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University of Oregon Library
tugene, Oregon 97403
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PORTLAND OBSERVER
U S I’S 959 680-855
March 23, 1983
Volume XIII, Number 24
25C Per Copy
< t a r PuhMung Co.. /«HI
ir Controversy
f»y Rich Lochner
Steve Buel end Herb Cewthorne consider educe rio n ei o p tio n s a t re c e n t P o rtla n d School Boerd
meeting.
Buel seeks second Board term
Sieve Buel, a member o f the Port
land School Board, believes a m a
jo rity o f the Board is "keeping Dr.
P ro p het under th eir th um bs, and
not allowing him to really work and
take care o f the problems o f the Dis
tric t."
This charge is borne out by the
m a jo rity o f the B oard’ s refusal to
allow S u perintend en t M atth ew
Prophet to co n ciliate the Jackson
closure problem as he did success-
f u l k , w i t h the T u b m a n M id d le
School siting.
stron g ly
support
D r.
Prophet,” Buel said. " H e is doing a
j^nod jo b and could do more i f he
1 ' w«M given the freed om to make
somt o f the changes that should be
m a d e ."
' O ne o p p o rtu n ity P ro p het w ill
have is to select a large num ber o f
new principals to replace those who
w ill retire in the next year or two.
" T h e key to better teaching is the
principal," Buel said. The answer to
inadequate leaching is the principal,
he explained; principals evaluate the
teachers and it is their responsibility
to rem ove those w ho are not suc
ceeding.
E valuatio n o f principals should
also reflect me quality o f education
being p ro vided in th eir schools.
"T h is is a serious problem and one
I ’ ve been talking about all a lo n g ,"
Buel said. " T h e r e has not been a
real e v a lu a tio n o f p rin c ip als for
years; i f you look at their ev alu a
tion s, they are a ll the same. T h e
people writing evaluations say about
the same thing about all of them ."
Selecting the right people for ap
pointment to principalships will be a
major factor in the District’s ability
to provide quality education.
A n o ther d eficit Buel sees is the
broad differences in program s o f
fered in different schools. Principals
have had much leeway in choosing
program s and s ta ff. " I have d e
veloped a plan that D r. Prophet is
studying now that w ill change the
way staff is allocated. It would cre
ate a basic elementary school includ
ing class size stand ards, physical
educatior, music, improved library
facilities, and certificated librarians.
Then the ind ividu al schools could
build on that basic program.
" T h is w ould ensure that every
c h ild , even those a tte n d in g sm all
schools, w ould get the same basic
education."
Currently staff positions are allo
cated to the principal according to
the number of children and the prin
cip al can d eterm in e w hat type o f
s ta ff he w ants. A ll adults in the
building— including secretaries and
janitors— are counted so the “ F T E "
ra tio does not reflect teacher-stu
dent ratio or class size. This results
in some schools having large classes,
others having no physical educa-
lion, art or music teachers.
Buel counts many acco m p lish
ments in his first term on the School
Board;
He proposed a task force on drug
and alco h o l abuse to assess the
p roblem and m ake reco m m en da
tions. This committee will meet for
the first time on April 30th.
H e persuaded the D is tric t to
orient every staff member who has
contact with children on child abuse
so they can bring abuse problems to
the attention o f the authorities.
He successfully proposed centrali
zation o f counselling services, which
not only rejuvenated the counselling
staff, but for the first time is obtain
ing in fo rm atio n on who drops out
and why.
Buel persuaded the ad m in is tra
tion to set safety standards for play
grounds and equipment and to as
sign an inspector, as a result acci
dents have decreased.
The District’s achievement policy
in large part came from Buel’s pro
posal that each elem entary school
em phasize one subject area each
year for improvement.
A n ele m en tary school teacher,
Bud's main concern as he serves on
(he School Board is providing qual
ity education for each child in the
District. He looks at every issue that
comes b efo re the Board w ith this
principal in mind.
and Natasha Beck
W o u ld a sales tax relieve high
properly taxes and boost Oregon's
economy, as business and govern
ment groups say? O r would it be a
new burden fo r poor and working
people, as labor, farm , and commu
nity groups say? The sales tax, beat
en six times at the polls, has risen
again— and a m a jo rity o f the state
House say they could send it for vot
ers' approval next November.
The p ublic w ill gel a chance to
state its views on the sales tax at
public hearings in Portland. March
28, at the Po rtlan d Building (1120
SW 5th at 7:30 p .m .). But just what
would a sales lax d o , and fo r
whom?
Three sales tax proposals are now
b efo re the stale leg islature T he
main hacker behind each is the busi
ness oriented Taxpayers for a Better
Econom y, state R epresentatives
Io n y Van V lie t (R -C o rv a llis ) and
Peter Courtney (D -S alem ), and the
Local Government Coalition.
Sales tax opponents fall into two
camps: those who oppose the sales
tax because i t ’ s regressive; and those
who oppose taxes in general. The
. ijis t group has organized into O re
gonians U n ite d to Stop the Sales
Tax (O USST) Members include the
stale A H C IO and several unions,
the O regon S tale G ra n g e , the
O re g o n W a s h in g t o n f a r m e r s
U n io n , the G ra y P an th ers, the
Democratic P arly, and the Oregon
Citizens Party. Other groups oppos
ing a sales tax that would make the
poor pay more include Oregon l air
Share and the Black United F ro n t.
Anti-tax groups include the Oregon
Taxpayers Union, which has backed
three barely defeated lax lim itation
in itia tiv e s , and the L ib e rta ria n
Party.
T h e sales tax plans share some
common features A ll would go into
the state constitution, and could be
approved or changed o nly by the
voters. All would not lax necessities
such as food, medical care, housing,
and utilities A ll would cut property
taxes 40 to 50 percent, and limit fu
tu re governm ent g ro w th . A n d all
would be regressive— taxing lower
incomes more heavily than lower in
comes.
A 1980 C alifo rn ia sales tax study
showed differences between income
classes: households m aking under
$20,000 spent 40 percent o f that in
come on goods subject to the sales
tax. (California has exclusions simi
lar to those projiosed in O reg o n ).
Bused on these figu res, a fa m ily
niukiug $10-20,(NX) a year would pay
about $240 a year, or 1.6 percent of
us income, with a four percent sales
tax.
A fam ily making $75,(NX) and up,
on the other hand, would pay $760,
or .67 percent o f its income. I f the
p o o re r fa m ily paid the same p e r
centage as the richer one, it would
pay $105, a difference o f $135. The
same study shows a fa m ily pays
more sales lax for each child it must
provide for.
The sales tax is regressive because
rich people can affo rd to save more
than can hard-pressed low and m id
dle-income people The sales lax a l
so usually excludes some items used
mostly by the w ell-o ff, such as legal
services and private education.
T w o O regon plans deal w ith the
fairness issue by a rebate scheme
th at w o u ld re fu n d $8 to $40 per
household member fo r those m a k
ing under $17,500. But it's still not
eq u al; w ith a fo u r percent tax, a
fa m ily o f fo u r in the $ 1 0 ,0 0 0 to
$12,500 bracket would gel an $80 re
fund, and still pay a higher rale than
the $75,OCX) + class. Critics also say
many poor people who pay no in
come tax y o u ld n 'l apply for the rc-
(PI ease turn Io page ti column /)
Parents, youth charge police abuse
by Lam ia Duke
P o rtla n d police o ffic e rs are
charged with racism and insensitiv
ity in the reaction to and treatment
of six young people— four black and
two white— last Friday night.
Around 9:45 p .m ., M arch 18th,
six juveniles between the ages o f
eleven and fifteen were touched with
spring fever. Darryl M cW illins, 14,
explained the incident: " W e were
acting crazy, goofing o ff and doing
silly things. W e threw three rocks at
a police car. We were walking home
and came upon a policeman giving a
guy a ticket. W e ran to the alley on
Ainsworth and M oore Streets. The
police followed us and slopped me
in that alley ."
D a rry l was accom panied by
another youth, Frank Smith, 13.
" T h e police o fficer grabbed me
by the neck and threw me down on
the ground." Darryl received super
ficial cuts and abrasions on his face
from the impact. During the course
o f being arrested the o ffic er made
obscene remarks to M cW illin s , the
youth reports. " T h e o ffic e r said,
’C a n ’ t you find anything else to do
on a Friday night, like be with your
girl friend and get a h— on?"
T he parents and neighbors did
not condone throwing rocks at a po
lice car. H o w ever, the harsh tre at
ment and obscene language was felt
to be excessive and unnecessary con
sidering the repentful nature o f the
boys once they were ap p reh e n d
ed.
Mrs. McW illins said, " D a rry l was
wrong for throwing the rocks. But
the way they apprehended him was
just as w ro ng — such as putting his
knee on his b a c k , th ro w in g him
dow n and m a kin g that sexual re
mark to a 14-year-old boy. Another
item is that all the boys that were
picked up were black and the tw o
white boys were told to go hom e."
The parents o f one o f the w hile
youths involved, Nathan Maszy, 11,
also believe that this was u n ju s t.
" A l l the kids were together. There
was no reason for the police to sin
gle out Nathan and Donald Gibson,
1131. to go home. It wasn't the idea
that they d id n 't see a rock in D o n
ald 's or N a th a n 's hand. F ra n k ie
didn't have a rock and the police a r
rested him, anyway. The police nev
er did sec who threw the rock. A ll
they know is that rocks were thrown
and a group o f kids were running.”
The police took the four boys over
to Frank Smith's home. His mother
stated . " T h e r e has been so much
happening in our neighborhood. I
didn't realize the boys were involved
until I saw Darryl getting out o f the
car in h an dcuffs. T h e other boys,
Kicky, Faison. 13 and James Smith,
15, were in another poiice car and
the officers refused to let them out
until they had Darrly and Frank un
der control.
" D a r r y l and Frank were not out
o f c o n tro l. I began to ask them to
take the cu ffs o f f o f D a rry l and I
noticed that they had the handcuffs
on so tight, they couldn’t take them
o ff. They could not get one o f the
c u ffs o f f . T h e Po lice kept saying
som ething ab o ut it's getting that
tim e o f the year and w ith c o m
m u n ity relations the way that they
are they d id n 't w ant to start this
kind o f thing. It seemed to me the
police were saying to us purents that
we were breeding a pot o f summer
violence.
" A g a in , I felt the treatment was
too harsh and throughout their in
terac tio n w ith the police the boys
were very remorseful and scared.”
The neighbors, parents, and the
yo u th w ho w ere in v o lve d all feel
that if this incident had occurred in
the S .W . H ills it would have been
viewed d iffe re n tly . As a group of
boys p e rfo rm in g a very ch ild ish ,
th ou gh tless act, n oth ing m ore,
no hing less. Instead, the police o f
ficers involved added insult to in
ju ry by treating the boys like crim in
als and showing preferential treat
ment to the white youths.
T h e P o lice Bureau spokesman
said the police officers involved are
not available for comment until the
Internal A ffa irs com plaint, filed by
one o f the parents, is cleared
Educational Service District: Forgotten race draws few candidates
by Rouert Lothian
The Board o f the M u ltn o m a h
County Educational Service District
threw itself into the Jackson contro
versy when it ruled that (he area had
sufficient resources to run its own
schools. Their decision helped pave
the way for Jackson’s secession, and
the outcome o f the M arch 29 elec
tions, with three ESD positions con
tested, could in flu en ce whether
other areas fo llo w Jackson's ex
ample.
But besides its increasingly con
troversial boundary setting author
ity, ESD is also a large cooperative
with a $21 m illio n budget. Il p ro
vides computer services and school
supplies at discount rates to the
C o u n ty ’ s 12 school d is tricts , and
funds special program s, including
(he outdoor school for sixth g rad
ers, a p ro gram fo r pregnant high
school students, and nursing ser
vice*.
Over h alf o f ESD 's budget is de
voted to special education— handi
capped, speech impaired, English as
a Second Language (E S L ) and ta l
ented and gifted programs.
After receiving recommendations
from the various districts, the E SD
Board, through its budget delibera
tions, has u ltim a te a u th o rity over
the choice and extent o f special o f
ferings
D r. H o w a rd C h e rry , a N o rth
Portland orthopedic surgeon, is the
incum bent ru n nin g fo r P o sitio n
Five, Zone One, an area which cov
ers most o f N o rth and Northeast
Portland. Running against Cherry is
Ron M cC arty, a tax accountant and
former restaurant owner.
C herry found him self in the m i
nority on the Board when he voted
against the decision fa v o ra b le to
Jackson's secession. H e fears it
could be the beginning o f a landslide
secession movement on the affluent
west side. This would be a "horrible
b lo w " to the Portland School Dis
trict, he said, because the loss o f the
a fflu e n t west side tax base would
mean huge cu t* fo r rem aining
schools.
" V e r y , very v a lu a b le " special
programs should be kept, he said,
but some may be threatened by the
outcome of wage negotiations which
could mean cutbacks in other areas.
Cherry, who was a stale legislator
for 12 years, is also running as an in
cumbent for the Portland C o m m u
nity College Board.
M cC arty's main qpneern is m on
ey. “ We have to have fiscal respon
sib ility," he said. "M o nies must be
spent w isely." Uncontrolled spend
ing and waste are big problem s in
education, according to M c C a rty ,
and his jo b on the Board would be
to "ju d g e which monies are being
spent fo o lish ly " and do away with
unnecessary programs. H e was un
willing to specify what needed to be
cut, however, saying he would have
to be on the board for awhile to find
out.
Alluding to the "ta x revolution”
and Ballot Measure 3, M cC arty was
concerned about the large number
o f foreclosures which he connects
w ith high p ro p e rty taxes. H e
Ihoughi Ballot Measure 3 had tech
nical problems, but he supports the
idea o f a properly tax lim itation " to
keep people in their homes."
M cC arty said he doubts whether
he would support any new secession
movements. " I need more fac ts,”
he said. " I haven’ t totally made up
my m in d ."
John Sw eeney, a tree trim m e r
w ith the P o rtlan d Park Bureau, is
an incum bent ru n nin g unopposed
fo r the a t-la rg e P o sitio n S ix,
Sweeney leels that fear* o f a land
slide secession m ovem ent are u n
founded. The ESD Board’s decision
in the Jackson case, he said, "w as
not a blanket ap p ro val" for all dis
tricts that might want to pull out.
Each case must be judged on its
merits, but " i f they met the criteria I
would lend to go along with i t ," he
said.
Sweeney thinks the talented and
gifted program should be expanded
to in clu d e m ore th an the present
three percent o f students who quail
fy fo r the m ore exciting and ch al
lenging subjects. It w ould provide
an incentive, he said, for some stu
dents to stay in school.
P o s itio n seven covers the west
side, and secessin is the big issue
there. Pat D o o lin g , vice-president
{Please turn to page N column J)