Page A3
January 9. 2008
Jefferson Gets
City’s Attention
Mayor, staff will move in for a week
by R aymond R endleman
T he P ortland O bserver
T he City C ouncil agenda on
W ednesday evening, Jan. 16, will
C eleste Jackson, senior-class include consideration o f a resolu
president at Jefferson High School, tion to create a new O ffice o f Hu
got her wish after leading a group of man R elations, which will focus on
students to m eet with M ayor Tom elim inating discrim ination and big
Potter.
otry and strengthening relation
Potter accepted her challenge ships between groups in an increas
last fall to visit the school and show ingly diverse city. A Racial Profil
case the opportunities, successes ing Com m ittee will present a status
andchallenges facing Jefferson and report on its work.
other Portland schools.
During the week, city em ployees
Potter said he would not only alsocom e armed with m ore than 30
visit the school, but bring along his other projects ready for student
entire staff and invite political and input.
civic leaders, as well as parents and
Citing the im portance o f know
local business ow ners to join him. ing how governm ent works. Jack-
B eginning M onday, Jan. 14, son hopes the experience serves to
Potter will conduct a w eek's worth unlock doors all around. “I wanted
o f city-hall business at Jefferson people to see all o f the good things
and deliver his annual State o f the that are going on, what w e’re striv
City A ddress from the north Port ing for and all o f the kids going to
land cam pus.
college against all odds,” she says.
“T he more that average folks in
The student initiative to orga
Portland see Jefferson, the more nize a week o f events led to a theme
th ey ’ll understand w hat’s going fo r ea c h day s ta rtin g w ith a
on there,” said Potter, in a recent Jefferson scholarship show case on
meeting with Jackson to prepare for M onday. C areers will dom inate
the tem porary move. “It’s about Tuesday, ci vie immersion W ednes
w hat’s occurring at Jefferson and day, parents and com m unity T hurs
all the good things that people just day, and cityw ide support for stu
norm ally do n ’t read about.”
dents Friday featuring the m ayor’s
Besides exposing the public to a annual address at 12:15 p.m. in the
different perspective on the school, school’s auditorium.
students have assured time in front
Students and city officials are
o f more than 1 (X) city em ployees and seeking ways for interactions to
Jefferson alumni who are prepared to provide opportunities for seeing
past stereotypes.
share personal experiences.
photobi
R aymond R endi . eman /T he P ortland O bserver
Celeste Jackson, Jefferson High School's senior-class president, speaks with Mayor Tom Potter as the entire City Council and city
staffers prepare to relocate to the north Portland school for one week.
W hitney Egbert, assistant to the
mayor, acknow ledges the lim ita
tions o f the gesture, since city gov
ernm ent lacks direct political co n
trol over schools.
“ W e're not there to fix the prob
lem s,” Egbert says. “W e’re there to
say that there are a lot of things that
we can do as people.”
Egbert and Jackson point out
that Jefferson is not unique in its
struggles and argue that the school
deserves some reconsideration.
“W e'v e lacked support, so his
being here shows that h e’s willing
to do what he can,” Jackson adds.
“T he only way people can change
their perceptions about Jeff is if
they com e and see for them selves."
Aggressive
business
management
This free event will help you
learn about organizing your
finances, preparing for tax
season and bonding
Jan. 22. 2008
9:00 a.m. to noon
Metro Council chambers
600 N.E. Grand Ave.,
Portland
Three accredited professionals will
present information on accounting
issues, record keeping and information on
becoming bond certified Presenters include
Joyce LaGae, LaGae Bookkeeping, Byran
Justrom, Young & Justrom, CPA, and Don
Shanklin, Assurety Northwest
To register, call A n g e la W a tk in s , Metro
MWESB coordinator, at 503-797-1816 or
send e-mail to watkinsa@metro.dst.or.us.
Updating School Facilities Possible
Icon buildings could get renovated or replaced
by R aymond R endleman
T he P ortland O bserver
A planning process is giving
Portland Public Schools hope for
m illions o f dollars a year to repair,
renovate or replace buildings with
a property tax bond measure.
Everyone can pretty m uch agree
that PPS facilities need investment.
The schools have experienced "d e
ferred maintenance for many years,”
according to Leslie R ennie-H ill,
ch ief o f high schools.
Birdie Kirk, head custodian at
Benson High School with 29 years
o f school-district experience, gives
an exam ple: D elayed circulation-
schools, but anything else about
school buildings could be changed
or refigured.
“W e’re com m itted to 10 viable
h ig h - s c h o o l c a m p u s e s ,” sa id
Rennie-H ill, "but I doubt that high
schools will look very much like
they do now in 10 years.”
At Benson, continuing staffing
cuts have nearly put the high school
in crisis mode. Year after year has
seen the end o f trade programs
unique to the technical school.
A recent PPS building assess
ment uses the same w ords for many
schools, including Benson: “This
facility is in relatively good condi-
day, Jan. 22 at Madison High
School and Wednesday, Jan. 23
at Franklfh High School.
“ The desperation
came from not being able
- to stop gambling.”
"I made the call to get some help.
I found people that really understood m e...”
"I was mesmerized. ”
"I d id n ’t know that gambling did not affect
everyone the way it affected me. ”
photoby R aymond R endi . eman /T he P ortland O bserver
Benson High students Nate Hepp (from left) Santiago Rivera,
Jamar Johnson and Chris Williams, discuss issues that impact
the school, like needed renovations and repairs and dwindling
technical and vocational course offerings.
sy stem a d ju stm e n ts th a t h av e
caused m old problem s in buildings
are not unique to the now -dem ol
ished W hitaker M iddle School.
W hitaker, a northeast Portland
cam pus that opened as John Adams
High School in 1969, serves as a
case study in discussions on the
cost priorities for district buildings
that are nearing an average age of
70. Kirk cites unheeded w arnings
about W hitaker's physical condi
tion to argue that adequate m ainte
nance budgets are needed.
PPS officials said they will keep
options open for facilities until they
hear from the com m unity. A com
prehensive study on the condition
o f school buildings will be pre
sented to the public in the com ing
weeks.
W ith enrollm ent figures stabiliz
ing, there are no plans toclosc more
tion, how ever loss funding has
forced the district to elim inate cy
clical im provem ents to buildings
such as painting, roofing replace
ment and brick preservation."
The neglect o f maintenance in
Portland’s schools has some v et
eran staffers up in arm s about the
push for rebuilding w hile less and
less goes tow ard w h at's already
there.
“You ca n 't build a building w ith
out m aintaining it," Kirk says.
District officials invite com
munity members to give input
on specific recommendations
fo r each o f Portland's school
buildings and other facilities.
Sessions will be held from 7 to
9:30 p.m. in school cafeterias
Tuesday, Jan. 15 at Jefferson
High School; Wednesday, Jan.
16 at Wilson High School: Tues-
"The counselor made me understand that
there was hope and I have not placed a
bet in 6 years.”
Problem Gambling Helpline
1 877 MY LIMIT
Treatment is free, confidential and it works.
Professional counselors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Log on to 1877MYLIMIT.org for more information or to chat with a counselor on line.
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