PPS says its all about school safety ... Just don't mention the earthquake, because there's almost no money for seismic upgrades in this bond!

From the Oregon Economics blog:

Now is a good time to raise, once again, the question of why we are being asked to pay $548 million for school facilities improvements that does almost nothing to address the very desperate need for seismic improvements in Portland Public Schools?

Maybe that's in the next $548 million phase.

PPS hastily approves teacher contract giving raises to thousands of teachers and firing hundreds of teachers

As reported in the Oregonian, the despite criticism from parents and one school board member's adamant opposition, the Portland school board approved a new teacher contract that will bring the district's 3,200 teachers slight pay raises and result in hundreds of pink slips.

The agreement between the union and the board was reached a light speed and behind closed doors. The Oregonian explains the reason for the super quick hush-hush agreement:

The quick approval of the contract, reached less than a week ago and prepared entirely out of public view clears the school board's agenda to work on securing voter approval of a record tax increase on the May ballot.

Hang on to your wallet: PPS and teachers union set to ink contract ... with ZERO public input!

The Oregonian reports that PPS administration and teachers union leaders have agreed to terms for a new two-year teachers contract. Some highlights:

• The deal will be signed, sealed, and delivered early next week. That was when the two sides' full negotiating teams were slated to meet to present their initial, yes initial, proposals for contract terms.

• The entire deal has been worked out behind closed doors, without involving the full negotiating team from either side or a single public discussion of potential contract terms.

• All terms of the contract are a closely held secret. According to communications director Robb Cowie, the district doesn't plan to reveal them until after the start of the school board meeting next week.

Looks like sometime next week Portland's teachers union will issue a statement fully supporting the largest property tax increase in state history.

Oregonian letter: PPS needs to provide evidence that it can deliver results

Southwest Portland resident, Vanessa Wilkins, writes:

Voters and parents are tired of hearing about budget and program cuts and fearful of our poor academic results. We are desperate for answers and leadership. The school board has only one choice: to present real, evidence-based reforms and a compelling vision for the future of Portland Public Schools alongside the investments they are asking us to make.

If they can promise and produce educational results that make us proud, we will support them with our votes and our taxes.

Read the complete letter in the Oregonian.

Oregonian guest columnist: Can we trust PPS with all that money?

Oregonian guest columnist John Braestrup writes:

Portland voters are being asked to approve a huge bond measure this May. So we need to ask ourselves some questions to determine if the measure makes economic and educational sense.

Has Portland Public Schools told us that test scores, dropout rates and graduation rates will improve 20 percent if the measure is passed? Do we really need to spend money on every K-12 school? Isn't it really the junior and senior high schools that may need better labs and scientific equipment, not the elementary schools where the teacher, not the building, makes all the difference? Will the measure allow union and non-union contractors to bid equally so the money is well spent? Are there alternative means of raising money such as selling or leasing idle or underutilized properties that PPS owns? Can't PPS consolidate facilities, closing some schools and thereby reducing personnel overhead, maintenance and other operating costs, especially when district enrollment has steadily declined for the past 20 years?

These are only some of the questions we should be asking PPS.

Equally important is the matter of timing. Why didn't the district schedule its labor negotiations earlier so it could show progress in demanding and obtaining accountability by teachers, principals and the entire school system?

Citizens would be a lot more willing to pass the bond measure if PPS had shown its willingness to solve some of the core problems facing our schools.

Unrelated directly to the bond issue is the elephant in our living room -- the future unfunded costs of PERS. These costs will take away from every state function -- education, safety, roads, you name it. If PERS is not reformed, taxes in some form will have to rise, some businesses will likely look elsewhere to invest and many high-income individuals will leave, resulting in a stagnant Oregon economy with high unemployment.

Many voters believe government spending at all levels is out of control. The PPS measure is just another example of uncontrolled government spending.

Since our children started elementary school some 20 years ago, we've seen four or five PPS superintendents come and go, each one stating that he or she would change the system and with just a little more money everything would be fine. Yet there has been little improvement in student achievement. Oregon's status among the other states puts us in the bottom quarter, unable or unwilling to compete for the Obama administration's offer of federal grants.

I think voters should reject the upcoming bond measure as a means of forcing Portland Public Schools to achieve significant progress with the teachers union and then resurrect the measure a year or two later. Certainly a delay of one or two years is not going to change things dramatically. And if voters sense that real accountability has been established and progress has been made in the system, then maybe a better bond measure can be proposed and passed.

We're all for good schools and better pay for excellent teachers and principals, but they have to be accountable for turning out good students able to compete in the real world.

Source: Oregonian