Multnomah Co. Online Voters' Guide
November 2006 General Election

Portland School District

Measure No. 26-84

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

In the year 2000, voters approved a five-year local option levy for Portland Public Schools. Over that period of 2000-2005, student achievement improved at virtually every grade level in the four subjects tested by the Oregon Department of Education: reading, mathematics, writing and science. Portland students now regularly match, and often exceed, the state averages in terms of percent of students meeting standards, a rare occurrence among urban districts.

That local option expired in 2005.

Currently, Portland Public Schools serves students in 85 schools throughout the neighborhoods of Portland.

PPS has designed its budget to provide its 47,000 students with educational services including:
Class sizes that provide students with individual attention from teachers;
Up-to-date textbooks and learning materials;
Extra help for at-risk and struggling students;
Art, music and PE classes as part of a complete curriculum;
Classrooms that are safe and maintained; and
Curriculum, technology and training that prepare students for their future – whether they go on to college or career.

In order to meet these goals, the Portland Public School District has referred a new five-year local option levy to the voters.

The local option levy will help fund:

1. Teachers in every school with class sizes that provide students the chance for individual attention.

2. Tools for learning and teaching including:

Up-to-date textbooks, workbooks, and teaching materials; and science labs and libraries equipped with current technology.

3. Classroom safety and maintenance

In addition, Portland Public Schools will use this funding to:
Protect reading programs that promote literacy in early grades;
Strengthen math and science programs;
Protect vocational and technical classes that provide skills that prepare students for the workplace; and
Provide more kids with access to art, music and physical education.

Schools with Fiscal Accountability and Taxpayer Oversight
Since the last local option levy was passed in 2000, Portland Public Schools has:
Reduced central administration costs;
Sold or leased unneeded buildings and land;
Ended the practice of administrative contract buyouts; and
Had key functions audited by independently-elected auditors.

This local option will mandate independent citizen oversight to ensure that tax dollars are used for purposes approved by local voters---teachers, classrooms, learning materials, educational programs and curriculum.

No funds from this local option levy will be used for district administration.

ARGUMENT IN FAVOR

Yes on Measure 26-84
For Strong Schools and Successful Kids.

Strong, quality public schools are the foundation of success for our children, families, neighborhoods, and community. They're also the backbone of a strong, local economy-- teaching the skills businesses need, and attracting new jobs to help continue our economic recovery.

Portland Public Schools -- serving 47,000 students at 85 schools throughout local neighborhoods-- strives to provide each child with a quality education preparing them for the next level of achievement.

This renewed five-year local option levy will help them do that, funding:

• Nearly 400 teachers – some in each school – so class sizes offer students individual attention;
• Up-to-date textbooks, workbooks, and teaching materials;
• Vocational and technical classes providing skills preparing students for the workplace;
• Extra help for at-risk and struggling students, including full-day kindergarten;
• Access for more kids to art, music and PE classes as part of a complete curriculum; and
• Classrooms that are safe and maintained.

Accountability to Taxpayers
Since the last local option levy-- passed in 2000 and expired in 2005, Portland Public Schools cut spending and saved taxpayer dollars by:

• Reducing central administration costs;
• Selling or leasing unneeded buildings and land;
• Ending contract buyouts for administrators; and
• Having key functions audited by independently-elected auditors.

This local option mandates independent citizen oversight to ensure tax dollars are used for purposes approved by voters – teachers, classrooms, learning materials, educational programs and curriculum.

No funds from this levy can be used for district administration. All funds remain in Portland Public Schools with none going to Salem or to the rest of the state.

We count on our local schools, and now they're counting on us. Please join us in providing this critical support for our local children, teachers, and classrooms.

Vote Yes on Measure 26-84
The Local Option for Portland Public Schools

Julia Brim-Edwards, Sho Dozono, Portlanders for Schools Campaign Co-Chairs
Earl Blumenauer, Honorary Campaign Chair

(This information furnished byEarl Blumenauer,
Honorary Campaign Chair Portlanders for Schools)

ARGUMENT IN FAVOR

Parent Volunteers Know Our Schools,
And They Know Our Schools Need Measure 26-84 .

As active volunteers, we're in our local schools everyday, across our community. We know firsthand how hard everyone is working to educate our children. Teachers work hard to provide kids with a challenging, rigorous curriculum with enough individual attention. Special support is provided for struggling students. As a result, student achievement in PPS is on the upswing.

In order to continue providing our kids with reasonable class sizes and a well-rounded curriculum, please support the Portland Public Schools Local Option Levy, which will fund:

• Nearly 400 teaching positions – some in each of our 85 schools – so kids can continue to receive individual attention when needed;
• Up-to-date textbooks and learning materials ;
• Access for more kids to music, art and PE as part of a well-rounded curriculum;
• Protection of vocational and technical training programs to ensure students are prepared to succeed in their future if they don't go right to college;
• Strengthening math and science programs , including science labs and needed technology; and
• Ensuring classrooms are safe and provided basic maintenance.

This levy pays for the very foundation of a sound education, in each school in Portland.

Something else you should know: The money for schools goes directly into the classroom. It cannot go towards administration. There is mandated citizen oversight, so funds are used as the voters intend – for teachers, classrooms and up-to-date materials.

After repeatedly failing to fix the problem, the state legislature cannot be counted on for adequate school funding. We must take responsibility for protecting our local schools ourselves so that this remains a community where families can raise their children.

Join us in voting YES on 26-84!

(This information furnished by Rhys Scholes,
Portlanders for Schools)

ARGUMENT IN FAVOR

Senior Citizens Support Measure 26-84!

As senior citizens, we don't have children in school right now, but we will be voting for Measure 26-84, which will provide urgently-needed resources to our Portland Public Schools.

Here's why we support this funding for our local schools: We attended public schools in various communities where we were raised. For us, and for so many of our friends, that experience made all the difference in the world. Many of us could have easily gone down the wrong path. We didn't, in large part because our schools were good. We received the individual attention that young people need, classrooms that were in good condition and current textbooks. We were offered a wide range of classes that are central to a well-rounded education.

Of course, good schools were important to us kids as we were growing up. But they were even more important to the community we became a part of. Honoring and supporting public education was the foundation of most everything we were proud of about our country. It was a responsibility our parents and grandparents were pleased to shoulder, even through the depths of the Depression, or the War.

With age comes a bit of wisdom, and a bit of perspective. We can see more clearly than ever that when our public schools are strong, we all benefit. Good schools keep kids in class, out of trouble and prepare them to be good citizens. That means a better, safer and more prosperous community for all of us. By supporting schools, we honor and keep faith with the generation before us, who did the same for us. We can't imagine a more important example to set for today's young people.

At about $12 per month for the typical homeowner, our local classrooms, teachers and students are a truly good investment. Please join us in voting Yes on Measure 26-84!

Elders in Action Commission

(This information furnished by Betty Brislawn,
Elders in Action Commission)

ARGUMENT IN FAVOR

Classroom teachers across Portland know that the Local Option Levy is essential to educating our community's children

We are classroom teachers in Portland Public Schools. We are proud of the progress students are making at every grade level.

Currently teachers provide:

• Individual attention to students because we have reasonable class sizes;
• Students who are struggling academically with the extra help they need to succeed;
• Assistance to English language learners so they can read, write and speak English faster;
• Reading programs that promote student literacy in the early grades, and
• Vocational and technical training to students who seek these skills for the workplace.

All of this, and more, is at stake with the PPS Local Option Levy.

The local option provides essential funding that our schools cannot obtain from anywhere else. And we believe that after repeatedly failing to solve the problem, our state legislature cannot be counted on to come through. So, we're asking our local community to help out our schools by supporting Measure 26-84, which will:

• Keep reasonable class sizes so that student achievement continues to improve;
• Fund the purchase of more up-to-date books and learning materials, as well as the teaching materials we need to be successful; and it will
• Support enough teaching positions to allow us to provide more kids with access to art, music and PE – as part of a well-rounded education.

The bottom line is – kids have one shot at getting a decent education. When they go without enough teachers and books to go around, we're sacrificing part of their future. Let's not allow any more kids to lose their chance at the best education possible.

Join us in Voting YES on 26-84.

(This information furnished by Jeff Miller,
Portland Association of Teachers)

ARGUMENT IN FAVOR

Portland Public Schools works hard to be accountable to taxpayers and deserves your support.

As Oregon's State Treasurer, it's my job to keep an eye on the financial bottom line. Taxpayers expect that government will spend dollars in a responsible way.

As a parent with three kids attending Portland Public Schools, I expect no less.

PPS strives to put every possible penny into the classroom, and to budget their stretched resources in the most prudent way. Examples include:

• Cutting central administration by nearly 66% since 1991;
• Selling or leasing unneeded school buildings and land;
• Ending the policy allowing ‘buyouts' of administrative contracts; and
• Putting key functions through performance audits, by independently-elected auditors.

In the year 2000, Portland voters approved a five-year local option which expired in 2005. In 2005, student achievement in Portland Schools improved at every grade level in reading and math.

Now, Portland Public Schools needs reinvestment by our community in a renewed local option. These funds will go to support nearly 400 teaching positions, purchasing up-to-date textbooks and learning materials for students, and protect funding for vocational and technical education so critical for students to gain the skills that businesses need.

As the state's financial watchdog, I am particularly pleased that this local option law mandates citizen oversight of funds so that we know they go to the uses promised – teachers, learning materials and classrooms.

Our schools are the backbone of our neighborhoods and, equally as important, serve as the foundation of a strong economy. Schools can even help continue our economic recovery by attracting more businesses to our community and helping those already here to expand.

Please join me in supporting our local schools. At about $13 per month for the typical homeowner, we can enjoy a great return on our investment.

Oregon State Treasurer Randall Edwards

(This information furnished by Randall Edwards)

ARGUMENT IN FAVOR

SMALL BUSINESSES SAY PLEASE VOTE YES ON 26-84

Strong Schools are essential to Portland's neighborhoods and business districts

Small business creates most of the jobs in our community. We also represent the entrepreneurship, energy and hard work that is the key to our economic future.

As locally-owned small business owners, we are strong supporters of Portland Public Schools Local Option Levy , because we know that our success depends on strong, vital neighborhoods, of which schools are a critical institution:

• Strong schools help attract and keep young families with children in Portland – an important customer base for us.
• Strong schools can help continue our economic recovery by attracting more small businesses, and expanding those already here, to our thriving neighborhoods.
• Strong schools create the workers of the future, and provide them with skills that businesses need to succeed.
• Strong schools are the best form of public safety we have – keeping kids focused and productive instead of distracted by more marginal activities.

We also like the accountability built into the local option levy law :

• Funds are to be spent on teaching positions, learning materials and routine classroom maintenance – all vital elements of a good learning environment for our children.
• The law mandates citizen oversight of expenditures so we know that dollars are spent as voters intended – for teachers, classrooms and up-to-date learning materials.
• No funds can go to administration and no funds will be sent out of our community – to Salem or to the rest of the state.

A tax is never something one looks forward to paying. But this money is a wise investment in our children's and community's future, and its accountability is clear.

VOTE YES ON 26-84.
It's a good business decision.

(This information furnished by Mike Roach,
Paloma Clothing)

ARGUMENT IN FAVOR

My kids are grown. But I'm still voting YES for our schools.

I'm a 60-something Portlander, looking towards retirement. My kids are grown and gone from home. I'm generally wary of new taxes at this point, since everything I save means I can retire earlier.

Yet, I'll be voting YES for Portland Public Schools' Local Option Levy – Measure 26-84 – and here's why:

• We all benefit when kids are in school and engaged. It keeps them out of trouble and means we will have better citizens and a better workforce. After all, when we are retired, we will be counting on today's students. For students to succeed they need a strong and complete curriculum, including PE, art, and music – which will be available to more kids if the local option funding passes. If we go back to the budget cuts of the recent past it will mean limited classes, and larger class sizes – both of which allow kids to fall through the cracks.

• Schools help retain all of our property values. As long as there's a good school in my neighborhood, we continue to attract new residents – including young families with children. That contributes to my bottom line, and to yours, too.

At $12/month for the typical homeowner, this is a sound investment for empty-nesters. And I appreciate the accountability: none of the money from the local option can be used for administration, and citizen oversight is required to monitor how these dollars are spent.

Of course, not all of the reasons for voting yes have to do with self-interest. We owe today's children the same good education that our parents and grandparents – as well as many community residents – provided for us.

VOTE YES for Portland schools.
It's the smart – and right – thing to do. 

Lynn Beveridge

(This information furnished by Rhys Scholes,
Portlanders for Schools)

ARGUMENT IN FAVOR

Social Service Providers Say Vote Yes on Measure 26-84
Because they Want All Children to Succeed!

Portlanders share a common desire that all of our children have the opportunity to be successful in life even if we have many different definitions of what success might be. Helping agencies like ours are at work in every neighborhood because too many children are “at-risk” of losing that opportunity.

We work closely with children who need extra help because of issues in their families such as mental illness or addiction. Children who face these challenges can still succeed in life, but it is often up to the community to make sure they have the tools needed to overcome barriers. Good schools make a big difference.

Children all need and deserve a good education, but our schools are especially important to “at-risk” kids. In particular, reasonable class size means students who need a little extra attention can get it. In an overcrowded classroom, they can get lost.

In addition, schools need to be able to provide kids with special programs that help with reading or expose children to art and music, especially for kids who can't get that extra help anywhere else. When budgets are cut, those programs go away and at-risk kids lose those essential supports.

Measure 26-84 is a common-sense approach to making sure that schools are there for all kids, including those who need schools the most. Voting Yes on Measure 26-84 is the way we can express our common desire that all of our children have the opportunity to be successful.

Join us in voting YES on 26-84!

(This information furnished by Kathy Turner)

ARGUMENT IN FAVOR

WHAT DO OUR CLASSROOMS NEED?
ASK US: WE'RE IN THEM EVERY DAY!

We're high school students from Portland Public Schools. We work hard to learn, and we have great teachers helping us. Please help us keep enough teachers to go around, and to get more current books, by supporting the PPS local option.

Right now, there are lots of kids in our classes, but we can still get our teachers' attention when we need it. Without the PPS local option funding, we'll lose nearly 10% of our teachers and then who knows how many kids will be in our classrooms?

If the local option passes, our schools get two more important tools. One is more kids getting access to art, music and PE . Some get those classes now, but some don't. Many kids really like those classes, and without them – we wonder whether they would even stay in school.

The other help the local option gives us is newer books and workbooks. Many of the books and materials we have to use are frustrating with old, out of date information. We have science textbooks missing elements from the periodic table of elements. And there aren't enough books to go around, especially literature books.

We need your support for our future. Many kids want to go to good colleges, and without this local option, our schools will be missing classes and programs that colleges look for.

Many of us have been to Salem to lobby for more money for our schools. Year after year, they don't come through. That's why we're turning to our neighbors to help take care of our local schools.

We know we're responsible for working hard in school, and we try our best. But we need current books, and enough teachers and classes to succeed.

Please vote Yes on Measure 26-84.

(This information furnished by Scott Bailey,
Portlanders for Schools)

ARGUMENT IN FAVOR

Stand for Children urges you to support our community's children by
Voting YES for our local schools

Stand for Children is a citizen voice for children. We advocate for improvements to, and funding for, programs that give every child a fair chance in life.

Our local teachers and school staff are working hard to help struggling students, to provide a rigorous curriculum for all students, and to increase student achievement at all levels. We can all help them by joining together to support the Portland Public Schools Local Option this fall.

Measure 26-84, the PPS local option, will provide the funding necessary to:

• Keep class sizes reasonable so students have access to individual attention from teachers. Research has shown that students do better in smaller class environments;
• Protect reading programs that promote student literacy in the early grades;
• Strengthen math and science programs, including specialized teachers, science labs and needed technology – so kids can compete in the workplace and in life; and
• Prevent cuts to P.E. for students, which play a key role in fighting childhood obesity and promoting overall physical health.

All funds from the local option for Portland Public Schools must be spent on teachers, learning materials and classrooms; none can be spent for administration and none is shipped out to Salem or the rest of the state.

And the levy mandates citizen oversight so we know funds will be spent on these critical classroom needs.

Strong schools are the backbone of our community and the means to success for our community's children. Please join us in standing up for Portland's children - VOTE YES for Portland Public Schools Local Option Levy.

(This information furnished by Shannon Campion,
Stand for Children)