December 2009

Dishonor Roll

Jerry Lively - Get some balls

May 2001 – Shortly after the Willamette Week story,  The Poisoning of Whitaker , the PPS Facilities Director instructed Jerry Lively (Maintenance Manager) to have his staff increase ventilation in the buildings while they were being tested for Radon gas.  This had the effect of skewing the Radon testing results.  Jerry complied.

May 2008 –  The Oregonian reported in Portland Lets School Building Maintenance Slide  that PPS let its maintenance program sink into chaos.  There were numerous examples of screwed up priorities.  Requests to repair safety hazards in buildings full of children were ignored while district administrators received rapid service for tasks such as interior redecorating. 

The Oregonian’s analysis showed that repairs at schools in the poorest shape received $1 less per square foot than the district’s newer and more affluent schools.

According to the Oregonian, the PPS electronics shop was fixing cheap VCRs while fire alarm systems languished in schools.  The PPS Facilities Director at the time, Bryan Winchester, ordered it stopped but it continued.  “To prevent principals from lobbying to move their chores higher on the ‘to do’ list, Winchester considered yanking the phone out of his maintenance manager’s office.”  That would be Jerry Lively’s office.

November 2009 – Marysville, a high poverty school in SE Portland was destroyed by fire.  Fortunately everyone got out of the building safely.  District records showed that the PPS maintenance department was 6 months behind schedule in their fire inspections. 

In Fire Drilled , Willamette Week reported that a veteran PPS employee who worked with the district’s fire detection systems retired in frustration because he couldn’t certify that the the district was sending children into safe buildings.  The former employee said that PPS administrators prevented maintenance workers from documenting the hazards.  Jerry Lively is the administrator over that department. 

What was Jerry doing during the fall of  2009 shortly before the Marysville fire? 

Jerry and his department were helping with the PPS central office redecoration.  Once again, the priority was on making overpaid, self-indulgent central office staff feel more important by prettying up their surroundings.     

Jerry has repeatedly demonstrated his willingness to overlook the health and safety of children in order kiss the asses of PPS senior staff. 

It’s true that Jerry is just a little fish (very little) in a sea full of sharks but he is a constant in the district’s ugly history of risking the health and safety of Portland’s children.

Please email Jerry at jlively@pps.k12.or.us to let him know that you expect him to put your child’s health and safety first!