Page 2 Portland Observer, March 9,1983
Nine candidates seek School Board vacancy
(Continued from page I column 6)
he described the P ortland school
system as a "S200.000.000 business
being run seat o f the pants by part-
tim e. unpaid, well-meaning citi*
zens." He hopes to help this situa­
tion by offering the board "an ana­
lytical mind geared to the systematic
solution of problems."
Weiss feels that P ortland is " a
very long way toward integration of
public schools," and he offers
"comparability of program oppor­
tu n ity " as a means to give all stu­
dents access to the same high quality
instruction and reduce the need for
busing.
As representative from the
citizens' school advisory committee
from Area I, Weiss said he worked
closely with committees from Eliot
and Boise schools to redesign the
middle school program so it would
include the best parts of each.
" I think Ronnie Herndon," said
Weiss, "has caused Portland and
the School Board to wake up to the
educational needs of the black com­
munity, and has done a valuable job
in causing solutions to come about
in areas where the people hoped the
problem would go away.”
Stephen K a fo u ry , corporate
counsel for a Portland trucking firm
and Irvington resident, is perhaps
closest to a "name" candidate in the
race for position four. He spent
eight years in the Oregon legislature
and ran unsuccessfully for Portland
City Council in 1973 and 1980
Kafoury said he lives in an inte­
grated neighborhood "b y choice,"
so his daughters could have the op­
portunity o f growing up with chil­
dren from minority groups. " I am
very much committed to equality of
opportunity for all students," he
said.
K afo ury thinks " th e political
battles are pretty much over. I t ’s
lim e to get back involved in what
the School Board is all about—edu­
c a tio n ." He wonders whether
schools should take care o f stu­
dents' health and drug problems,
and provide free lunches to compen­
sate for lack o f food at home.
"H o w many social problems can the
schools solve?"
He also thinks there is loo much
emphasis on technical education
now, which he says is comparable to
the panic following sputnik. "T h e
idea that we’ve got to put everybody
in high tech programs to solve our
unemployment problems is mislead­
in g ." Educational decisions, he
said, should be based on "sound
reasoning, not fa d s ," and money
spent on reading instruction, not
"fancy hardware.”
Budget considerations are of pri­
mary importance to Curt M artin, a
teacher's aide at Madison High
School who grew up near 16th and
Fremont.
M artin said that eliminating 342
jobs of special assignment teachers,
psychologists and community
agents could save tbe system over
$10 million.
Higher graduation standards are
also im po rtant, he said, and he
would elim inate the "m o d ifie d
diploma" which lets underachievers
graduate with their classmates
M artin is also concerned about
lax discipline in the schooh, and he
favors detention centers like the one
at M arshall, where students must
spend an hour studying for every
hour o f class missed. "K id s are
sm art," he said. " I f they see that
there’s no definition, nothing said
to them, they will keep on doing the
same thing."
He said the $5.1 million spent on
busing in 1982 could have been
better spent retraining teachers to
become more sensitive to the needs
o f m inority students. " I think we
could save money and better service
the kids by keeping them in their
own neighborhoods," he said. "W e
don’t have the massive social prob­
lems in Portland as they do else­
where that require busing."
Also, he said. Eliot School should
be closed because there aren’ t
enough students in the area to sup­
port it, and "nobody knows where
they’re going to gel the money to
renovate Eliot.”
Bow Dey is co-owner of a proper­
ty management company and lives
in the Lincoln High district. " I feel
the board needs a businessman,"
said Dey, who was a long-time
employee of Standard Oil Co.
Long-range planning is his big
p rio rity . It would help eliminate
"very unfortunate” disruptive dem­
onstrations which he thinks are the
result of the public not being fully
informed by a board which suffers
from lack of direction. " A plan of
where the schools are going would
sure make things a lot easier," he
said. “ I think the people are tired of
management by crisis."
Concerning the budget, Dey said
the current adm inistration is top-
heavy and a significant amount of
money could be saved by eliminat­
ing one of the five management lay­
ers between teachers and ihe super­
intendent.
Dey is a "strong believer in volun­
tary integration:” He experienaed
mandatory busing when he lived in
D e tro it, where he said whites be­
came a minority within four years.
They either moved to the suburbs or
put their children in private schools,
he said. " I t segregated the entire
school system."
Brummell represented urban In ­
dians on the Portland Desegregation
C om m ittee, and he thinks the
school district is headed in the right
direction by beginning to implement
some o f that com m ittee’s recom­
mendations. Paramount, he said, is
the need to bring a quality educa­
tional experience to each school
rather than rely on busing.
He thinks the Black United Front
has played a useful role, but the
place to express their concerns now
is in committees. "A s far as jum p­
ing up and down on the desk, I can't
buy that. It sets a very bad example
for c h ild re n .. education requires
dignity," he said.
Bill Grenfell, an East more land res­
ident, was a Portland fireman for 20
years, a slate senator for eight, and
now sits on the board o f Portland
Community College.
" I am horrified at the antics of
the School Board," he said. "They
act like a bunch of children. Bicker­
ing and bickering over (wo middle
school sites that are ten blocks apart
is totally asinine."
Grenfell said that while the Black
United Front has done some good
things, he also thinks the BUF lead­
ers are interested in higher office. " I
think in a lot o f ways they are using
the black community ."
Grenfell is also running for a seat
on the Metropolitan Service District
Board.
Boger Troen, a printer and resi­
dent o f O verlook neighborhood,
said he thinks the public education
system should be abolished and re­
placed with private free enterprise
classrooms. " I think you'd find a
lot o f good competition springing
up," he said.
Troen thinks that "c o n stan ts"
should be emphasized more in edu­
cation "lik e the constitution," and
that words are used too carelessly in
the schools. As an example, he men­
tioned "th e sun rising and the sun
setting. It sounds good to say the
run rises, but the world actually re­
volves."
Another candidate. Bon M cC ar­
ty, was unavailable for comment.
FSLIC
Hash Roofing Co.
| Roofing of all kinds Guarantee:
90 days thru 1 year
4011 N.E. Union Ave.
287-8474
ft1» the F A R M IT way
FAR
^M/EST
4TEDERAL
SAVINGS
VIRGINIA SLIMS
4
Tbu’vecom e
a long way, baby
Aaron Mitchell and
Son Plumbing
* Experienced Plum ber
* Licensed and Bonded
__
Established in business for 25 years
Have lived in the Portland Area for 40 years
WE STAND BEHIND ALL JOBS
1703 N.E. Alberta 288-4040
VIRGINIA
S U M '’
PERS
,ow'«
Menthol and
Lights Menthol
C Philip
In»
I** '
W arning The Surgeon G eneral Has D eterm ined
That Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous to Your Health.
THE BEEPffl PEOPLE.
713 S.W. 12th Street
Cell 224-BEEP for a free demonstration.
M A IN OFFIC E SW 5th 4 Washington
Portland Oregon Telephone 2 2 4 44 4 4
5« convenient offices throughout Oregon
•SM i 1979 Far VW h i Federal Savmga
Clyde Brummell, a Sellwood resi­
dent, part Chicasaw Indian, and
owner o f Brummell Construction
Co., feels that property taxes alone
can no longer finance education. A
sales tax is an alternative that may
have to be faced, but he would sup­
port the idea "only if it earmarked
and dedicated for public educa­
tion."
Respect for education is another
o f Brummell*» concerns. ‘ ‘ Where I
went to school we stood until the
teacher said sit. I see a lot of people
that are doomed because of a lack
o f respect for education."
&CAR
TELEPHONES
No fooling, Regular Checking at Far West is
absolutely free. And it s just one of five options from which
you can choose the checking account that’s best for you
There are many checking account extras, too
Like Mr Moneybags" and the Exchange 24-hour teller
machines throughout Oregon and Washington, Merchant
Check Guarantee and Overdraft Protection throuqh
MasterCard or VISA
And with a Far West checking account you can
get MasterCard and/or VISA at a reduced annual fee of
just $8 00
Come to any Far West office now for
free checking-no fooling!
Menthol 100 s 15m g' tar" 1 0 mgntconne— lights Menthol 100's
9 mg ' ta<' 0 7 mg nicotine a« pet cigarerte
by FTC method