Portland observer., June 29, 2011, Page 3, Image 3

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June 29, 2011
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Fred Meyer
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Vernon Elementary, 2044 N.E. Killingsworth St., will take in the entire seventh and eighth grade
classes from Rigler Elementary this September, to ease overcrowding at Rigler.
Rigler Kids Moved to Vernon
Seventh and eighth graders impacted
The P ortland School B oard
on M onday reassigned R igler
seventh and eig h th grade stu ­
dents to V ernon School w hen
classes resum e in Septem ber.
The board approved Superin­
tendent Carole S m ith’s proposal,
which will transfer Rigler m iddle-
grade students to Vernon to ease
o v e rc ro w d in g a n d ad d 100
m iddle-grade students to Vernon
pages 15-17
however, are more than 40 blocks
apart or about two and a half
for a total o f 200, enough for miles. Rigler K-8 school is lo­
more teachers and programs.
cated at 5401 N.E. Prescott St.,
A c co rd in g to S m ith 's p ro ­ and Vernon school is located at
posal, V ernon is a good fit b e­ 2044 N.E. Killingsw orth St.
cause like R ig ler it is also a p re­
U nder the d istric t’s new high
k in d e rg a rte n to eig h th grad e school red esig n , V ernon is now
school, has m ore room , teach ­ a feed er school to M adison in ­
ers and p ro g ram s, feeds into stead o f Jefferso n H igh School,
M adison H igh School, and is w hich beco m es a college m ag­
close in distan ce to R igler.
net p ro g ram in association with
The distances between them. P o rtlan d C om m unity C ollege.
IM H M M W H H M M M nM M
H ousing Plan Tackles D iscrim ination
S ports
pages 18-19
C lassifieds
page 20
J uly C alendar
page 23
F ood
page 24
Advocates work
with city leaders
for fairness
by M indy C ixiper
T he P ortland O bserver
Despite a recent survey which
found widespread housing discrimi­
nation in Portland based on race
and nationality, one local non-profit
organization says City Commis­
sioner Nick Fish’s new five-year
action gives hope for a more equi­
table future.
“It is not a question any more of
whether discrimination isgoingon,”
said Elisa Aguilera, co-director of
the non-profit Community Alliance
for Tenants. For her, the high-levels
of inequity in fair housing didn’t
come as a surprise, but were still
extremely heartbreaking.
According to Aguilera, one of
the most perpetuating reasons in­
equality in fair housing has been
difficult to identify in the past is
because of the lack of strong indus­
try regulations.
“There are a lot of good land­
lords,” she said. “But there are some
who don’t know their rights and
responsibilities, and the burden is
on the tenant to hold the landlord
accountable.”
Although there was an eruption
of criticism for a lack of enforcement
against the violators of fair housing
laws in Portland after the audit, many
housing advocates are also con­
cerned with the lack of details from
the collected data.
Aguilera said she has seen more
movement towards real solutions
since the audit report.
“We have clearly identified some
strong and meaningful solutions,”
she said.
In the past, the Community Alli­
ance of Tenants hasn’t participated
in the housing discrimination sur­
vey, called an Analyses of Impedi­
ments, because of the lack of politi­
cal will in fair housing to carry out
meaningful recommendations.
This year, however, she said there
are a number of ‘political champi-
continued
on page 23