Category — Wasted

So what will happen with Marshall’s Voluntary School Choice grant funds now that the PPS board has approved the complete closure of Marshall High School?  Remember, the Voluntary School Choice grant is a $6 million grant that targets Marshall, Jefferson and Roosevelt.  Marshall students no longer have a choice to attend Marshall.  Among the Voluntary School Choice grant goals:

“Phase II of Portland’s Voluntary Public School Choice program will focus significant resources on ensuring equity in neighborhood choice by supporting less successful local high schools in their long-term plans to attract students (neighborhood and beyond) to innovative and rigorous focus options that include access to higher education.  Current choice options allow high school students in more prosperous areas to access colleges and universities, but these opportunities are limited at Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Marshall High Schools. 

Phase II will contribute to the increase in enrollment in higher education within one year of high school graduation by 5% across the district and 10% for the targeted high schools.  At the current time, there is a significant gap in the percentage of students from targeted district high schools who graduate from high school in the Spring and enter college in the Fall as compared to their fellow students in more affluent and academically successful high schools. Phase II of Portland’s Voluntary Public School Choice project will implement both programs and safeguards so that all students may select their home schools as credible options and that all of these schools operate on a level playing field, preparing their students for academic success through high school and into college.”   

Despite the fact that Marshall has been on the chopping block for quite some time, Kelley Duron (PPS Project Director) fails to mention that in her third year report to the federal government:

“During the ’09-10 school year, Superintendent Carole Smith launched a massive effort to engage the community in the district’s efforts to redesign the high school system to better serve all students in PPS. VPSC sponsored a series of phone surveys and in-person focus groups to shape the overarching “look” of the new system. In addition, we provided funding to facilitate more than a dozen community meetings which attracted hundreds of Portlanders to give their feedback in the early shaping of the proposal. VPSC provided support for research on succesful focus options, site visits to local vocational technical schools, and temporary clerical support for redesign staff.

The high school redesign proposal was submitted for consideration to the Board at its April 25th meeting. It includes recommendations for eight comprehensive community (neighborhood) high schools plus two focus option schools. The proposal under consideration by the Board includes some boundary changes and policy changes regarding the ability of students to transfer between neighborhood catchment schools. The Board is expected to vote on adoption of the high school system design plan at its June 21st meeting”.

Considering that Marshall was one of three schools targeted by the grant, don’t you think it would have been important for Kelley to have mentioned that Marshall High School was recommended for closure?

A couple of parents have tried calling the US Department of Education’s Voluntary School Choice Program Officer but she hasn’t returned our calls.  Parents in the Marshall community are due a “voluntary choice” or taxpayers are due a refund.  Maybe if a few more parents call and email her she will feel compelled to respond.  Here’s her contact info:

Jeanne Gilroy

US Department of Education Program Officer

(202) 205-5482 or via e-mail at jeanne.gilroy@ed.gov

I love the little treasures found in the PPS board books.  I noticed in the April 26th, 2010 board book that the district is paying outside organizations for “Community Engagement Services.”  The contracts total $1,528,000.  That’s outrageous considering that the Community Involvement and Public Affairs department has a $3,329,710 budget.

I recognize that the department includes Educational Television Services, Community Involvement and Public Affairs, Enrollment and Transfer Services, and the North/South Family Support Centers but that’s still $1,825,511 more than the same departments cost in  2003/04.

Here’s the list of Community Engagement Services Contracts:

Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization – $238,000

Neighborhood House – $200,000

Native American Youth and Family Center – $200,000

Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods – $240,000

Latino Network – $234,000

Catholic Charities of Oregon, Inc. – $200,000

Volunteers of America – $216,000

I can’t help but notice that the organizations represent low income people and communities of color.  How have these contracts benefited those communities?  Why couldn’t district staff engage the same communities?

PPS closed Clarendon Elementary School in 2006 and the building has sat empty (except for homeless people) since that time.  The building is falling apart, covered with graffiti, windows are boarded up, smells like piss and a homeless person is sleeping there. 

The property is adjacent to a nice little park with an abandoned playground.  Is this what we want for our neighborhoods?  

  Welcome

Enter with care and love. 

If it looks like piss and smells like piss…

Second bathroom.

1 Bedroom.

Who knows what happened here

Working on making a skylight

Watch your head

There’s paint in the dust that runs along the outside wall.  Clarendon was built in 1970.  Lead paint was banned in 1978.  Are children being exposed to lead? 

Don’t want to guess what’s smeared on the windows

Where are the children?

The Clarendon building has an interesting history.  Like Whitaker Middle School and Marshall High School, Clarendon is one of PPS newest buildings.  This is from PPS Historic Building Assessment:

While Clarendon does not meet the 50 year standard for National Register eligibility and is not considered exceptionally significant, the following eligibility determination is provided for future district planning purposes. Given the uniqueness of both the design and planning process used to arrive at the design choice, the Clarendon School is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under Criteria A and C. As the first Portland school planned in a decentralized and collaborative manner that involved citizens, school administrators, and teachers, Clarendon set an important precedent for community involvement. It is therefore associated with a significant historical pattern or trend in educational facilities planning and policy thus meeting the standard of National Register Criterion A. The building is also eligible under Criterion C, as a unique school building type in the City of Portland. No other hexagonal unit schools were constructed in Portland either before or since the Clarendon building was erected. The building retains much of its historical integrity on the exterior and interior.  You can read more about it here.

I found it unbelievable that Superintendent Smith would give principals extra time off with pay this summer while at the same time asking teachers to sacrifice.  Oh yeah, there was an update this afternoon saying that principals will work harder later.  I’m sure.

I calculated the cost of giving all principals 18 days off with pay.  My estimate is conservative because I used the bottom end of the administrator salary schedule and most administrators are experienced and at higher steps.  The district’s About PPS page says there are:

• 15 high schools
• 10 middle school
• 31 K-8s
• 27 elementary schools
• one K-12
• one 6-11

The total cost of the paid days off just for principals alone is $479,392.  (Vice principals and assistant principals would also be getting time off with pay.) 

How is PPS leadership going to be able lobby legislators for additional funding when they continue to make thoughtless decisions?

Better yet, how can Superintendent Smith justify closing schools to save money when the savings would amount to less than the cost of giving principals a break?

The following story is from the Oregonian archives:

District aims wrecking ball at Whitaker
History – The school board OKs borrowing $2.1 million to raze what’s become an eyesore
Thursday, August 24, 2006
PAIGE PARKER

Vandals inspired by Whitaker Middle School’s vacant, dimly lit hulk have made a mess out of a building already burdened with one of Portland’s messiest pasts.  This week, the Portland School Board pledged again to clean it up, giving district officials the go-ahead to borrow $2.1 million to raze the building.

Wrecking crews could begin knocking down the Northeast Portland school in early November, said Kerry Hampton, the district’s property manager. It could take as long as three months to completely clear the site, he said.

Marcia Taylor, who has lived across the street from the school since 1974, says she’ll be relieved to be rid of the building. Three of her children attended the school when it was Adams High School.

“It’s just really been a shame,” Taylor said. “It was just a beautiful school when it was built.”

Students haven’t attended the school since district leaders closed it in 2001. Whitaker was built in 1966 with windows that didn’t open, a flaw that contributed to the buildup of radon. A leaky roof and lack of ventilation encouraged the growth of toxic mold, and a host of other structural problems made the 268,899-square-foot building too costly to repair.

And though the community uses the adjacent track and grounds, the school itself is riddled with graffiti and garbage, and boards cover most of the windows.

Whitaker neighborhood students now attend Tubman Middle School, a seven-mile haul across the city by bus. Apart from the toll that traveling takes on students, leaving the school vacant has cost taxpayers. Since 2002, the district has spent just shy of $700,000 in maintenance, utilities and insurance for the empty building.

The district will borrow the demolition money, Hampton said, because interest on the loan will cost as much or less than the district now spends maintaining the building. After the building is gone, the district intends to sell the southern 5.8 acres of the approximately 10-acre site to a residential developer. Hampton estimates that the land will bring in at least enough to repay the loan, with as much as $787,000 left over.

But construction of a replacement school, which former Superintendent Jim Scherzinger promised five years ago, will have to wait. Portland Public Schools’ construction bond expired in 2005, and the district doesn’t have money to replace the school.

The school board passed a resolution in 2005 that sets aside half of the proceeds from the future sale of Washington High School for capital improvements at the Whitaker site. With an elementary school costing between $12 million and $15 million, and a middle school ranging from $18 million to $23 million, the district must raise much more to replace Whitaker.

Michelle Ovando, chairwoman of the Concordia Neighborhood Association, said neighbors hope the district sells to developers who will build affordable homes that fit in with the neighborhood.

“We’re anxious to get that school brought down. It draws in gang activity and drug activity,” Ovando said. “It’s a big building and easy to hide behind.”

The news that Cynthia Harris and Reis Willbanks were put on administrative leave this week brought back memories.

My honeymoon with PPS ended in 1997 thanks to John Braunger.  He was a terrible principal but PPS administration refused to do anything about it until he was caught mismanaging school funds. 

I was Binnsmead Middle School’s volunteer coordinator at the time.  A few people didn’t think it was appropriate for me to question Braunger’s performance so I resigned from the volunteer position.

In a memo to staff dated November 3, 1997, “RE: events of last week”, Braunger wrote:

Last week, you received a letter in your mailboxes from Ms. Bauske.  In the letter Ms. Bauske resigns her position as Volunteer Coordinator.  She has worked hard to establish a volunteer pool who can meet staff needs and those of the schools as a whole.  I appreciate what she has accomplished as Volunteer Coordinator and am grateful for her efforts.

In addition to resigning, Ms. Bauske alleges that school money is being mismanaged.  The district takes allegations of this kind seriously and has procedures to determine if there are any irregularities.  Should any be found, corrective action will be taken.  In the meantime, Laurie at the region office will be doing the books…..

Finally, Brenda’s doctors have advised her to take a medical leave.  We will miss her and hope she recovers soon.

Brenda was the school secretary responsible for doing the books. 

The next week I received a threatening letter from the PPS superintendent accusing me of “slander.”  

Four long months later after pushing for an audit report to be released, I  received a copy of the Binnsmead audit.  The report completed on November 13, 1997 found numerous irregularities.  Some of the findings included:

• Five requests for issuance of check forms did not bear evidence of administrative approval.
• Twenty checks were made payable to a specific staff member as reimbursements for purchases of supplies and other items ($3,787.94).  The checks should have been issued to the vendors.
• One additional $468 reimbursement to the same staff member did not appear to have any supporting documentation.
• Two checks reviewed totaling over $2,500 were issued to Nordstrom for the purchase of numerous gift certificates in amounts ranging from $20 to $100. 
• Three disbursements reviewed were purchases of invoiced goods with costs in excess of $1,000.  The transactions didn’t have the required pre-approval.
• One check reviewed was issued to a coffee store for $258.  The supporting request for issuance of check form indicated the expenditure was for refreshments.  Review of the store’s receipt indicated one gift certificate had been purchased.
• Nine student funds had deficit balances.
• The school’s checking account was overdrawn for two months causing $185 in overdraft fees.
• Deposits weren’t made in the required amount of time.

How seriously could the district possibly take allegations of financial mismanagement when the only difference between 1997 and now is the dollar amounts?  Who was responsible for following up on Jefferson’s financial mismanagement concerns?  The district let the Jefferson concerns go for a long time then addressed them right after a controversial meeting. Smart

How sad that Portland is being touted as a national model.  PPS must have taken their show on the road since people here aren’t buyig it.  Read and comment on the Portland Observer story.

Portland’s High School Overhaul Makes Los Angeles Times

April 20, 2009 PPS Big Ideas Q & A offers some insight into the future.  Pull your wallets out because it will require BIG BUDGETS.

Q9: Is high school redesign leading to a facilities bond for PPS?

YES. However, to make any decisions about high school buildings, we must make decisions about the programs within those buildings.  How many high school buildings do we need?  What size, and where?  Should they include special spaces such as labs, workshops and performance space?  This high school design conversation will answer those questions and allow us to finalize a long-range facilities plan for PPS that includes high schools. [Read more →]

From November 2008- The Bridgespan Group, a San Francisco-based nonprofit dedicated to improving schools, studied the efforts within PPS high schools and tracked student success. The results, although preliminary, show promise. Cleveland High School and Biz Tech High School on the Marshall Campus reported the most notable results, greatly reducing the number of freshmen failing three or more classes or missing more than 20 days of school.

Much Love,

PPS Communications Department

The superintendent is proposing cuts to the classrooms but she continues to add administrators at the central office.  She could easily make central office cuts without affecting students. [Read more →]