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Page A4
May 18, 2005
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
O pinion
Education Becomes
Game
of
Chance
■ —- - -
School closures defer
‘American Dream ’
by S teve
L inder and L ynn S chore
For m ost A m ericans, earning a living
w age, hom e ow nership and a decent retire­
m ent are part o f the A m erican Dream. Equal
access to public education for all is a cor­
nerstone o f that dream . T oday, equal ac­
cess to education is being redefined as
equal access to a "G am e o f C hance.”
The Portland Public School B oard’s
decision to close neighborhood schools is
the latest step in a strategy to m ove chil­
dren from sm all neighborhood schools to
larger ‘com m unity’ schools where they
m ust be bused or w here there is sm all
lottery chance at getting into a w ell-funded
m agnet school.
A ccess to this gam e is not equal. Special
groups get priority access. C ertain special
schools pull a disproportionate am ount o f
PPS Foundation m onies, defying logic and
policy.
M agnet schools seem like window dress­
ing on a failing school system . M agnet
schools have their place, but neighbor­
hood schools m ust be the first priority,
because they best provide the equal ac­
cess supported by law.
The school board has chosen to ignore
its own school closure policy. Will it follow
state and federal law? W ill it follow Brown
v. B oard o f Education o f Topeka ?
T his new separate and unequal design
w ill w o rsen se g re g a tio n in P o rtlan d
schools. P o rtlan d ’s new big box and lot­
tery education strategy will prepare only
Neighborhood schools must be the first priority, because
they best provide the equal access supported by law.
1
the special few for the great jobs. U nfortu­
nately, many excellent jo b s will g o to people
educated outside Portland, because our
local education system is im poverished.
Salem is draining M ultnom ah C ounty
and starving public education in Portland.
The State Legislature is standing by w hile
neighborhood schools are closed, neigh­
borhood pride and identity are lost, fam i­
lies are pushed out o f Portland, teachers
are laid off, and sound education is sacri­
ficed.
The Portland Public School B oard is so
beleaguered it may not even realize the
short-sightedness o f conso lid atio n and
closure decisions. PPS is liquidating our
city ’s historic legacy: the sm all, w ell-situ­
ated neighborhood schools.
An intrinsic elem ent o f value in a neigh­
borhood is the school w ithin that neigh­
borhood. T he neighborhood school re­
flects com m unity vitality. W hen a neigh­
borhood loses its school, it not only loses
identity and pride: it becom es im pover­
ished econom ically com pared to any neigh­
borhood w ith a school.
W hat are better strategies? M ake better
financial use o f the valuable Blanchard
A dm inistration Building property. C oordi­
nate w ith City B ureaus for m ulti-purpose
use o f public properties. Show the public
som e PPS w arehouse closures ! T o im prove
custom er service and save m oney, co n ­
solidate the PPS central office and cut
adm inistrative fat. T here is som ething sus­
picious about a school district that needs
a C om m unications D epartm ent and a Pub­
lic R elations D epartm ent.
Steve L inder a n d Lynn Schore are Sm ith
School p aren ts fr o m southw est Portland.
They are m em bers o f the N eighborhood
Schools A lliance.
More Prisons Are Not the Answer
Increase safety
with sentencing
options
by J udge
G reg M athis
Crim e rates are dow n,
but incarceration rates in­
crease. T he n um ber o f
people going in to prison
outpaces the num ber com ­
ing out. A s a result, our
p r is o n p o p u la tio n in ­
creased by ju st over 48,000 in one
year - that’s about 900 new inm ates
a week.
Last year, 2.1 million people called
a U.S. prison or jail hom e, a 2.3-
percent increase from the previous
year. These new num bers from the
Bureau o f Justice Statistics repre­
sent a record 30-plus year rise in the
num ber o f prisoners in the U.S.
C hanges in sentencing law ex­
plain m uch o f the increase. Laws
put into place in the 80s and 90s -
m andatory drug sentencing and
three strike laws am ong them - pre­
vent judges from evaluating the
conditions o f the offense
and the background o f
the offender. Strict sen­
tences are required, re­
gardless o f w hether or
not they fit the specifics
o f the case. A side effect
o f this sentencing struc­
ture is an overcrow ded
prison system where over
50-percent o f the inm ates are non­
violent and drug offenders.
There is grow ing evidence that
the m oney spent to house lesser
offenders often d o esn ’t offset the
co sts o f the crim es p revented.
A dditionally, m any studies and
experts say large-scale im prison­
m ent is not the most effective means
o f achieving public safety. There
appears to be a point at w hich the
harm ful effects o f this trend out­
w eigh any reductions in crim e.
W hile incarcerating offenders
may serve to reduce the am ount o f
crim e com m itted in certain neigh­
borhoods, those sam e areas are
dam aged as more people are im pris­
oned and recycled in and out o f the
system . T his creates a set o f social
challenges that affect the offender,
the offender’s fam ily and the com ­
munity as a w hole and lasts long
after a sentence has been served.
Pressuring law m akers to rein­
state ju d icial discretion is the first
step to easing prison overcrow d­
ing. W ith th is p o w er re sto re d
judges can sentence a drug or non­
violent offender to prison, order
them to seek substance abuse or
psychiatric counseling.
Policym akers m ust also make
sure inm ates and those recently
released receive the necessary psy­
chological, drug prevention and
life-skills counseling. K eeping re­
cidivism rates dow n is a critical
co m p o n en t o f m aking sure the
n atio n ’s prison population d o esn ’t
continue to increase.
It is no secret that poor and black
com m unities tend to carry m uch o f
the burden o f the escalating incar­
ceration rates. W hen large n um ­
bers o f individuals from a particular
population are sent to prison, that
co m m u nity ’s ability to overcom e
financial and social obstacles is
severely w eakened. Furtherm ore,
that com m unity’s view s o f w hat is
‘n o rm al’ can begin to shift. Prisons,
m uch like schools or religious insti­
tutions, begin to shape the values
o f that com m unity.
W ith a prison population m ade
up o f nearly 60-percent Blacks and
L atinos, society as a w hole, A fri­
can-A m ericans in particular, c a n ’t
afford to let this trend continue.
Judge G reg M athis is chairm an
o f the Rainbow P U SH -E xcel Board
a n d a national boa rd m em ber o f
the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference.
Neighborhoods in Danger
N eighbors are one o f my jo y s
and children are one the strongest
glues to hold us together.
If you ever becom e alert for a
child in possible d anger you al­
w ays get a sm ile from the parent.
If you ev er volunteer to help a
child in hom ew ork you can get
invited for dinner.
L istening to the children is a
m ust for a strong neighborhood.
W hen children com plain about
w hat is happening at school it is
tim e to spring to alarm. This means
the neighborhood is in danger.
School policy can be as threat­
ening as an earthquake. If children
feel disrupted by changes in school
it is tim e to act. If som e children
feel they are being left behind, it is
tim e to get together and act. T he
neighborhood is in danger.
E veryone in the neighborhood
should be concerned about the
children, not ju st parents.
A child w ho sees a constructive
future is not easily derailed into
destructive behavior. A child w ho
sees y o u r concern for their safety
and openness to their creativity is
not going to see your place as a
spot to vent frustration. For the
ch ild ’s good and our ow n well
being, all o f us should be support­
ing the children.
W hat a jo y o f the spirit is a
neighborhood w ith happy ch il­
dren. T his m eans their m ain jo b o f
learning is going well. T hey are
safe. They the adults are listening
to th em . They can even feel it if you
cast your votes thinking o f them .
T hese are the roots o f a strong
n eighborhood.
Jim Anderson
Northeast Portland
____________ THE_____________
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Q
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