Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

Portland Public Schools Superintendent Carole Smith announced on Friday that Toni Hunter, deputy superintendent for the district, would remain interim principal at Jefferson High School for the coming academic year, which will likely be a pivotal time for the north Portland school.

In May, Hunter was appointed temporary principal of Jefferson after a routine audit of the school’s finances revealed questionable financial practices. The audit suggested that they were due to lax management at the school. Cynthia Harris, the school’s principal, and Reis Wilbank, the school’s business manager, were placed on administrative leave shortly after the audit was released.

The audit found that donations were improperly placed in the principal’s account, reimbursements lacked proper documentation, independent contractors were paid before contracts were written, and a number of accounts were running deficits, among other problems.

Harris, who became principal of Jefferson in 2007, is currently under investigation by the district. No conclusive findings have been released. Wilbank was laid off.

While serving as principal of Jefferson, Hunter will retain her duties as deputy superintendent, which include supervising schools in the Lincoln, Franklin and Jefferson clusters. She will also continue to play a key role in the district by helping make decisions regarding the budget, and will continue to serve on the superintendent’s executive committee and academic cabinet.

“As a long-time principal, I am excited to be back on the ground working with educators and students in a high school. I look forward to helping Jefferson continue to build on the successes we’ve seen in the past two years,” said Hunter, who served as principal of Grant High School from 1997 to 2007, in a prepared statement.

The coming academic year will likely be critical for Jefferson. The district is currently in the midst of a stalled redesign of its high school system that would consolidate the number of high schools in an effort to more equitably distribute resources to students.

The superintendent’s redesign plan called for closing Marshall High School in southeast Portland and reopening it as a magnet, while drastically shrinking Benson Polytechnic High School in northeast Portland.

Supporters of Jefferson, the state’s only majority black high school, praised her plan because it would have boosted attendance and funding at the school, which struggles to meet academic standards.

However, several school board members signaled that they felt that there just weren’t enough resources in the district to keep Jefferson open as a neighborhood school, and suggested reopening it as a smaller magnet school.

The board could make a decision on Jefferson’s fate this September.

Students from Jefferson High School pack a School Board meeting on June 16. Photo by Jake Thomas.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

After hitting a number of snags,significant community push back, and facing other serious issues, the plan to significantly overhaul Portland Public Schools’ high school system has been delayed until the fall.
At the school board meeting on Monday, Superintendent Carole Smith, who initiated the redesign project last year to address gaping inequities in the high school system, said that no action would be taken on the plan until September.

The announcement was a major if not temporary reprieve for supporters of Jefferson, Benson and Marshall high schools, neighborhood campuses impacted most by the redesign proposals.
Smith, reading from a prepared statement, said that she and board leadership were in agreement that the complex proposal needed more time, especially when the district had been distracted by the June 4 disappearance of Skyline Elementary student Kyron Horman and a major budget shortfall.

Smith reiterated her support for the redesign program, which would dramatically alter three high schools and roughly equalize the number of students and funding at neighborhood high schools.
Claiming the proposal would bring “game-changers” to the district, she said that it would guarantee the same education to each student, regardless of their race or economic status, and reduce segregation at each school.

“We have tolerated gross inequities in access to educational opportunity. We have allowed (and sometimes forced) communities to negotiate their own trade-offs among advanced and support classes, arts and career exploration. We have pitted schools against each other for enrollment,” she said.

In order to equalize the number of students at each comprehensive neighborhood high school, the redesign as first proposed, would have required the closure of Marshall High School, in southeast Portland, and would significantly reduce the enrollment at Benson High School in northeast. The move drew emotional appeals from supporters of both schools at recent board meetings.

Earlier this month, a majority of board members, took a turn by expressing support for making Jefferson High School a specialized magnet school in order to cope with budget strains.

Backers of Jefferson had supported Smith’s original plan since it would have boosted enrollment and funding, while establishing an academic priority zone that would give it even more resources.

Jefferson community supporters drew a line in the sand over possible closure at a board meeting on June 16.

“It seems that when we play fair, this is the end product,” said Tony
Hopson, prominent alum of Jefferson who heads the public charter school Self Enhancement Inc., which serves low-income and minority students.

Hopson said that supporters of Jefferson were fighting for a school that had steadily lost investment by the district over decades.
He added that if the district planned to move forward with plans to close the school supporters would grow increasingly confrontational at school board meetings, jumping on desks, just like during protests end forced busing efforts in the 1980s- and he didn’t care if they called the police.

On Monday, Smith specifically addressed Jefferson, calling it a “central dilemma in this process for a host of valid, compelling and conflicting reasons,” and seemed to have heard the concerns expressed from Jefferson supporters.

“The question about what happens at Jefferson demands that we address our school district’s long-standing failure to deliver on its promises at the Jefferson campus and to Portland’s African-American community,” said Smith. “It also means that we need to recognize the school’s historical connection to the identity of that community and accept that we must move forward in a way that builds community trust and support.”

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

The pleas to keep Jefferson High School open became demands on Wednesday night at a scheduled school board work session on the district’s plan to rework its high school system, with the head of a prominent charter school threatening civil disobedience if the historically black school was closed.

Earlier this month several school board members stated at a meeting that they couldn’t proceed with plans to revamp the high school system without closing yet another high school to cope with a state budget shortfall, depriving the plan of the votes needed to move it forward. Under the plan, Marshall High School in outer southeast Portland would be converted into a magnet school, and Benson Polytechnic in northeast Portland would become a very small specialized school. School board members reasoned that the because Jefferson had an already small student population, making the school a magnet school would cut down on costs and make the plan feasible.

The district’s headquarters was brimming with boosters of Jefferson. They sat on the steps in the aisle of the board meeting room, they sprawled out on the floor, and generally took up every inch of space. Before the meeting, they recited chants in support of the school in a booming, unified voice.

The only members of the school board that made it to the meeting included David Wynde, Trudy Sargent, Ruth Adkins, and Bobbie Regan. With such a large absence, Sargent, the board’s co-chair, said that the work session was canceled, but the present school board members would listen to yet another public comment session. She also said that the final decision on the school redesign would have to wait until June 28.

Raul Velasquez, a supporter of Jefferson High School whose son attended it five years ago hold a sign at a school board meeting on Wednesday. “I love Jefferson,” said Velasquez, who said it’s been an important place for African Americans and Latinos alike.

“Realistically, we didn’t come here to talk,” said Tony Hopson, a prominent alum of Jefferson who heads the charter school Self Enhancement Inc., which serves low-income and minority students. Speaking before Superintendent Carole Smith and the board members present, he said that the supporters of the school had fought for too long for a school that had been steadily dis-invested from for decades.

Ron Herndon, a longtime civil rights leader in Portland who lead raucous protests against desegregation efforts that placed a disproportionate burden on black children in the 1980s, told school board members that the city’s African American community has been systematically deprived of educational resources for decades.

He said that promises had long ago been made to the Jefferson community by the district, which hadn’t been forgotten by those with “long memories.” Herndon explained that black children were “scattered” to far away schools during past desegregation efforts, and this was yet another callous move by the district toward this community. Unfair desegregation efforts were only stopped by strong community pressure, said Herndon, who added that would also stop the closure of Jefferson.

The rest of the listening session consisted of protests from supporters of Jefferson who claimed that the move to close the school smacked of racism.

“I liken the busing system and this whole thing going on with Jefferson with slavery,” said Wendy Battles, an African American woman who claimed that closing Jefferson would dissolve an important hub in the city’s black community.

Thomas Lauderdale, a musician known for his work with the band Pink Martini, recalled a story of working with the Jefferson choir, which he described as phenomenal, but saw its talent undermined by a district decision to move an “unqualified” teacher to the school to oversee its music program.

“I think this is indicative of how the district has handled Jefferson for at least the last four years,” he said.

Hopson closed out the meeting saying he was disappointed with how the board expressing support for closing Jefferson after all the meetings and good faith efforts to come to a fair solution.

“It seems that when we play fair, this is the end product,” said Hopson, who told board members that they were “ripping the heart out of black people across the city.”

He also added that if the district planned to move forward with plans to close the school people would get rowdy at meetings, jumping on desks, and he didn’t care if they called the police.

The Portland Observer supports nothing less than success for Jefferson High School as a comprehensive high school.

News that a majority on the Portland School Board is moving toward closing Jefferson as a neighborhood school is a completely unacceptable outcome from a high school redesign process that was supposed to bring equity to the education of our children.

The timeline for making this decision is also very troubling. The proposal came just last Thursday when board members signaled their intentions, going against Superintendent Carole Smith’s plan to build Jefferson into a comprehensive neighborhood school. Now the board is scheduled to form a resolution on a high school redesign proposal on Wednesday with a possible vote to close Jefferson coming as quick as next Monday. It’s unfair to have only 10 days to consider this plan and less than a week to comment on the formal details.

The north and northeast Portland community served by Jefferson is scrambling to make its opposition known. The Portland Observer joins the Urban League of Portland and many other community leaders asking the public to inform the superintendent and school board that the closure of Jefferson is unacceptable.

How can the Portland School District, let alone the city of Portland, justify not having a comprehensive neighborhood school in one of the most populated areas of the city, in the heart of so many communities that are home to minority and disadvantaged populations?

Why should inner north and northeast Portland be forced once again to scatter our children into other high schools and displace our own identity as a community?

Jefferson High School has been hurt by 40 years of school district reforms that have not worked, but instead contributed to parents sending their children to other schools. This trend must stop.
The district should take steps to improve the academic offering at Jefferson and support an environment that will enable Jefferson students to succeed.

Tony Hopson, a Jefferson graduate who leads the highly successful public charter school Self Enhancement, Inc., said it best, “The same black and white children and families who shop on Alberta and Mississippi and walk their dogs through Unthank Park and who live in the Jefferson neighborhood will attend Jefferson when the district finally respects the neighborhood enough to provide the appropriate long-term resources, when it hires quality leadership, when it provides a rigorous curriculum, when it changes the boundaries and when it lets those of us who know how to cross racial lines to support, enhance and motive all children have the full opportunity to do so.”

We simply cannot support this latest plan that closes Jefferson High School as a neighborhood school. The superintendent’s plan to downscale Benson High School as a four-year school into a specialized two-year program also comes on the backs of Portland’s minority and lower income populations. Benson has been a successful program for African Americans and others for generations and should get the board’s full support.

The Portland School Board is scheduled to vote on the proposals for reconfigurating high schools on Monday, June 21 at 7 p.m. at the Blanchard Education Service Center, 501 N. Dixon.

There will be a public signup period. The Portland Observer encourages you to make your opinion known by attending this meeting and by contacting the board and superintendent through the following telephone numbers and emails:

Superintendent Carole Smith, carolesmith@pps.k12.or.us

Contact for the PPS Board of Education can be found here.

Jefferson alum writes two children’s books

Random House has published Jefferson High School graduate Renée Watson’s first children’s book to be released in stores June 22.

A Place Where Hurricanes Happen records the voices of four young friends describing their lives before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina. They learn that even though the world can change in a heartbeat, it’s people who shape the character of a community and offer comfort and hope in the darkest hours.

Philanthropist and author Caroline Kennedy writes in the book’s forward, “A profound tribute to the power of friendship to heal and give us hope in troubled times. This book explores the impact of a national tragedy in the most personal terms and is engaging and whimsical at the same time — an impressive achievement.”

Watson’s second book, published by Bloomsbury, will be in stores July 6 and ready for pre-order on June 24: What Momma Left Me. After the death of their mother, Serenity Evans and her younger brother go to live with their grandparents, who try to keep them safe from bad influences and help them come to terms with what has happened to their family.

Booklist writes, “Packed with events, details, and revelations, this first-person novel creates a believable portrayal of Serenity, struggling through a difficult time but drawing strength from her wise, loving African American family and their broader community.”

Watson, class of 1996, grew up in Portland, where even as a child she was writing and acting. Whether in school or church plays, in the living room with her family or in the privacy of her journal, she has always had a story to tell.

She has worked in public schools and community organizations as an artist in residence for several years, teaching poetry, fiction and theater in Oregon, Louisiana, and New York City. Her one woman show, Roses are Red, Women are Blue, debuted at New York City’s Lincoln Center at a showcase for emerging artists. Her poetry and articles have been published in Rethinking Schools, Theatre of the Mind and With Hearts Ablaze.

Author plans book signing

Portland native Renee Watson will be sign her children’s book “A Place Where Hurricanes Happen” at a celebration for the release of the book on Thursday, June 24 at 7 p.m. at A Children’s Place Bookstore, 4807 N.E. Fremont St.

One of Watson’s passions is using the arts to help youth cope with trauma.

She has facilitated poetry and theater workshops with young girls coping with sexual and physical abuse, children who have witnessed violence, children coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and children who relocated to New York City after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

Watson currently lives in New York City.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

A high school redesign proposal has hit more snags, putting into doubt whether it will be approved by the school board by a June 21 deadline. The latest skid came Monday when School Board members suggested converting Jefferson High School from a neighborhood school to a specialized magnet program.

Superintendent Carole Smith had recommended making the district’s only predominantly African American high school a comprehensive neighborhood school and enforcing boundary requirements for attendance with limited transfer opportunities.

The initial concept also called for converting Benson Polytechnic High School into a specialized two-year program and Marshall High School into magnet school. The seven other remaining high schools would be transformed into comprehensive neighborhood high schools, with roughly the same amount of students, funding, and course offerings.

But this was before news that the state was facing a massive budget shortfall, which could result in $19 million decrease in funding to PPS. Because of the lack of funds school board member Bobbie Regan and Trudy Sargent, who co-chairs the board, both said they couldn’t get behind the eight comprehensive school model. Martin Gonzalez also said he wouldn’t vote for the proposal because of cuts to Benson.

Last month, Gonzalez suggested moving Benson’s technical programs to Jefferson, which evoked a spirited reaction at a community forum at Self Enhancement Inc., a northeast charter school that serves low-income and minority students that feed into Jefferson.

At the meeting, Tony Hopson, SEI president and CEO, scolded school board members and Smith for continuing a history of ill-fated tinkering at Jefferson that has sapped the school of the resources it needs to thrive.

Interestingly, Jefferson was converted to a performing arts magnet school in 1974 with the aim of attracting more white students to the predominantly black school. The proposal failed to attractive a significant number of white students, and since then the school has struggled to keep attendance from dipping.

According to numbers on the district’s website, only 23 percent of students in the surrounding neighborhoods attend Jefferson. It also has the smallest number of students at 617.

At the school board meeting on Monday, Regan reasoned that the small number of students there made it a good candidate to become a magnet school, as well as its proximity to Portland Community College’s Cascade Campus, where a partnership could be formed.

Hopson supported Smith’s original proposal, arguing that the original redesign would equalize funding for the city’s high schools by requiring students to attend their neighborhood school. He said that the proposal would build on the positives Jefferson already has going for it and enhance the image of the school overall.

He also pointed out an aspect of the redesign that has received sparse mention: “academic priority zones.”

One of the driving forces behind the redesign is to close in on the Portland’s sobering achievement gap. These zones would direct successful and experienced teachers and principals to schools including Bridger Elementary, George Middle School, Jefferson High School, Kelly Elementary, King Elementary, Roosevelt High School and Sitton Elementary.

The zones would also allocate greater support for students and families with more intervention, case management, and extended learning opportunities after the school day.

The plans for Benson remain in controversy because Smith estimates a reduction in attendance to 400 students with some cuts to its technical offerings.

“It was kind of a win-lose thing,” said John Slaughter, Benson alum who runs the schools mentoring program.

The redesign was supposed to convert Benson into a two-year program, but Smith altered the proposal after Slaughter lead a boisterous group of students that pleaded with school board members not to take away its status as a four-year school at a meeting last month.

There are 1,100 students at Benson, according to 2009 numbers found on the district’s website. Slaughter said that having such a drastic reduction in students will affect the overall experience at the school.

The school board will consider the High School System Design proposals again Thursday when a meeting is held at the Blanchard Education Service Center, 501 N. Dixon. The session will begin with a public hearing at 4 p.m. followed by a 5 p.m. work session.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

Portland Public School’s Superintendent Carole Smith’s plan to redesign the city’s high school system developed another tangle last night when it became clear she did not have the votes on the school board.

Citing a $19 million reduction in funding to PPS due to a massive state budget shortfall, several members stated that they couldn’t support Smith’s plan, which calls for eight comprehensive high schools and for two neighborhood schools to be transformed into specialized schools.

In order to cope with the shortage of funds, but still move the redesign forward, several members pitched the idea of turning Jefferson High School, PPS’s only predominantly African American school, into a magnet school. Board members reasoned that it’s already a small school, and that its proximity to Portland Community College Cascade Campus would make it well-suited for some sort of partnership.

Martin Gonzalez, a school board member, suggested moving Benson’s career-oriented programs to Jefferson, which drew heated responses.

It’s worth noting that the district has tried converting Jefferson into a magnet, but with a different set of motivations.

For a little perspective, here’s an excellent article by Ethan Johnson and Felicia Williams on the history of the high school.

Here’s a passage that provides some perspective on the district’s past efforts:

In 1971, some of PPS’ top administrators circulated a confidential report, “Portland Schools and Integration — Some Alternatives” with further ideas for ending de facto segregation at Jefferson High School. The plan included seven alternatives, six of which involved clustering or pairing schools with busing to achieve racial integration. The seventh alternative was “closing Jefferson High School or making it an alternative facility.” Realizing the unpopularity of busing Euro-American students, the school board chose option seven and changed Jefferson High School from a general curriculum high school to a magnet performing arts school in 1974. This change failed to reduce the percentage of minority students at Jefferson because too few Euro-American students were interested in transferring to the magnet program. By 1978, the new arts magnet program had attracted 124 new students. Ninety of those were Euro-American, but the total number of incoming students was not enough to reduce the racial imbalance at Jefferson High School.

Smith has explicitly stated that the plan will result in greater diversity at each high school, but has denied that it’s a concerted effort to desegregate PPS.

Portland Public schools confirmed to the Portland Observer yesterday that Jefferson High School Principal Cynthia Harris has been put on paid administrative leave.

Matt Shelby, the district spokesperson, said that the district is not talking about the circumstance behind the decision.

Willamette Week is reporting the school’s business manger, Reis Wilbanks, has also been put on leave.

The paper has also learned of an audit that found numerous red flags in the school’s finances. Sixteen of Jefferson’s student body sub accounts had negative balances, and Harris made several purchases with accounts also bearing negative balances.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

The Jefferson High School community had a clear message for school board members and Superintendent Carole Smith: Don’t tinker with the high school redesign proposal anymore.

Last week, news that the school board wanted further revisions on Smith’s ambitious plan to reduce the number of high schools triggered further controversy on an already touchy topic.

Smith’s original plan called for turning Marshall High School in southeast Portland into a focus school, and Benson Polytechnic School into a part-time program open to students district wide.

But at a work session last week, school board members instructed PPS staff to look into the idea of moving Benson’s vocation-oriented program to Jefferson High School, an idea that drew passionate protests from staff, students, and alum of the predominantly African American school.

Tony Hopson- the head of SEI Inc., which sponsored the forum- speaking before Smith and several school board members said that Jefferson had been systematically stripped of resources and set up for failure for decades under a number of proposals from the district.

He suggested that further revisions to Jefferson were on the table because the school was perceived as the path of least resistance.

“The district has systematically raped Jefferson over the past 40 years,” said an impassioned Hopson, who drew wild applause from the packed room.

Interestingly, most people who spoke at the forum told Smith and board members that they supported Smith’s proposal, which would require students to attend their neighborhood schools, brining in more funding and equal course offerings, and build on positive trends at the northeast Portland school.

“That’s what this proposal does, is it allows us to grow the good things at Jefferson,” said Andy Kulak, a teacher at Jefferson.

“I speak in support of this proposal, and I ask the board, please don’t walk away from this proposal,” he added.

Others noted that Jefferson, which some consider to have a bad reputation, has a strong sense of community, and a lot going for it that people don’t recognize.

A woman Beaverton said that considered herself part of the Jefferson community and always impressed with the sense of pride students took in their school.

“I know that when you are in Jefferson, you find a spirit you don’t find anywhere else,” she said.

Joyce Harris, of the African American Alliance, said that Jefferson has excelled “in spite of the inequities” it faces.

People gathered at Lents Commons in southeast Portland to respond to news that nearby Marshall High School will become a focus school under a plan to change the high school system.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

About 40 people piled into Lents Commons in southeast Portland yesterday evening to sound off on news that Marshall High School would be transformed into a focus school under Superintendent Carole Smith’s plan to revamp the city’s high school system.

It became clear from the meeting that few attendees- which included students, alumni, parents, teachers, and residents-supported the proposed change to the high school and expressed concern about what it might do to the area.

The idea behind the proposal is that because schools are funded based on the number of students they have, the district ought to assign a roughly equal number of students to each school so that funding is equalized. Currently Portland’s high schools vary widely in the number of student that attends them under its transfer policies, and don’t offer the same course offering or educational programs.

Most families in neighborhoods near Marshall, for instance, transfer their children other high schools.

The plan seeks limit transfers of students from their neighborhood high school to get an average of 1,200 students at each school in hopes that each can offer more consistent quality curriculum.

The plan involves reducing the number of comprehensive neighborhood high school from 10 to 8, which means converting Marshall into a focus school in 2011 and Benson Polytechnic High school, in northeast Portland, into a specialized school that Portland high school students wanting to get technical training would attend part-time.

Nick Christensen, the chair of the Lents Neighborhood Association, kicked off the meeting by reading from Portland Public Schools’ mission statement that expresses a commitment to give a quality education to all students. The reading of the statement drew an incredulous guffaw from someone in the audience.

“Portland public schools isn’t necessarily doing that right now, and the closing of Marshall may not help that,” he continued.

Becca Stavenjord, the education chair for the neighborhood association, pointed out that the proposal will be voted on in June by the full school board, and asked for solution-based comments.

One woman asked what the focus of the new school will be.

Zeke Smith, the chief of staff for PPS Superintendent Carole Smith who was present, replied that the district is still gauging interest from educators before it answers that question.

“I think it’s almost impossible to be excited about a focus school at Marshall when you can’t tell us what that is,” she replied, adding that the proposal will divide the community and siphon off business from the area.

Another person in the audience asked why an already small school, like Jefferson High School in northeast, wasn’t going to be made into focus.

Smith responded that educators and community members at Jefferson have worked hard to maintain a small-school atmosphere, and that was taken into account during the process. Under the proposal, Jefferson would continue to have a smaller student body than many other schools

Another resident who identified himself as a teacher at Marshall expressed concern that a focus school wouldn’t be able to sustain any athletic programs, which contribute greatly to the vibrancy of the neighborhood.

“You kill this community,” said the man, to applause, if there were no long athletic programs at Marshall. “You kill it.”

One of the reasons cited for turning Marshall into a focus was the potential for it to collaborate with the nearby David Douglas School District. One man questioned whether Marshall was targeted because a potential arrangement with the neighboring school district might bring in cash for PPS.

Smith responded that if David Douglas, which he described as “bursting at the seams,” used any facilities at Marshall they would pay at cost, and it didn’t factor heavily into the decision.

However, it was noted at the meeting that the plan isn’t finalized. The proposal could be modified between now and when the PPS board votes on it in June 21.

“Nothing is off the table,” said Smith.

Your June 16 editorial against the recently-announced proposal put forth by the majority of school board members to close Jefferson High School, was an excellent, thoughtful, and informed one, and I applaud you.

You did a great job illuminating how high the stakes are at this moment; that their vote is not merely today’s intent, but is a continuation of the history of disrespect and thoughtlessness that has contributed to Jefferson’s current difficult moment.

It is public record that Portland Public Schools has a less than enviable history in response to the needs and aspirations of students of color, low-income and poor students and, particularly African-American students. As a result, the public education of our children includes numerous sorry chapters, with Jefferson HS bearing constant witness to ideas for change that never materialize for the betterment or benefit of our students.

The anticipated move by the board to close down Jefferson, challenges the recommendations of a thoughtful Superintendent who has given evidence that she is trying to do differently than her predecessor; which certainly should count for more than a quick “hands down!”

That Carole Smith has recommended a new starting point for Jefferson – and Benson – although flawed in a number of aspects, provides room for consideration and negotiation to benefit the many families and students in our community who have historically been ignored or dismissed, and we need that option.

I’d suggest to our school board that they be more transparent, honest and brave enough to tell the truth about their quick and sudden agreement; that they more clearly articulate the assumed benefits and the implications for their choices.

I’d further suggest that they give the larger Jefferson HS community the same level of consideration and deference they accorded to the more affluent and connected Grant High School when suggestions for change, including closure, surfaced.

Anything less is simply unacceptable.

Sharon Gary-Smith
Community and Social Justice Advocate

Paul Anthony

The Humboldt Neighborhood Association opposes the plan to close Jefferson High School. We strongly support a high school redesign that will include Jefferson as a comprehensive neighborhood high school.

The perennial issues at Jefferson have been created by Portland Public Schools, and Portland Public Schools has a responsibility to repair what it has damaged, not walk away from its own mess. Within living memory, Jefferson was one of the finest schools in the state. But over the last 30 years, the revolving door of leadership at Jefferson, along with funding issues, has stigmatized this fine school. Academic life at Jefferson has regularly been disrupted by trendy, untested programs, poorly implemented, with no continuity or follow-through. Under your leadership, Jefferson has become the very embodiment of unsustainability.

The school is one of the things in which our diverse neighborhood takes pride; the current proposal, announced without sufficient opportunity for adequate community input, takes advantage of a manufactured crisis to close not just an historic landmark, but what is and must continue to be an essential part of the fabric of public education in Portland.

We are convinced that if Jefferson is closed as a neighborhood school, the revised high school boundaries will divide our neighborhood between two or more schools, further fragmenting our community identity. Jefferson is the heart of our neighborhood, a community that sees our diversity as one of our most treasured assets, and we believe that with proper leadership, funding and programs it can thrive. As described in the modified plan proposed by Superintendent Smith, specifically increasing the projected number of students advanced to the school and reinforcing its core program would be a great start in rebuilding Jefferson. The parents of young children in our neighborhood are committed to their children, their local schools, and to sending their children to Jefferson.

We believe that Portland Public School’s treatment of Jefferson High School through the last 30 years, culminating in its current proposal to close the school, is disgraceful. The School Board cannot justify its leadership credibility while leaving one of the most populated areas in the city and state without a comprehensive neighborhood high school.
As parents and as community members, we want Jefferson to be a strong and healthy neighborhood school, the center of a multicultural, diverse and vibrant neighborhood. The district should follow up on the Superintendent’s proposal to make major investments to improve Jefferson’s academic offerings and support an environment that will enable Jefferson students to succeed. The opportunity to bolster Jefferson as a comprehensive school is also an opportunity to bolster pride in our neighborhood and unite our community.

We insist you support a high school redesign that will include Jefferson as a comprehensive neighborhood high school.

Paul Anthony
Chair
Humboldt Neighborhood Association

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

Jefferson High School Principal Cynthia Harris and the school’s business manager Reis Wilbanks were placed on administrative leave last week by Portland Public Schools.

Matt Shelby, district spokesperson, wouldn’t discuss the reasons behind the decision, but it was made shortly before the release of an audit of Jefferson’s finances, which paints a damning picture of how money was handled at the northeast Portland school, and points a finger at top management for lax practices.

The audit found “… a lack of internal controls over the operation of the Student Body Funds and an inconsistent tone at the top which resulted in an override of established policies and procedures without written justification,”

According to the audit, which examined school finances for the school year that ended June 30, 2009, 16 student body funds were in the red, an increase of six funds from the last year that carried a deficit.

“Fund deficits should not be allowed to occur; expenses should not be approved without sufficient funding,” stated a letter from auditors to district officials outlining their findings.

The letter includes an explanation from Harris who noted that the student body funds are made up of grants and donations, and that, “The timing of these funds coming in does not always fit within the end of the fiscal year.”

The audit also found that two donations of $5,000 or more to Jefferson that were designated for a specific use were improperly placed in the principal’s discretionary account.

It also found 21 reimbursements, totaling $7,590, did not contain receipts or adequate supporting documentation, and on four occasions money was spent out of accounts that were running deficits.

The audit took issue with how the school oversaw personal services contracts, finding that four such contracts did not comply with requirements laid out in the Student Body Funds manual or with district policies. It also found that these contracts did not include a written agreement.

Auditors also found instances where contractors were paid before a contract was ever inked.

“Such informal procedures make it difficult to determine if all contractors are performing the work required by the contract,” the report stated.

The audit also scrutinized a lease agreement for a latte machine. The machine was to be used to serve fans during school athletic events and was available for staff use during school hours. A 2008 audit found that the machine operated “at a significant loss,” before the Jefferson ended the lease. Auditors were not furnished with a requested copy of any analysis of the staff’s use of the machine.

The audit recommends developing a written plan to deal with the deficit balances, and that the school takes steps to bring its financial practices in line with district policy.
Deputy Superintendent Toni Hunter was named temporary principal of Jefferson.

Jefferson High School Sophomore Josh Stark helped coordinate the north Portland school’s Carbon Footprint Fair. Photo by Lee Perlman.

Lee Perlman

When I stepped into the Jefferson High School gym, the playing floor was occupied by a series of tables and booths devoted to various environmental resources and concerns. I am directed to a row of tables, behind each of which is a student.

I take a seat and a young man takes me through a survey of my personal habits. He is polite and easy-going, but I soon find my own truthful answers embarrassing – No, I don’t use low-flow plumbing; no, I don’t garden; I drive far more frequently than I use any other means of travel.

When we are done he gives me the printed verdict: If everyone on earth lived the way I do, we’d need 4.5 times the resources the earth has to offer to accommodate us all. My questioner assures me I did well; the average American uses his or her share of the resources of six earths every year.

For the second year, Jefferson’s Carbon Footprint Fair did its part to send its message: we all need to live a more sustainable lifestyle if our planet is to survive. The rest of last month’s fair offered resources to help those who came achieve these ends. Some were supplied by public agencies such as Metro or non-profits like the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, but most were put together by student volunteers, like the fair itself.

The event drew about 600 visitors. Among the visitors were students from Ockley Green and Trillium schools, and the Self-Enhancement and Harriett Tubman academies.

“We wanted to bring in students because they are our future experts and leaders,” faculty advisor Laura Belinsky told the Portland Observer. It was with this audience in mind that the fair had a table devoted to Green Jobs – what they are, what salaries they pay, what requirements they have.

The fair was put together by the Jefferson Sustainability Group, students and faculty who meet during lunch and after school to promote environmentally-friendly practices. They recruited 40 students to help run the fair, and group member Josh Stark, a sophomore, says it wasn’t hard to do.

“People are starting to get the message,” Stark told the Portland Observer. “There’s a green or sustainable way to do everything on earth; you just have to find it.”

The survey reminded people that “there’s always room for improvement,” he said.

Stark personally hopes to have a Green job someday; he will be seeking to attend Boston University with a major in mechanical and a minor in electrical engineering, he said.

Jefferson has made itself more sustainable; they recently received a $15,000 grant from the Earth Day Network to install photo-voltaic solar panels on the school, one of ten institutions to receive such a grant out of 80 applicants.