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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 10, 2012)
Pa£e2_______________________ ^.lortlanh (©bseruer____________________ fu n d in g fo r lib ra rie s in to th e fu tu re, re sto re re c e n t cu ts in lib rary h o u rs, an d p ro te c t an d re s to re p ro g ram s fo r c h ild re n , stu d e n ts, sen io rs an d jo b s e e k e rs . T h o se a g a in st the new tax a r gue th at M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty has h is to ric a lly b een very g e n ero u s to the lib rary . O n a p e r re sid e n t b a s is ,'th e o p p o n e n ts arg u e that the local lib rary sy ste m c o sts ta x p a y ers tw ic e as m uch as lib rary sy ste m s a c ro ss the c o u n try . A n o th e r a rg u m e n t a g a in st a lib rary d is tric t is th a t it w ill g iv e p e rm a n ent ta x in g a u th o rity to a g ro u p o f u n e lec te d g o v e rn m e n t e m p lo y e e s w ho w ill no lo n g e r h av e to a n sw e r to vo ters. If v o te rs say y es to the P o rt land P u b lic S c h o o ls m e a su re , it w ill au th o rize $482 m illion o f g e n eral o b lig a tio n b o n d s to u p g rad e s c h o o ls . F r a n k lin , G ra n t a n d R o o se v e lt H igh S c h o o ls, alo n g w ith F au b io n p reK -8 sch o o l in n o rth e a s t P o rtla n d , w o u ld g e t c o m p lete rem o d els. O th e r sch o o ls w o u ld b e n e fit fro m u p g ra d e s to le a k i n g r o o f s , s t r e n g t h e n e d a g a in st e a rth q u a k e s, and p ro v id e for in creased d isab ility access. All m id d le school scie n c e c la ssro o m s w o u ld be u p g ra d e d , an d the d is tric t c o u ld rep ay p re v io u s c a p ita l c o st lo an s. T h e e ig h t-y e a r s c h o o l b o n d w o u ld c h a rg e p ro p e rty o w n e rs $ 1 .1 0 p er $ 1,000 in a ssessed p ro p e rty v alu e. F o r th e o w n e r o f a h o m e w ith $ 1 5 0 ,0 0 0 in a sse sse d v a lu e, th at c o m es to a b o u t $ 165 a y e a r fo r e ig h t y e ars. P o rtla n d P u b lic S ch o o ls is the la rg e st sch o o l d istric t in O re g o n w ith 78 sch o o ls and 4 7 ,0 0 0 s tu d e n ts . M o re th a n h a lf o f th e sch o o ls w ere b u ilt b efo re 1940 and o n ly tw o h av e b een b u ilt w ith in th e last 30 y e ars. T h o se in fa v o r o f the sch o o l b o n d a rg u e th a t i t ’s tim e to r e in v e st in o u r c ity ’s sch o o ls. B a c k in g th e b o n d ’s s u g g e s te d im p ro v e m e n ts, a d v o c a te s say le a rn ing im p ro v es w ith b e tte r le arn in g e n v iro n m e n ts. T h o se a g a in st a r g u e th at new b u ild in g s are no g u a ra n te e to stu d en t su cc e ss. T h e c u rre n t a v e ra g e g ra d u a tio n rate fo r PPS sch o o ls is 62 p e rc e n t an d n e arly h a lf o f g ra d u ates fall b e lo w s ta n d a rd iz e d m ath an d re a d in g sk ills. C ritic s say th e sch o o l d istric t sh o u ld c lo se and c o n s o lid a te lo w -e n ro llm e n t s c h o o ls , so re m a in in g s c h o o ls b e co m e stro n g e r. level. Estim ated to raise annual funds o f $ 12 m illion, the new tax will pay to hire m ore arts and m usic teachers fo r kindergarten through 5 th grade in the Portland, C entennial, D avid D ouglas, R eynolds and R iverdale school districts. T he tax m onies w ould be adm inistered by the R e gional A rts and C ultural C ouncil. S u p p o rters p o in t to the steep decline in arts and m usic program s in P ortland Public Schools. In ju st tw o years, PPS d ropped all arts in struction in 22 schools. A dvocates say th is m e asu re e n su res every The A rt Incom e T ax w ould levy a P o rtlan d e lem en ta ry stu d en t re $35 tax p er y ear on all city residents ceiv es an arts education, w hich has w ith exceptions o f those individu proven to help children reach their als living below the federal poverty fu ll p o te n tia l, ra ise test sco res, g raduation rates and co lleg e adm ittance. O nly 18 percent o f P o rtla n d elem en ta ry schools provide art in struction com pared to 83 percent nationally, and 58 p ercent o f PPS schools provide m u sic e d u c a tio n c o m p ared to 94 percent nationally. T h o se against the A rt Incom e T ax see it u n f a ir ly im p a c tin g p eople w ho are finan cially struggling, stay- at-hom e-spouses and co lleg e students. C ity C o m m is s io n e r-e le c t S te v e N o v ic k h a s called the proposed tax reg ressiv e. O verall, com bining PHOTO BY CARI H a CHMANN/T h E PORTLAND OBSERVER the tax m easures for Courtney Dixon and her three daughters check out books and do homework schools, libraries and at the Multnomah County Library at North Killingsworth Street and Commer the arts represent an 8 cial Avenue. Dixon said most nights they have to hustle or they wouldn't to 9 percent increase make the library's reduced closing time of 5 p.m. Before budget cuts, the o v er last y e a r’s av er library closed at 8 p.m. If voters pass the Permanent Library District Tax in age property tax bill, November, Multnomah County libraries will return to their extended hours. officials said. Shared Priorities c o n t i n u e d f r o m front October io. 2012 Come Out for Our Families! We believe all our families have so much in common: we struggle to access healthy food, quality education, affordable healthcare, and housing. Our families also face discrimination that prevents us from thriving in our workplaces and our neighbor hoods. As families of color, we experience unique challenges as we work to keep our homes, our jobs, and our health. These struggles affect Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) families of color in very unique ways. LGBT families of color are part of the fabric of our com munity and members of our own families. Alliance of Minority Chambers Causa Oregon Farmworker Housing Development Corporation Latino Network Lewis & Clark Law School Native American Youth and Family Center Northwest Health Foundation Oregon Action Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN) Oregon's Farmworker Union Unfortunately, some of our LGBT family members do not feel our community's full support. So, in honor of National Coming Out Day, we are coming out as friends, fam ily and public allies of LGBT families of color. We believe our communities are stron gest when all families - extended families, multi-generational families, single-parent families and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families - have the resources, re spect and love they need to thrive. We believe it's time to come out in support of all our families. Join us! Mariotta Gary-Smith, Health Educator, Multnomah County Health Department Lorena Manzo Lead Organizer, Causa Oregon Larry Roper, Vice Provost for Student Affairs, Oregon State University Sharon J. Gary-Smith, Executive Director, McKenzie River Gathering Foundation Nichole J. M aher Northwest Health Foundation Carmen Rubio Executive Director, Latino Network Avel Louise Gordly Jason M ak Diana Ruiz Lisa Reed Guarnero Donna M axey Commissioner, City of Portland Human Rights Roy Hunter Sampsel, Executive Director, Institute for Tribal Government, PSU Joe McFerrin II, President/CEO, Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center (POIC) June Arim a Schumann, Board co-ehair, Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) Jilma Meneses, Chief Diversity Officer, Portland State University Ty Schwoefferman, Health Equity Organizer, Urban League of Portland Sho Shigeoka Emi Hanaw a School Psychologist, Portland Public Schools Levi Herrera-Lopez, Executive Director, Mono a Mono Family Center Portland African American Leadership Forum Linda Hornbuckle, Community Health Special ist, Multnomah County Health Department Portland Japanese American Citizens League Miki Hunnicut Captain Kevin Modica Portland Police Bureau, Youth Services Division Portland State University Rich Iwasaki Portland Japanese American Citizens League Alberto Moreno, Executive Director, Oregon Latino Health Coalition- Kay se Jama, Executive Director, Center for Intercultural Organizing M att Morton, Executive Director, Native American Youth and Family Center Dante James, Director, City of Portland Office of Equity and Human Rights Thaeh Nguyen, Asian Pocific American Net work of Oregon (APANO) Annabelle Jaramillo Commissioner, Benton County Melissa “ M im i” Nolledo Chairperson, Eugene/Springfield Asian Council Roy Jay, Executive Director, Alliance of Minority Chambers Pam Phan, Member, Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) Roberto Jimenez, Executive Director, Formworker Housing Development Corporation Lolenzo T. Poe, Jr. Chief Equity and Diversity Officer, Portland Public Schools J.B. Kim, Assistant Dean, Diversity and Academic Resources, Lewis & Clark Law School Vera Poole Multnomah County Sherrlff Larry Kleinman, Secretary-Treasurer, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN) Oregon’s Farmworker Union Midge Purcell, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy, Urban League of Portlond Urban League of Portland (All other organizations listed for affiliation purposes only.) Donny Adair, President, Donny Adair Consulting Tina Adair, Membership Services Representative, Kaiser Permanente David Barrios Native Community Member Andrae I. Brown Associate Professor, Lewis & Clark College Cyreena Boston Ashby Portland African American Leadership Forum Jo Ann (Bowman) Hardesty Karol Collymore Gerald Deloney Se-ah-dom Edmo, Tribal & Diversity Outreach, Lewis & Clark College Paul Knauls Community Leader Susan Leedham, Co-president, Portland Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) Antoinette Edwards, Director, City of Portland’s Office of Youth Violence Prevention, Co-Founder of PFLAG Portland Black Chapter Thomas Le Ngo, Asian Pocific American Network of Oregon (APANO) Keith Edwards International Business Representative, IBEW Francisco Lopez Executive Director, Causa Oregon www.basicrights.org/ourfamilies Guadalupe Quinn, Program Coordinator, Immigrant Rights Advocacy Program (Amigos) Rev. W illiam Sinkford Senior Minister, First Unitarian Church Commissioner Loretta Smith District 2, Multnomah County Channbunmorl (Chom) Sou, Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) Lamar Tillman, Outreach Coordinator, Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette Tricia Tillman, Administrator, Office of Equity and Inclusion Sheila Warren, President, Portland Parent Union Myrna-Yvonne Williams, Afrlcan American AIDS Awareness Action Alliance (A6) Ron Williams, Executive Director, Oregon Action Jean Yamamote, Co-president, Portland Japanese American Citizens League Anita Yap Gauri Rajbaidya Ramon Ramirez Presidente, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN) Oregon's Farmworker Union Liani Reeves General Counsel, Office of the Governor Suk Rhee, Vice President, Planning & Operations, Northwest Health Foundation E ~www l H ispanic N ews •lhi*»*ric new s twe——- Official latino & LGBfQ publications for BRO O U r FAMILIES A project of Basic Rights Oregon
