housing,
education, police issues, in te r­
national affa irs, prison, women,
youth, and labor organizing.
In addition, interim officers from
each region (W est, M id-w est,
South-Southwest, East-Northeast)
will be elected to a national general
council. (Permanent officers will be
elected for two-year terms in June
1981.)
Rev. Herbert Daughtry, chairman
o f the New York Black United
F ront, points out in in the con­
ference call that, "the conditions o f
our people have reached genocidal
dimensions...In subtle and blatant
ways, individually and collectively,
we arc being killed all day long.”
N oting the increased c u to ffs o f
essential services to Black com-
m unities, the high rate o f
joblessness, the rise in police
b ru ta lity and te rro ris t attacks
against Blacks, Rev. D aughtry
urges: " I f we do not hasten to build
unity, the 80s will be the decade o f
death for us."
M ore
o p tim is tic a lly ,
Rev.
D aughtry notes that a N ational
Black United Front can be built
today because " th e people are
ready...The masses are on the move
again. They are searching for a new
vehicle. It is obvious that the old
reactionary leaders and their
organizations are discredited and
are kept alive only by the enemies of
our people.”
The new Black movement is much
more significant than one would
guess from the almost total lack of
attention being paid to it by the
establishment press. As Rev.
Daughtry puts it: "Black people in
the U .S .A . by virtue o f their
history, number and position, have
the potential to influence the destiny
ot the world.”
H te i
. 52°
• ° " w * n • nJ°V« • playful pinch on the chin from her
athar Nebeeh Dawan at the "Tribute to Fatherhood” pre-Fethere Day
Observance preeented by MeeJIld Muhammad No. «2 of The
American Muslim Mission. Next week. Ovserver reporter Askarl, will
feature a full-length report on The American Muellm Mieelon and
their work In the Black community of Portland.
(Photo by Richard Brown)