September 27, 2017
The
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Week in Review
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The Portland School District is looking to end the housing of a public charter school serving predomi-
nately black and disadvantaged families at the former Humboldt Elementary School in north Port-
land with a focus option school for gifted children that are 70 percent white.
School Faces Displacement
KairoxPDX serving black
kids may lose building
d anny P eteRson
t he P oRtland o bseRveR
A proposal by Portland Public Schools would dis-
place KairosPDX, a public charter school of predomi-
nantly black kindergarten to fourth grade students, with
ACCESS, its focus option school for gifted children
that are 70 percent white.
Last week, House Speaker Tina Kotek, whose legis-
lative district covers north and northeast Portland, said
the proposal “flies in the face” of PPS’ commitment to
equity.
by
Arts &
ENTERTAINMENT
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KairosPDX is located at the former Humboldt El-
ementary School on North Gantenbein Avenue and
just south of Alberta Street. The school’s curriculum
is aimed specifically at closing the achievement gap
for students of color and other disadvantaged students.
Kali Ladd, the executive director of KairosPDX, said
the move would be detrimental to their mission.
“This is the heart of the black community,” Ladd
told the Portland Observer.
The proposal, if passed, would not go into effect un-
til the 2018/2019 school year. Finding a future location
for KairosPDX or deciding where current students will
get distributed, is still undetermined.
C ontinued on P age 15
Business Leader Settles with State
Mediation ends
investigation
of Jay and
nonprofits
M iChael l eighton
P oRtland o bseRveR e ditoR
Roy Jay, a prominent and long
time business leader and com-
munity advocate from Portland’s
African American community, is
no longer under investigation by
the Oregon Attorney General after
entering into a settlement with the
state Department of Justice that
ends a three year investigation
into the alleged misuse of monies
from three nonprofits he headed.
No admission of wrongdoing or
fault was made in the settlement
that was reached on July 27 after
all sides in the dispute agreed to
mediation, according to court doc-
uments in the case.
The agreement does, however,
require that the three nonprof-
by
O PINION
C LASSIFIEDS
C ALENDAR
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F OOD
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Roy Jay
it groups Jay was involved in be
disbanded in Oregon, including a
popular program he founded that
gave former inmates a chance to
clear criminal records and improve
their employment prospects.
State investigators spent three
years trying to determine if there
was an inappropriate use of funds
for Jay’s tax-exempt Project Clean
Slate, along with the Independent
Development Enterprise Alliance,
and the African American Cham-
ber of Commerce, nonprofit groups
he co-founded over the years.
All parties agreed that it made
sense to end the case because the
cost to further litigate the accusa-
tions would exceed any potential
benefit, according to a summa-
ry of the settlement conditions.
Under terms of the agreement,
$600,000 will be paid to the state
by the Philadelphia Indemnity
Insurance Co., representing Jay
and the nonprofits; and Jay and
his board co-directors will not
be able to serve future fiduciary
roles for non-profit organizations
in Oregon for the next seven years
without prior notice and approval
of the Oregon DOJ.
Jay has always denied the alle-
gations that led to the investigation
against him. Statements from his
supporters accused state investiga-
tors of looking into a “conspiracy
to discredit one of Portland’s hard-
est working business and commu-
nity ambassadors” and spending
$1.6 million in taxpayer funds to
“topple the well known leader from
the black community.”