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May 2. 2007
Page A3
1 IJnrtüuth (iDhsmu'v
Passionate Fight for School Board Seat
Candidates at odds on Jefferson
by R aymond R endi . eman
P ortland O bserver
Portland School Board members
d o n 't get paid a cent for sitting
through endless m eetings. But with
a school board election and Super
intendent Vicki P hillips’ departure
in store, the board is poised to
decide how to spend the taxpayer's
m onies and choose the person who
will lead the district into the future.
Tw o candidates for Zone-2, rep
resenting parts o f north, northeast
and southeast Portland, are locked
in one o f the hottest battles on the
May 15 ballot.
T h e c h a lle n g e r is M ic h e le
Schultz, a social w orker and devel
opm ent consultant who wants to
use the change o f superintendents
to m ove away from w hat she calls a
crisis-oriented board.
"B uilding com m unity connec
tions is what we need to focus on
for the hiring process,” Schultz said.
The incum bent D avid W ynde, a
US Bank com m unity-relations vice
president, says the bo ard 's focus
on financial stability and closing a
group o f sm aller schools has al
lowed the district to restore pro
gram s in other schools.
W ynde asserts that the current
board has "found a strong superin
tendent and I am confident that we
can find another."
He said changes over the last
four years have resulted in "the
best Portland Public Schools we
have had in a long tim e.”
Schultz disagrees. She cites per
sistent failures in many local schools
se rv in g m in o rity stu d e n ts and
thinks "the board needs to take
m ore responsibility for their role in
these issues.”
O nly with a “ bottom -up ap
proach" can m inority voices be
heard in such a way that avoids a
com m unication disconnect and re
pealing unsuccessful changes, she
said.
"T here was sort o f a process in
term s o f the re-re-re-re-configura
tion o f Jefferson," she says, "but
there were many fam ilies and staff
who were against the academ y ap
proach, so w e’ve clearly got a top-
dow n district."
H er a c c u s a tio n s h a v e p u t
W ynde on the defensive.
"I have faith in the plan th at’s in
place for Jefferson," he says. "There
are a lot o f people in that com m u
nity who, through our efforts, are
becom ing reengaged."
Citing her experience in crisis
m anagem ent, Schultz criticizes the
process for hiring adm inistrators at
Jefferson High School, w hich is
now on its eighth principal in 10
years.
"W hen you do the sam e things
o v e r an d o v e r a g a in ,
fications for represent
clearly there’s a cycle hap
ing minority voters in the
p e n in g ,
an d
o n ly
Jefferson cluster.
Je ffe rso n 's parents and
“I’m a w hite w om an
staff know w ho can re
who grew up in M aine,"
verse that cycle.”
she says. "But the key to
W y n d e s a y s th a t
representation is to know
Jefferson's interim princi
that and to really listen
pal C ynthia Harris "will
to w hat everyone has to
p ro v id e the le ad e rsh ip
say."
necessary for a smooth
Empowering voices is
transition.”
a key aspect o f listening
A nother difference be
for Schultz because "if
Michele Schultz
tw e e n th e c a n d id a te s David Wynde
y ou ' re a fam i ly that can ’ t
em erges from their views
afford electronic com m u
on the u n iq u e elec tio n o f the she would represent her zone if nication, y o u 're left out o f the loop
b o ard 's seven m em bers, with each elected to the board, but acknow l in many w ays." She pledges to do
residing in different neighborhood edges that she has no special q u ali anything in her pow er to "m ake
zones but elected by all o f the
district's voters.
W ynde says the system was
designed to prevent five or six board
m em bers from living in the same
neighborhood, like Irvington, while
making them accountable to repre
sent the entire school district.
Schultz, on the other hand, said
sure every BPS fam ily has Internet
access" if elected to the board.
W ynde cites the b o ard 's cre
ative use o f Title I funds to restore
full-day kindergarten and secure
better stu d e n t-tea ch e r ratios in
struggling schools, saying, "w e
have to rem ain vigilant in making
sure low -incom e students are be
ing served.”
Ruth A dkins an d incum bent
D oug M organ are ru n n in g in the
only o th er co n tested school board
ra c e , r e p r e s e n tin g s o u th w e s t
Portland. T w o other board incum
bents. B obbie Regan and D ilafruz
W illia m s , a re ru n n in g u n o p
p o se d .
Superintendent Search Begins
P o r tl a n d P u b lic
c o m e a g a p in
S chools are in search
a c h ie v e m e n t b e
f o r a new su p e rin te n
tw een m in o rity and
dent afte r last w e e k 's
n o n - m in o r ity s tu
s u rp ris e a n n o u n c e
d en ts. But ac tio n s
m ent on the u p co m
to clo se sch o o ls in
ing d ep a rtu re o f S u
the w ake o f cu ts to
p e r in te n d e n t V ick i
s ta te
e d u c a tio n
Phillips.
sp en d in g and a re
Phillips is leaving
d esig n o f Je fferso n
the district June 30 to
High School in north
b e c o m e d ire c to r o f
P o r tl a n d
a ls o
education for the Bill Vicki Phillips
b ro u g h t c o n tro
and M e lin d a G a te s
v ersy .
Foundation.
Her proposals to close down
D uring her th ree y ea r tenure eight neighborhood schools, most
at P ortland. P h illip s has w orked in north and northeast Portland,
to increase test sco res and o v e r drew heated protests.
Alberta Mob Tied to Drunkenness
Total chaos mixed with alcohol
and police to create a mob scene on
N ortheast I8th and A lberta Street
T hursday.
T h e d is tu rb a n c e b ro k e o u t
around 10 pm during Last T hurs
day. an art event held each month
along Alberta, when an officer tried
to arrest Ryan H artm an-Parsons a
22-year-old who was allegedly in
the midst o f a fist fight.
Police said they tasered Hartman-
Parsons when he disobeyed orders
to stop the fight. W hen one officer
ran back to his car to get cover and
another placed his taser on the
ground to arrest H artm an-Parsons,
another man identified as Joshua
H annum , 30, picked up the weapon.
Police said sparks Hew again
when Hannum com plied with the
officer to drop the taser, but the
crow d began to throw bottles and
scream at police. As the mob grew,
the intersection o f 24th and A lberta
was blocked off. People also tried
to ju m p on cars, police said.
Sgt. Brian Schm autz, a Police
Bureau spokesm an, said that some
o f the people involved in the distur
bance had too much to drink and
others seem ed to be the anarchist
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