001All right, let's get started everyone. >> If we can uh respectfully pipe down and just kid and we'll get started. Thank you everybody for being here. We really appreciate Hello. We really appreciate all of you being here today to recognize some of our wonderful students. and maybe some of you are going to be staying after for some really exciting topics we're talking later today like some name changes. Uh anyways, before we begin, just some housekeeping stuff. Uh again, thank you everyone for being here today and taking your time uh to care about public education and our students. Uh the this public regular board of meeting of education for May 12th, 2026 is called to order. All items being considered this evening are posted on the PPS website under the board and meetings tab. This meeting
002is also being streamed live on PPS YouTube page and will be replayed on channel 28 which honestly being here 3 years I still have no idea what channel 28 is. So um good evening and welcome. We are again I can't say this enough so pleased that uh all of you are here today. Uh if you just couple housekeeping reminders, please keep the aisles and stairways clear for safety reasons. Uh if you did bring a display sign or banner, we do ask that you hold that below chin level so the people uh behind you can see. Also, um the your if you did bring a sign or banner, they may they must stay on your person. They're not allowed to be posted anywhere. Uh and lastly, but most importantly, uh just a reminder that let's stay
003respectful for to each other. So, we have a very uh full agenda item tonight. Uh I will try a new practice where I will state the aotted time for each agenda item. Uh but before we start, we had an opportunity to recognize our all-star recipients this evening. And since tonight's superintendent report is focused on recognizing these great students, uh we'll start with our superintendent. Take it away, Dr. Archa. >> Thank you, Chair Wong. So, tonight we celebrate students who shine not only through achievement, but through character, perseverance, and heart. Your child represents the very best of our school community. That is evident through the number of teachers, staff, and building level leaders that we have with us here. Wave at us. There we go. We see you all. There we go. Behind every all-star student
004is a family that has encouraged, supported, and believed in them. This recognition reflects hard work, resilience, kindness, and the ability to positively impact others. We are grateful for the partnership families provide in helping our students grow into confident, caring leaders. An allstar is someone who lifts others, stays committed, and continues to grow. And the students being recognized tonight are some of those students that have demonstrated that across our school communities. So tonight we are going to honor students who lead with excellence and families who lead with love. Join me in welcoming up our senior director of family and community engagement, Nicole Watson. Good evening allstars and our families. I am so excited to welcome you to our 2026 Allstar Awards reception and recognition. Please go ahead and clap it up for our babies. The Allstar
005Awards, as our superintendent just shared, celebrates all of our students across Portland public schools whose leadership, courage, brilliance, and character uplift their school communities. Coordinated by the Office of Family and Community Engagement, this recognition honors students whose lives and lived experiences, their identities, their cultures, and contributions reflect the richness of the diversity of our district. Tonight, you will be uh Tonight, you will be receiving or hearing categories across the following. Got some babies waving in the space, so you might see yourself on TV tonight and on channel 28. I hope we know where to find channel 28. Chairwang. Our award categories for tonight are our native pride award. >> Our C p award. our young gifted black diaspora award, our AsianAmerican Excellence Award, our Pacific Pride Award, our babies who are new our New Portlanders
006award and a new category that we are excited to announce tonight, our community champion award. These awards tonight will be read by the Office of Family and Community Engagement. Our Native Pride Award will be celebrated by Glenn Lamont. Our I'mma wait. Our cece ped award will be recognized by Rena Gomez. Our young gifted black diaspora award will be read by Willie Williams III. Our Asian-American Excellence Award will be read by Nam Dole. Our Pacific Pride Award will be read by Jamal Tibs. Our New Portlanders Award will be read by Dr. Miranda Ryan. And I will read our community champion award for our babies. I also want to shout out Kyu, who is also on the face team, who is in community tonight, as he should be. With that, I'd like to welcome up Glenn Lamont.
007>> Hello everybody. Greetings. My name is Glenn Lamont. Um, I am a member of Nino Okla means the people of the mother mound. I am a student engagement coach from the family and community engagement. I'm here to recognize the PPS Native Pride uh award. Uh it honors native and indigenous students who demonstrate leadership grounded in cultural pride, resilience, and responsibility to community. This award recognizes students who honor their traditions and identity while contributing meaningful to their schools through advocacy, wisdom, and care for others. So, I'm going to read up uh some names and you're going to come up and grab your ward. Grab the word. It's that first one right there. The first one, Jules Jones. Next one. No best. Yeah. That's what it's all about. >> Next one. William Cabalas. Next one. In Tanika.
008Next one. Carula Eigman. >> I'm doing it. >> Raina. Are those all of our babies? Can we pause to take a photo with our native baby? Excuse me. I'm trying to get out of >> I think. Oh, >> thank you for being patient. Okay. >> Okay. Okay. There we go. >> Okay. >> Good evening. My name is Raina Gomez and I am the community agent for the Hispanics community and I am I am going to be presenting the CI award. Woo! Latina, recognized a student of Latin. heritage whose perseverance, courage and advocacy embody the spirit of cis. This award celebrates a student who uplift others, pursue their goals with determination and contribute to their school and community through leadership, service and collective strength. >> YES. >> OKAY. I'm very nervous. Sorry. You got it, Raina.
009You got it, baby. >> The first award goes to Bris A >> Gomez. The next one is for Jasmine Reyes Contas. I got a message. >> I want to do something that I always do. The next one is goes to Christristani Javier Vajjo Morales. Okay, >> I know how TO proxim Garcia. >> Yes, please. >> Can we get all the babies up for a photo? Musical chairs. >> I know. >> Here you go, boss. >> It's upside down. One more. Two more. >> While while we're waiting for our photo op, I am pleased to announce that the pizza has arrived. >> We are the allstars. I will coordinate pizza and we'll start bringing those up who have our halal and vegan options first to to serve our pizza. Please give our ce award recipients with
010this mic. >> Yeah, Rosanne's not working. >> I don't know what to do. >> Will we ask Terry? >> Okay, let's do that. Test test test. >> Okay. Test. Test. >> That's way better. Right. >> Does it connect right here? >> Does it connect? That's what we doing here. Good evening families. My name is Willie Williams the third. I am the director of the Gryadir Center for Educational Excellence here at PPS. Hey. All right. All right. Absolutely. And tonight family, I am introducing our recipients for the young, gifted, and black diaspora. This celebrates black students who excellence, creativity, and leadership reflect brilliance and action. This awards honors students who demonstrate integrity, resilience, and a commitment to justice using their gifts to uplift their communities and inspire positive change. Our first recipient is Mo Ali Hassan.
011>> Our second recipient is Nvea Thomas. OUR third recipient, Abdullle Barry. We keep her award and make sure she receives it. >> Our fourth recipient. >> Can I get the gift? Our fourth recipient is Jaden Lee. OUR next recipient, Carolina Alonzo. Last but not least, our final recipient, Sheree Brandt. We will make sure Sheree receives her award. >> Thank you. call your back. >> Can I get the recipients back up front for a group picture? >> Thank you. >> Hey Officers one more. All right. >> Good evening. >> We will now be moving to the next category which is our Pacific Pride category. So, let's give the clap. My name is Jamal Tibs. I'm the special adviser to the family and community engagement team and I'll be presenting on the Pacific Pride recipients award. Um,
012the Pacific Pride Award celebrates Pacific Islander students whose leadership, cultural knowledge, and community mindness enrich their school environments. This award honors students who lead with humility, resilience, and pride, uplifting their communities while honoring ancestral connections and collective values. >> Our first recipient tonight is Doresa and Gang. >> Our second recipient tonight is Alicia Lei. Our third recipient this evening is Joyce Naringway. Our fourth recipient tonight is Tokco on Helu Fakapulia. And our last recipient within this category for the evening is Annapisi Mapa. Go ahead and have her stay over there. We're going to ask quickly that our Pacific Pride recipients come back to take a group photo with our school board, please. Thank you. Let's get our Pacific Pride team down here. Oh my god. One, two, three. Okay. >> Okay. Good evening everyone. Uh
013my name is Nobd Doll. Uh I goes by Ruby. Um and I am a district committee agent uh with face department. Um tonight uh I'm grateful to uh uh be re representing the AsianAmerican Excellent Award. Um, let's go. LET'S GO. >> YEAH. UM, AsianAmerican Excellence honors AsianAmerican student who leadership, service and culture contribution strength their school and communities. This award recognize students who affirm identity and belonging, elevate res representation and lead with purpose, empathy and pride. Um, I'm so happy to announce uh our um recipient tonight. Uh, please welcome Mal Maddie Abua. Next one. Sherry U. SHERRY, >> Flora Chen, Tatum Morris. >> Oh my god, he's so cute. and Vince PACQUEL um uh student and family welcome to come all in the in the front and take picture with uh board member please. specifically.
014Hurry up. Wait, wait, wait. Just close it. There we go. Protect the name of the Are we ready? >> Okay. Hello. I'm Dr. Miranda Ryan, a proud member of the Clamoth tribe. I am the director for native community engagement and educational partnerships. >> And thank you. Tonight I'm reading the uh recipients for the New Portlanders Award. >> The first recipient is Felli Martinez Campos. Next, Roman Martinez Roas. Sai >> Raj Krishnan Masihula Ny If you could all come back and get a picture with our board members, that would be great. Thanks. >> It is. >> Read it. Yes. Do it now. Do it while they're coming up. Come on. Director Sullivan. Director before. While they're coming up for the photo, >> while they're coming up for the photo, I'll tell you a little bit about
015the award. New Portlanders recognizes students who are newcomers to Portland, including immigrants and refugee students whose courage, adaptability, and determination inspire their school communities. This award honors students who navigate new environments with resilience, contribute their voices and experiences, and help build inclusive and welcome school communities. Thank you. adjust your chair. Where is >> All right, we're just going to leave that microphone the way it is. I am here to read the community champion award. My name is Nicole Watts and I am senior director of family and community engagement. Thank you. The Community Champion Award recognizes our babies of any background that demonstrate leadership through their ability to advocate for equity, challenge discrimination, and tackle systemic inequalities to improve the quality of life for historically marginalized people within their school community. Give them a round of
016applause. Our first recipient is Junior Talanoa. Thank you, baby. Hey, that's what I'm talking about. Our next recipient is Ama Dorfman. This is one of our proud PPS parents. There we go. Our next recipient is Sequoia Hall. Our next recipient is Elizabeth Terret. Our next recipient is Anusha Abdul Rahheim. All right, baby. >> Yes, Anu. Yes. Our next recipient is Louis Aqua. Go Louie. And our final award for this evening is Amari Korea. >> And if our community champions can make their way back to the front of the boardroom so that we can take our photo together. And we're going to ask in a moment all of our recipients to come and join us. We going to stuff in here, y'all. We going to stuff. We're going to turn the hair up a little bit
017more if we can. And we're going to take one culminating photo after our community champion uh photo. Please give them another round of applause. We've got one more coming. One more coming. We'll wait. >> Okay. Maybe that's a different award. All right. There we're ready. Great. >> Let's give them another round of applause. Can we have stay here? Can we have all of our recipients and village that surrounds them? I want you to give them a round of applause that lets them know THAT WE LOVE THEM and that we're so proud OF WHO THEY ARE and who they are becoming. We are so inspired by you, your courage, your brilliance, your creativity. your advocacy and who you are in a world that desperately needs you and your power. Absolutely. We going to stuff them in
018here, babies. Come on, my baby with the boots. Let's go, my love. That's right. There we go. We going to make room for my babies tonight. And please feel free to come take some photos. We want to make sure Beth, we're at a wedding. We want to make sure the main photographer gets the photo, but we'll take a few. Where you going, baby love? Okay. Oh, we came down. >> Came down. >> All right, everybody. >> Okay, >> LOOK AT YOUR 2026 ALL STARS. THAT'S SO PROUD OF YOU. That's right. Listen. >> That's right. All right. With that, we conclude our 2026 PPS Allstar Awards. We thank you for coming out tonight. We thank our families and our babies for all that you do, all of who you are and who you are becoming. The
019world better watch out cuz you're next. Thank you so much everybody. Thank you. You're done. Should I take this? Well, we can take this stuff down so that it's not sitting here in the celebration. >> Yeah, I got you. While you do that part, director. >> You're welcome. >> You're so welcome. Again, thank you everyone for being here. We'll give you we'll continue in about three minutes to give time people time to transition and socialize. So enjoy. >> You know, I love these speakers. Yes, >> thank you so much. And we'll leave the flowers for now. >> Thank you so much. My pleasure. >> You did it. >> Look. See? >> And then I just was one of my babies. I was a principal and he was my one of your nephews. >> My cousin.
020>> Your cousin. >> Oh, I know. >> Absolutely. Willie, those are our extra certificates right here. Can we get those extra chairs? Where can we put those? >> Okay, that's not what I'm looking for. >> I will get them from the mall. Do you have the extra water? Let me just check out the mall. All right, we have about another minute before we get started. If everyone can get settled down, please find your seat. Find a place to sit. Aisles and stairs need to be kept clear. All right, let's get started. Thank you everyone again for staying tonight. Was that really loud? I'm sorry. I can go louder. All right. Thank you. All right. Today, uh, our next again, thank you for, um, allowing us time for celebrating our students and the all-star awards. It's
021a big deal. It's big kind of what we're here for. Celebrate our students, all of them. Also, thank you for the rest of you for staying and enjoying this wonderful programming that we have ahead for you. Uh, a couple just couple reminders. Uh, we do need to keep the aisles and stairs clear for safety reasons. We have seen people trip and it's not fun. And all right, so let's get started. All right. The next item that we have today is our resolution to recognize teacher and administration administrator appreciation week. I've asked Director Englesman to introduce this item. I'll hand it off to you. >> It's the first time for me. Um hello. Good evening. Uh to the teachers and the administrators and the professional educators, thank you. You are the magic in the building. You
022are the glue to our schools and you are the be all and end all to our kids. You teach math and reading and social emotional development all while giving hugs and snacks and band-aids. Our world depends on you and we thank you very much. That's all. Thank you. Do I have a motion and a second to adopt resolution 7299 resolution to recognize teacher and administration administrator appreciation week? >> So moved. I'll second. >> Thank you. Director Split moves. Director Englesman seconds. Any board discussion? >> No, but I'm just thinking about my favorite teachers which were at MLC um just that took the time to, you know, teach. Is MLC in the house? Oh, hey. Um you know, just literally taught me how to wash a paintbrush out. the few minutes it took for her to
023show me like literally how to do it physically and I use that skill to this day 50 years later. >> Beautiful. Thank you. Uh Miss Powell, is there any public comment? >> All right. Thank you. The board will now vote on resolution 7299, resolution to recognize teacher and administrator appreciation week. All in favor, please indicate by saying yes. >> Opposed? >> Absentions. and student representative RTO. >> Yes. >> Thank you. Resol 7299 is approved by a vote of 7 to zero with student representative RTO voting yes. >> All right. Next up we have uh item is our resolution to recognize May as Asian-American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Um, I have volunteered to say a few words about this and to be honest, I didn't think that so many people were going to
024show up today. So, I'm a little nervous. Um, I made a big speech back in my first year uh as a board member about being an Asian-American up here and um I don't want to repeat that mistake. So, I'm going to reference a couple things from there and also some changes and then and then move on as we have a long agenda item today. Um, I just want to recognize that uh we have our appreciation weeks and uh heritage months to recognize a lot of our underserved and underrepresented populations and in this case in terms of AA and HPI we have a specific problem of being underrepresented. Uh you know I asked the question how long has PPS been in existence? No one knows it for this been that long right. Uh, and and how
025many uh Asian-American board members have there been? >> I think one I maybe there I looking at last names, maybe maybe two, but I don't know. But it's very lonely up here. And I think I I want to just kind of reiterate that uh one of the things that we struggle with is representation. Um, but the reason we're here and we do these things is because we want it better for our kids. And I want to recognize that uh PPS has done huge strides in that uh including like for example our DI programs. My kid is in one and because of that she doesn't have to face a lot of the hardships that I grew up with uh especially being lonely and being one of the only ones uh and and often in my uh
026career and again I am only talking to myself. I know a HPI is a whole group of people uh but I can only talk about myself. So, I'm going to talk about me. Um, and uh, we it I do want to talk about the group really briefly because it is such a huge group. It represents people from this one the the largest continent on the planet as well as islands spread through the largest ocean on the planet and we have a whole swath of diversity within this group and it's it's very interesting putting it all together. It is one of the mo if you look at the data and economic data is one of the most stratified populations in terms of both academic achievement. We have some highest academic achievement achieving kids. But we also
027have some of the lowest and most struggling and and highest rates of dropouts. Uh we also have the highest in this group is also one of the highest rates maybe the highest rates of depression and suicide. Uh so there there we made a lot of improvements over the years but we have a lot long way to go. Uh one of the things that I referenced in my last speech in 2024 in May at this time uh was uh I I think I shared with a lot of people that I am a big movie buff. There's this American Federation of American Film Institute. They have a top 100 films of all time. I think I've watched almost all of them. I've taught courses in film making and film history. And I still say to this day
028that one of the most impactful movies of my life is Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. uh because it was one of the first mainstream blockbuster movies that featured not one but two Asian-Americans as the lead and we hadn't really seen that before. And I want to update that a little bit today by saying that that now has currently been replaced by K-pop demon hunters uh for both my daughter and that was probably one of the first movies where she saw me tear up and I don't know why I did except for the fact that uh no one knew that uh a movie about a bunch of Koreans would make be that big. In fact, let me tell you a little bit of dark side of that this this movie. I found out after
029the fact because of a lot of great wonderful um documentarians, uh if you noticed most movies, you know, cartoons especially or or animations when they come out, so does a ton of merchandise, right? I mean, you see Marvel characters and t-shirts and stuff and you see, you know, other cartoons by Pixar, whatever. Merchandise is a big part of the industry. But if you ever notice when K-pop Demon Hunters came out, there was no merchandise. Why was that? It was because when that movie was about to be released, a bunch of executives from all these companies said, "No, we're not going to we're not going to invest in it because no one's going to care about a movie about a bunch of Koreans." And to those people, I have some words for you. Uh but I'm
030going to share it after the cameras turn off, so you're going to have to wait. So anyways, I I just want to say that this is this is a big deal. I can only uh again speak for myself, but uh one of the things that we struggle against is rec recognition as well as representation and uh having this uh resolution speaks volumes in terms of that the district and the people in it care and want to do better so that our kids don't have to grow up with the same pains and trauma that we did. So, thank you all today. Uh, with that, I would like to ask if there is a motion and a second to adopt resolution 73000, resolution to recognize May as AsianAmerican, Native, Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. >> So
031moved. >> Second. >> Director Sullivan moves and >> I'll just give it to Director Lefort today. Uh, seconds. Is there any board discussion, Miss Pow? Was there any public comment? >> Oh, come on. >> Yes. >> One thing. Um, I just wanted to say you didn't give us enough time to applause after your after your speech. So, I just wanted to I just wanted to say I thought it was a it was a great speech. Um, and I thought it was incredible. >> And I'd like to say I'm so glad you're board chairman. >> Thank you. All right. Um, >> can I add something that explains your uh movie obsession? Um, all of the references that come up. I haven't watched any TV in like 40 years or or movies and so um I don't
032get any of the references. >> I get you now a little more. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> And just a warning in case you're listening, Harold Kumar is not for kids. >> In case you don't know what that is, um, just be wary. All right. Uh, thank you for Thank you. Um, all right. We'll now vote on resolution 73000. Resolution to recognize May as Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. All in favor, please indicate by saying yes. >> Yes. Uh, no, abstensions. Student Representative RTO, >> yes. >> Thank you. Resolution 7300 is approved by a vote of 7 to 0 with student representative RTO voting yes. Thank you. All right, with that I now hand this over to student representative Torto. >> Great. Thank you so much. So, uh we had planned
033to announce the next student representative tonight. Um but due to some complications, uh there will be I believe we will be able to send out an official PPS communication since we will be holding the election tomorrow at our meeting tomorrow. Um so I will have information on the next student representative soon. Um, but in lie of that, I did receive some comments from a student who was unfortunately not able to speak tonight. Uh, who I met at one of our board engagements at Kellogg, uh, I believe it was Kellogg. Um, and they just had a few questions on the right sizing process and I'd like to take this time um, to read those out. Um, so their name is Lucy and they're a sixth grader at Roseway Heights Middle School. Um, they had a few
034questions. Number one, why aren't Head Start or PreK considered as part of the utilization of a school building? Like in my old school school, Jason Lee/S Sunrise Elementary, we we supported Head Start classes and they were a strong constant in our school. I believe that they were a part of who we were as a school. I believe that part of the map with the graphs that was used on the 11th with the circles with the data like enrollment capacity and utilization should have part of its rep representation be prek or head start communities or have them included with the rest of the data. And yes, I'm aware that not all of these schools in the district have prek kids in their building, but for others it is a big part of who they are in
035their communities. uh if a school that had prek were to shut down, what would happen to the prek classes? Would they just be eliminated from that location or move to a different one? Uh and they said, "Sorry if that was a lot uh about about freaking Head Start, but there are real fears and questions that bugged me at the meeting." And I think a lot of other people had similar thoughts. Number two, lottery schools in my neighborhood have been chosen uh have been chosen over our neighborhood schools by so many kids and their families in our neighborhood. Even though Jason Lee/Srise Elementary is right around the corner, which impacts so many kids and where they and future students end up going to school, what are your perspectives on this? All around me and so many
036kids leave for Richmond or other schools, not even in the district when families go to Richmond, uh, for for example, could contribute so much to our neighborhood schools and our title one schools just by going there or attending. It seems that the people who use these lottery schools to get away from their neighborhood schools are uh are to go to nicer, better schools and to try and get away from the worse schools closer to them. Rejecting the schools that may be part of the declining amount of kids enrolling in some of these title one schools. I truly believe that all schools should be viewed with respect and equality and not judged by just enrollment, grades or public image, but of the real people, families and students who contribute and are a part of who we
037are as a whole. And uh oh, and I would like to say that as a person, I would like I would like to say that going to my neighborhood school and staying in that tight-knit community has helped shape the person I am today. These diverse schools have taught me so much about compassion, being kind to anyone from any background, and who I am. It It shows my attitude, how I handle and how I handle day-to-day life. It shows how I tackle problems and my control of it, and that's something I'll always be proud of, and a huge reason why we should especially protect our Title One schools. Uh, and then number three, this is a short one, I think there should be more student involvement in this. I'm sure a lot of them don't even
038know basic facts about what this is and what's going on. They are the ones getting the most directly impacted by these changes and so they should know more. I feel their take on this is very important and and essential for a better future for PPS. Also, I think I think that what is happening to these learners, including myself, can be scary and stressful. Changing schools is not fun for anyone and no one wants their school to get shut down even if they don't go there anymore. That sense of love and community will always be there for that school. As far as I'm concerned, the future is dependent on the students well-being and health, which is partly why I believe so strongly we should protect our Title One schools and their kids. A lot of these
039kids may be struggling at home and need that school more than it seems. These diverse environments may mean so much more to these kids and provide a safe space in their school. In conclusion, these are my insights as a student and a person in the district uh on this matter. Uh so, so that was from again Lucy, a sixth grader at Roseway Heights Middle School. Um, so that was just those are just some questions they had on the right sizing process and I want to take this time especially since uh I didn't have anything else otherwise. But that concludes my student representatives report. Sorry. Um I apologize. My computer was asking me who I am. Um all right. Next up we have Thank you. Sorry before I Google. Thank you student represent too. Always appreciate
040you sharing your insights and sharing other student comments. Uh we next we have general public comment. So uh before we begin um just want to review a few guidelines before we start. First off, thank you for taking the time out of your day to provide us with your public comment. Um, your public comment, public input, especially from our students as well. Um, really helps inform our work and improves what we do. We look forward to hearing your thoughts and reflections. So, some reminders and, uh, guidelines. As board members, we're here to listen and not engage in conversation with those who are testifying so we can focus on listening. Our board office may follow up on board related issues raised during public testimony. We also request that all complaints about individual employees be directed to the
041superintendent's office as a personnel matter. I will also remind PPS staff who are giving public comment that they may not provide testimony that could uh violate furpa protections under FURPA. So, anything about students that could uh identify them, especially their school community, using their school community, direct or indirect linkages, um what school they are, grade, special education status, and other type identifiers. Uh for materials that you like the board receive, please uh bring them over to Miss Powell over there on the side and who will then pass it out to us. uh in order for the board and us to remain uh keep respectful with each other like we ask that people not interrupt um our speakers and we also appreciate again everyone for helping to maintain a respectful environment. If you do have additional
042materials or items that you want to provide the board or if the time cuts shorter than than you you want to finish, you are also allowed to you know we welcome you to email the rest of your public comment to us. The email is public comment all one word at pps.net. When you begin your comments, please make sure that you clearly state your name, spell your last name. You have today we because we have a full uh we have more people signed up than there were slots available. We are uh we will have two minutes for each speaker to speak. Again, like I said before, a little pro tip is if you start speaking before the green light goes on, you get a few extra seconds. Um you can just start right away when the
043next person is done. Uh when that yellow light goes off, that means you have 30 seconds to finish your comment. And when the red light goes on, that means you're please finish up and um we'll have the next person go. Thank you. So, we will start with our student comments first. Miss Pal, do we have any students today sign up to speak? >> We do not. >> All right. Great. Okay. Then we'll move to our general public comment. Can you call the first three people? Yes, we have Talia Delgado, Cara Bradshaw, and Elizabeth Yer Zabic. Yer Zabic wants to use me. Whenever you're ready, you may begin in the order you're called. >> I'll go ahead. I don't know which order we called in. >> I'll just go. >> Just go. Yeah. Okay. Um, hi,
044my name is Cara Bradshaw. B R A D S H A W. Um, it is very weird to be on this side of the table. Um, but I wanted to just come tonight and one, thank you for your time and dedication. I know that um, being a board member is hard work, even in the best of years and this is a hard one. So, thank you for being here and putting in the time. Um, and even though I'm not working at PPS anymore because of budget cuts, I wanted to come and talk about a few things that I think are really important. Um, I wanted to start by urging you to consider the amount of things that you ask of staff. And I'm not saying um to not require accountability because I know that that
045is super important, but just be strategic about the things you're asking and how much time it takes and wonder when you're asking those questions where they're aligned with the student with your board goals. Um and I'd really like to encourage you to um not be performative about the school closures and consolidations. We have a lot less students and if you're going to ask staff to do it, you should do it and make the hard choices and it's really hard. Um, and then the um the rest of this is actually for the community. Along those same lines, change is okay. It's hard and we should teach our students that we can do it. Um, please lean into the opportunity to make more robust programming in schools. The things that you love about your schools now are
046things that you can love about your new school when they consolidate. Take time to make friends and build community. Let's role model what change looks like because change happens in life no matter what. Here I am showing you that that's the case. Um and then also please just um my note says for the love of puppies please stop insisting that all the cuts come to c from central office. I know that we love our teachers and teachers are absolutely essential but also the things that people do at the district office um also make it so that teachers can do their work. who pays the light bills, coordinates coordinates services to broilers, plans transportation, investigates complaints, makes sure teachers get paid, plans community engagement events, signs you up for public comment, applies for manage and manages
047grants which bring us money. All those things happen centrally and so we can't cut all those positions. It's going to have to be spread out. Um, yeah, that's it. I was trying to go fast. Um, again, thank you so much. I appreciate you all. And, uh, I'll send a little note. Thank you. >> Thanks, Cara. I know this is breaking protocol a little bit, but I really miss having you here. >> It's worth telling the crowd that Cara was one of our support staff. So, she that's why she's getting a little of a special special attention because we love and miss her. >> Thanks. >> Thank you. >> Um, may go when you're turn. >> Okay. My name is Talia Delgado and I am a parent of a kindergartener at Lent Elementary. And tonight I'm
048coming to you guys as a parent, but also as somebody who grew up in Portland in the public school system. Um, as a native Spanish speaker, as an immigrant long before Spanish immersion programs existed, right? It's like a little bit of what you said and resonate a lot with your experience, Eddie. Um, and growing up, I wish that there had been schools that had the heart, fortitude, and had been equipped with the right skills to see Latino students thrive, as I've seen at my son's school. Um, I also want to reiterate that DLI programs are essential for students to achieve long-term fluency, as well as to level the learning playing field for a lot of our students who enter the education system already at a disadvantage. Um, and I want to make sure that those
049programs are are protected as such critical programs. Um specifically our school um Lent Elementary has already experienced significant changes as a result of previous right sizing through the SEGC process. Uh those changes caused a lot of disruption and we lost students. This year uh specifically our community has been um affected by a lot of the ICE activity and despite those challenges our school has quickly bonded and is thriving. We've had to rebuild out of the ashes of COVID and out of the many mergers. As you said, change is hard, but I think we're an example of somebody who has really come together as a community, and we really just don't want that to be disrupted. Um, and want you guys to consider schools who have already had to rebuild very, very recently, and make sure
050that you guys take that into consideration, um, as your guiding principles. Um, I'm also here as a part of a coalition of Title One schools. Um, and that's something that's really important for us to um, be prioritized as well. Um, a lot of these, uh, Title One schools are located on the east side. um where gentrification has pushed a lot of our families of color and immigrants. Um and it's really important that we see those as really significant as supportive hubs that provide critical services like child care, um access to food, um as well as supporting our families um facing houselessness. Um and when you, you know, destabilize those essential networks for students, entire neighborhoods that they rely on, it's it's a big impact. And so we just ask you guys um a couple of
051things to be really transparent um about how decisions are made. Please be fair and don't allow schools that are better resourced to opt out of changes as we saw in the past right sizing um process. Um and we just want to be Thank you. We just want to be um accountable for historical trends when right sizing and even evenly distribute that burden across the district. Thank you. >> Thank you. Hello, my name is Elizabeth Gerabik. Uh, last name is spelled J E R A B E K. I'm here to advocate for Access Academy. Um, Access is repeatedly being described as a focus option program, but that is simply not accurate. I asked the board to recognize that Access is not a preference-based school choice. It is a necessary alternative education program for students whose educational
052needs are not being met in traditional school settings. Families are not choosing access because it is convenient. They are choosing it because their children need a fundamentally different rate and level of instruction. My daughter Ursula is a fourth grade student at Access and she rides the bus to school every single day. This year at Access, she completed fourth grade math by January and fifth grade math in April with the support of her teachers. And her teachers have confirmed that she's ready for sixth grade math next year. This level of instruction simply was not available at our previous school. And our experience is not unique. Many Access students have already exhausted the right the highest level of coursework available in their local schools before they reach middle or high school. But Access has not only supported
053my daughter academically, it has transformed transformed her socially and emotionally. She has made more friends and built stronger peer relationships. The bus ride itself is a source of belonging and connection. My husband and I both work full-time and we are a onecar family living in Northeast Portland. During the first week of school at Access, I drove Ursula back and forth myself. For Access families like us in Northeast Portland, the loss of bus transportation will require us to spend two hours per day driving back and forth for the school commute with a significant increase in money spent on gas that we cannot afford. I understand that PPS is facing difficult budget decisions, but if the district removes transportation to access without providing another viable solution, then access will become increasingly inaccessible to students from single parent
054households, lowincome families, families with one car or unreliable transportation, families who don't have flexible work schedules, families with disabilities and health issues, and families like mine in North Northeast. East and deep southeast Portland who already traveled the farthest. Thank you for your attention. >> Thank you. Miss Pal, can you call the next three? >> Yes, we have Steven Bush, Emilia Weieber, and Bang Yu. Jesus. Is there a third? >> Yeah. You mean? All right, you can start now. >> All right. You want to go ahead? >> All right. I'll go ahead. Um, good evening. My name is Steve Bush, B US. Um, chair Wong, vice chair to pass, and members of the board. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. I'm the parent of an Access Academy graduate and a current sixth grader, and
055I urge PPS to maintain bus transportation to access for the 2026 27 school year. For many families, transportation is not a convenience. It is what makes access possible. Students come from every part of Portland to access because many neighborhood schools cannot fully meet their academic needs. Our sixth grade daughter had already outpaced the available math curriculum at her prior school and struggled socially because she was constantly singled out for being different. Access became a lifeline. Today she is thriving academically and socially. She has found close friends, confidence, and a true sense of belonging. The bus is part of that community for many students, especially those who struggled socially during COVID or never found peers at their neighborhood school. The ride to and from school is itself an important source of that connection. Families are already
056trying to figure out how they would cope without the buses. Some would lose work hours and income to drive their children. Others simply could not make it work at all. Single parents, lower inome families, and families with disabilities would be disproportionately affected. I've talked to some of them and collected their stories. This is also an equity issue. Access is now located farther from many families than when it was on the east side. Eliminating transportation will reduce access for lowerincome families and make the program less diverse over time. We understand the district faces difficult decisions and deliminating transportation to access is not a neutral cost-saving measure. It changes who can realistically attend the school and risks pushing out students whose needs cannot be met elsewhere. Access is not a luxury for these students. It is where
057they are challenged, supported, and able to thrive. I urge the board to preserve Transportation for Access Academy and protect equitable access for all students. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Hello. Uh, my name is Amelia Weber. Wie Er. I am the mother of an Access fifth grader. I am also the product of Portland public schools myself. My son has been an access student since the first grade. after a year of kindergarten at our neighborhood school left us scrambling with another option for him. I was able to witness firsthand since my son was attending virtually due to co that he was reading chapter books at a third and fourth grade level while his classmates were appropriately learning their letters and sounds. My son would tell me how much he hated school. he would act out and
058refuse to participate out of boredom. I knew and his teacher agreed with me that we would need to pursue an alternative option. Fast forward to 2026, my son is thriving at Access. We live in Northeast Portland and he has always taken the bus to school both ways since Access has moved to Southwest Portland. He spends over an hour each way on the school bus and is very grateful to be able to do so. Access has been able to meet my son's learning needs while providing an accepting and supporting environment as a neurode divergent kiddo on a 504 plan who can struggle to focus in a classroom setting. Similar to many students at Access, I know my son's learning needs are unable to be met by his neighborhood school. Should we not have this program, myself
059and many Access families will certainly have to weigh the options, including seeking placement outside the district. What you all know is that access is a program that works. It functions at capacity with a healthy weight list. In a district where there is so much that needs upgraded or changed, we have a wellutilized and attested to alternative education program in Access Academy. I ask you, why would you make a documented success in the district less accessible to the students who need it? Please help us advocate for funding, transportation, and access so we can keep our kids at their school and in the district. >> Thank you, >> Miss Pal. Can you call the next three? >> Yes. I'm going to pull up our virtual attendee. Byang, did you see did you hear your name get called?
060>> Oh, okay. You're fine. >> Okay, great. >> Yes, I just saw the email, so sorry. >> No, no, it's totally fine. I just saw him on the audience and got confused. >> Next, we have Allison Wilkinson. >> Good evening. Thank you. My last name is spelled W I L K I N S O N and I'm the mom of two current and one past access student. Eliminating transportation at access would be a drastic departure from PPS's stated commitment to equity because it would fundamentally alter who can access the school. Our family doesn't know if we can get our son to access next year. And we are not alone. We've heard already from a number of families who will be disproportionately impacted. It will not be the families with the means and ability to drive
061their children upwards of 90 minutes each way during business hours. Access is a needs-based program. A child's ability to go should not be dependent on privilege. While this budget decision is framed around transportation, it is more than that. For many, it functions as school closure, leaving students whose needs were not being met at their neighborhood school without good options. Access was the first place where our children's needs were fully met. Before access, my daughter did math alone in the hallway. Now she's been able to learn in a classroom with her peers, ending this year with pre-calculus. My youngest has found friendships and stability at access. If transportation is cut, so is that stability. He will either be forced to leave or he will return to a school that is gutted with an estimated half of
062his friends suddenly gone at a time when friendships are particularly important. For students like my son, being surrounded by others with similar cognitive profiles is not a luxury. It's protective. Chairman Wang mentioned feeling lonely and feeling like the only one and the joy his child feels in acceptance. Many access kids feel that too. Many access kids are neurode divergent. In a recent survey of parents, numerous families described children who were bullied, isolated, disregulated, chronically anxious, or refusing school before coming to access. Their children experienced drastic improvements in mental health once they arrived and finally found peers who understood and recognized them. This is not hypothetical harm. Removing current access students from their school will have real mental health consequences. And I think you've heard that emotion coming through in the testimony today. Please consider who
063will still be able to access access if transportation is taken away, who will be left behind, and what this upheaval will mean for kids who are finally thriving. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next. Next three. >> Next we have Amy Kyler Yano, Kirsten Oliver, and Amaru Moon. Uh, my name is Amy Kyler Yano, spelled K Y L E Ry-en Y A N O. Um, I'm a PPS alumnist, a parent of two students who attend Richmond Elementary School, and a queer student association parent leader. I came tonight to talk about our school's principal and how she was removed from her her duties on May 4th. She has resumed her duties as as principal as of yesterday. A lot of our community felt upset and scared with this sudden change without explanation. The communication around this
064sudden leave was minimal, vague, and felt very disconcerting to the community. Prospective families are currently deciding on lottery schools to choose from, including Richmond. Having our leadership taken away, the event published in the media, and still no adequate news to the broader community will impact whether families feel safe sending their kids to our school. I would also like to share my feelings about Brit Briber being laid off. Um they were a huge support and advocate for affinity groups and more specifically the LGBTQIA plus um students. Um when we talk about feeling uh like we have representation, they were our representation. Um, I saw tonight even in the awards um, which were beautiful, there wasn't a representation for the queer community. With new laws and executive orders impacting queer students daily, it is imperative to reinstate
065Britt to ensure that PPS policies that they wrote that protect queer students are actually implemented. Britt provided integral supports to the district's queer and trans students. Um, in looking at right sizing, I want to share that I hope that the district will ensure that title one schools are not closed. Please consider population growth and look at where density and affordable housing for working families exists. Um although Richmond is a lottery program and it pulls students from their neighborhood school, it is important to look at the impact of each lottery school and not lump them together. 52% of the 5313 students at Richmond identify as AAPI and seeing themselves reflected in the school in staffing and leadership provides positive racial representation. They see themselves reflected in the curriculum and in the literature. In the socopolitical climate
066of today, we need DLI programs like Richmond, Lent, Rose City Park, and Harrison Park. They provide an additional layer of racial healing and safety for communities of color that other neighborhoods programs may not be able to provide. In 2025, we had 160 applicants. Currently, we have 166. We fill four kindergarten classrooms every year. Part of the reason why my husband and I chose to attend Richmond and transfer from David Douglas School District was both for the language access to my husband's heritage language and because we wanted to be a part of PPS's inclusive policies and supports of trans and non-binary students like our own child. Please consider this as your right sizing and when considering lottery programs. Thank you. >> Thank you. My name is Amaru Moon, M O N, and I'd like to yield
067my time to my friend Paul Hogland. >> Hi everyone, my name is uh Paul Hogland, H A U G L A N D. Hi, my name is Paul Hogland and I was one of three staff that were laid off on April 17, 2026 under the guise of reduction in force. In reality, we were fired for reporting harassment, a hostile and toxic work environment, retaliation, and were in the process of joining PFSP and drafting a grievance that indicates clear violations of the PPS employee handbook and PFSP agreement. The district side of the PFSP bargaining team canceled a bargaining session to conduct these same day layoffs. I was a primary union organizer and the most vocal about reporting workplace issues. It's my belief that all three staff were terminated to make it appear that the two staff
068that reported workplace issues and submitted card checks to the PF PFSP were not being singled out. I'm curious if we would still be employed had all three staff submitted card checks. This all started from reporting supervisor misconduct, including racist jokes, harassing, and excluding staff that have reported workplace issues, particularly targeting women and people of color. Supervisors have soily stripped duties and responsibilities from subordinates, phasing out our jobs, while supervisors have too much work and are unable to effectively perform their jobs and lead their teams. I shared a spreadsheet with HR noting issues and incidents with supporting documentation from myself and others dating back to 2021, but HR claims that the supervisor misconduct is all performance related and only substantiated one of my complaints, but did not deny the rest. I talked to my co-workers directly.
069I believe my co-workers. I was told by HR that you can't just expect supervisors to know how to manage and that the district would be releasing a new management training soon. How have supervisors not learn how to manage their direct reports in the five plus years of being supervisors? How were they promoted with their positions not being posted, giving potentially more qualified candidates, people with protected statuses or veterans a chance to apply? If the dis if the district is trying to save money, why did they fire staff that provide schools genuine support when leadership is using AI to do their own jobs? If our jobs were not necessary, why is the district now contracting out our work and potentially hiring one of us through a temp agency to perform on this work at a lower
070rate? Clearly, I pushed too hard and I was too much of a liability for the district. In a previous position at PPS, I discovered and reported an employee that was stealing money via via payroll for years, and I was reprimmended for reporting a male custodian that was making sexual comments around female co-workers. As mentioned in my previous board meeting public comment, these are systemic issues. Is it fair to ask staff to show up with such issues? And when the district treats its employees this way, this was clear retaliation, union busting, and a wrongful termination. I'm calling for the district to reinstate the three IT technical support rep 3s and hold and to hold staff accountable which made the decision to fire us. I stand before you a second time. Please make this right. >> Right.
071Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Okay. >> Can you call the next three? Thank you. Can we uh the next I think there may not be three remaining. >> Kirstston Oliver. I think I already mentioned that one. Um John Satlocki. Oh boy. Thank you. You may begin when you're ready. >> All right. Let's see. I go to bed at 9 p Oh, sorry. My name is John Satlocky. S A T L O C K Y. Yep. I go to bed at 9:00 p.m. and get up at 4:00 a.m. for my job at the trades. My boys get themselves to school on their own. I recently moved to a new apartment, making sure I was within safe walking distance to an access bus stop. I'm a single working parent who relies on the buses in order
072for my son to participate in the program. The busing ensures that children from all economic backgrounds are able to get the education in line with their specific learning needs. This change unfairly affects children from single parents, working or lowerass households. Um both my kids moved from a neighborhood school where their acade academic needs were not being met. They were both in tag and the schools were unable to provide education they required and they were floundering. Returning to a neighborhood school doesn't feel like an option for my son. This is this is one that he has never been to and he wouldn't know anyway. Worse what's worse though is that the neighborhood school isn't able to accommodate him for his next year because of his multiple accelerated classes he's already taken. I've contacted the school and
073they have no idea how they would deal with this situation. Being forced to leave the school would incredibly harm him both socially and econom or sorry academically. Uh this change has not been thought out by the district and the repercussions for students would be detrimental. Ending busing eliminates equal access to a program our kids are already in. unfairly uprooting children of families who can't afford their own transportation. Thank you. Thank you. Good. Okay. And the people who have been called that didn't show up. >> She's here. >> Do you want me to call them again? >> Okay. >> I think Ellie Buckner. >> Ellie Buckner. She signed up to ver to speak virtually. No, she's right behind you. >> Is that Are you Ellie Buckner? Wait, you may go ahead. >> And was there anyone
074else? >> Thank you for your time. My name is Ellie Buckner. B U C K N R. Um I am here from Buckman Elementary which is the only title one focused school in Portland. Um we are facing significant budget cuts including three full-time teachers, one being a special education teacher, assistant principal and then the actual focus of our school. The funding for the art teachers is being cut in half. Um we are only facing this situation because our low enrollment which has caused low utilization which is caused by a limit on our lottery that is relatively arbitrary. It is a 50/50 neighborhood and lottery school but our title one neighborhood has limitations and so that keeps going down and it has not been accommodated in any way. And I wanted to say I just found
075out we are probably going to lose our art teacher of nine years because she has gotten a job offer that she's going to have to decide on this week. And I understand completely if she makes the decision to leave. Um but it's heartbreaking to see that it the difference between her being able to stay and leave is.5 FTE. That's it. that is the difference between our school kind of having arts or or not. And um I wanted to say also that our our school has really served um SCES students disproportionately. We have two full SCES classrooms and all of those students participate in all of the arts at Buckman and are engaged and helped through the arts. And it I think is also uh an illustration of how effective and engaging it is that those
076classes have been there for over five years when they often are supposed to rotate out I think more frequently than that. Um, so I wanted to say that being the only Title One Focus Elementary School attending the engagement sessions where I was able to communicate with you has really brought to my attention how there is an opportunity in bringing moving the lottery schools that are 100% lottery into neighborhood schools that are at risk of being closed and trying to think of innovative ways to bring the good in these schools that parents are already driving across town for to these areas that really could be uplifted by those kind of creative solutions. >> Great. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you, >> Chair Wong. I've been asked to call off the wait list for >> um
077How many slots do we have left? >> You have two slots. two slots that were unfilled. >> Uh we have >> Yes, we can go ahead call off the weight list. >> Okay, I'm just going in the order they came in. Um Suzanne Mullen. >> Okay, I'll keep calling. Charlotte Fischer, Kyla Tanaka. All right, those are our two. Thank you. >> Hi. Uh, my name is Suzanne Mullen. Last name is Mu Len. My heart's racing because I wasn't prepared for this. Um, I am a parent at Lent Elementary. Um, I think one of the things I want to share is, uh, my family was part of SEGC, so I know that change is hard. We've had to change communities. And I will kind of uh echo I think what um Carrie Bradshaw had mentioned earlier.
078Change is hard, but there's amazing communities waiting on the other side. Um, and so if you need to embrace it, uh, because the community that we found at Lent has been one that has been a beautiful community like was mentioned earlier, uh, just like a lot of the Title One schools, our school is a place, a hub where where our families come to for all their needs. Uh we're a place of mutual aid, of food support, um of feeling secure, of forming networks of how to get to and from school safely when you feel vulnerable. Um so I would just I I think echo some of the things that have been said earlier. Please be transparent. uh police center title one schools because what we saw with SEGC was the two schools most profoundly impacted
079Mary'sville and Lent were two title one schools at the furthest reaches the district because other schools were able to advocate and opt out. Uh and so I just want to say yeah that's it. I'm going to yield the rest of my time. >> And I am also a parent at Lent Elementary. Um, and I wanted to echo something that Amy had said about uh how destabilizing it is to lose your principal midyear. And last year in the middle of the year, we lost our principal and our vice principal in the same week. Unrelated it turned out, but uh we have only recently last year gotten uh Cynthia Kefir as our principal and we would love to keep building with her our school community. Um, and it's just been one more thing along with the SEGC
080and ICE and you know that that has made it hard for us to get our uh numbers up. And so we were concerned when we saw um the utilization map that Lucy the student had mentioned. Uh and we had some of the same concerns about how was that generated because it did not seem to reflect our experience of the school. I believe we're the lowest utilized uh according to that map at 32% among elementary schools. Um and it didn't ring true because we don't have classes of 10 children. We have classes of you know mid to upper 20s. And so we just were like, okay, this just feels like one of those exhibits that's out there that could that could that could damn us. And we and we didn't feel like it was fair. And
081even though it is just a first the beginning of the process and more information will come, it still felt like it might haunt us and and chase us and that the that number that data point would in the end be used um as as a tool to say, look, your school is the least utilized of the schools. Something had to change. We got a budget crisis. And we understand that we understand the crisis is real and um we just feel like we've we've done our time with moving and that we need a chance to build up our numbers and that we have every reason to think that we can build up our numbers. It turned out our previous principal was not accepting new students. She was just kind of at the end of her ability
082to to run the program. And so now that we that error has been recognized, we feel like it's all well within reach for us to build our numbers. Can I say one more thing >> just really quick? One sentence. >> I guess I just want to say to the community and to you all, not every family can adapt to these changes the same. And that's one of the core reasons we want to make sure that title one schools are centered in this. My family had the capability to adapt. Uh and not every family has that privilege. So please make sure that this is a consideration and a focal point in your decision. >> Thank you. Again, I want to thank everyone who showed up today for public comment. Again, your input is valuable to us.
083Uh if appropriate, if or sorry, if there's anything you want to follow up with the board or board office, please feel free to email. All right. Next up, we have comments from our union partners. I'd like to welcome Kelly Bond from the District Council of unions, Chris Walters, and and Veronica Green from the Service Employees International Union, and Angela Bonia from PAT. Go ahead and start cuz I'm going to be here a while. >> Okay. >> Um, hi. Sorry, I forgot my glasses. So, you're all a little blurry. Um, my name is Veronica Green. Um, I'm a parent at PPF. What? No, no, sunglasses. Yeah. Um uh I'm a parent of two PPS students. Um and I'm the lunch lady at Bridger Creative Science and I'm on our union's bargaining team and executive team. Um
084tonight I'd like to bring to the board's attention an issue that has come up regarding theou u memorandum of understand memorand of understanding. Um, SEIU and PPS agreed upon and signed about furlow days. During talks with PPS about furlow days, Chris Walters, our NS union co-chair, made it very clear that our members could not afford to lose any pay at all. However, we agreed to take one furlow day to help PPS out with their budget mess. During these meetings, Chris also repeatedly mentioned that nutrition services workers were scheduled to work through June 10th. June 10th is the day that our department has told us is our last day at work in our kitchens for the 202526 school year. We knew this and plan to work through June 10th way back in August when school started.
085Chris also mentioned um that our members couldn't afford to lose another day on the June paycheck. Um, we then have found out now that PPS says our last day is the 9th. They also told us that we should have known this. Never once has anyone from PPS in any communication said that our work year would be shortened. In fact, according to our current contract, PPS has to discuss shortening the school year with our union before a decision is even made about it. We have eight 18 days 17 days left. NS workers already get a short paycheck in June. One day is a very big deal. One day pay is a small grocery trip for my family. My kids will be on summer break and home and they eat a lot and every single penny counts.
086I do wonder does upper management ever worry about how they're going to feed their kids or pay their rent or keep the lights on for the family? These are real fears. It's a scary feeling. Maybe they should take another day off because I'm sure if they lost one day of pay, it would not potentially be financially devastating like it is going to be for many of my members, including myself. We feel that PPS made this deal in bad faith. Please tell administrator administration not to hurt the lowest paid workers in the district again. This is not our mess to fix. Another day off for a few people in the six layers between us and management sounds like a better plan. We literally feed all of our children. The least PPS can do is keep their
087word. Please hi everybody. I'm Chris Walters. my I'm the nutrition services uh co-chair and yeah so the district came to us in March with the budget crisis and we were given the option of furls or layoffs and we went to our members and our members preferred furlows over layoffs and so So we went through the whole process and we are eternally grateful to Pat for their sacrifice um because they took the huge hit and that allowed smaller unions like ours to take a smaller hit. Many of our members are living on the margins. I mean, we won some significant increases in pay in the last couple bargaining sessions, but our low our members are still some of the lower paid members in the district. Um, many of our members have second jobs. Our starting wages
088are among the lowest in the district still. This is something that we communicated as part of this process as we were going through the furlow process. And I feel that we made it very clear throughout this negotiation that we could not afford more than one day for our members. that this was something that was a hardship. Um, and so we also made it clear that taking a hit in the final June paycheck was something that we could not do with our members. Uh, so the May 1st furlow date was what we agreed to. And so we looked at those last days in June and we were assured that accommodations would be made for however this would work out um for these days once the end of the school year the changes were made. whatever would
089happen on the 8th, the 9th, and the 10th, they would figure out what would be done with nutrition services because once the schools are closed, we would obviously have to do something. Um, obviously, we wouldn't be feeding children, but you know, cleaner kitchens, training, what have you. As in the process of the the negotiations, we were told the important part was we take the furlow day, we sign the memorandum of understanding, and then we would figure out what would happen on those days after everything was signed. So once the ink was dry, apparently what would happen is we would lose an an extra day of pay that we could not afford. So as far as I'm concerned, our trust was broken. We were told we would take one day of lost pay. Now we're taking
090two. That's not right. Uh so as Veronica said, that's a That's a grocery trip. That's a full gas tank. Our members can't afford that, especially going into the summer. Uh so yeah, I can't tell you exactly how I feel about this. Not in a public setting, but uh I'm not happy about it. So, yeah, we're uh we're exploring our options, but I would really like it if you all as the board talk to the uh district and administration and uh maybe nudge them a bit to uh go back and keep their word on this because they they made a deal and we would like to like them to keep their word. Thank you. And uh go ahead. While I'm going, I uh I had a conversation with a DCU electrician and uh I was informed
091that our electricians can no longer work on nutrition services, coolers, and refrigerators. that this is now going to outside contractors. Now, when a when one of our fridges goes down, it's usually an electrical issue. Something wrong with a coil, fuse blown, something like that. Having a DCU electrician come in and fix it is a relatively inexpensive thing to do. Having an outside contractor come in takes longer, costs more. Now, I'm just a working stiff with a bachelor's degree in European history, which clearly I'm not using very well. I'm not sitting at a desk making 150, $200,000. So maybe I'm missing a bigger picture here, but it seems to me that when we're getting reimbursed for the school meals that we serve, every dollar that comes in gets split between food costs, equipment costs, and labor
092costs. Any economist will tell you food costs are in inelastic. There's not much we can do about that. Equipment costs, if the cost of repairing equipment, when that goes down doubles or triples because we're paying outside contractors to do the work that we could do inhouse cheaper with DCU labor. Guess what gets squeezed? labor costs. >> Mhm. And that pisses me off because if we're coming around whenever the next contract cycle is for bargaining and suddenly there's not enough money for our unit for wage increases because we're paying three times as much to repair our fridges because this district keeps going with its addiction to privatization and contractors. I'm going to be super upset. So maybe that's also something y'all can do. Kick the habit of privatization and contractors. Thank you. >> All you Kelly.
093>> Thanks Chris. I appreciate that. Hello board. Uh, my name is Kelly Bond. I am a local 48 business representative and the district council of unions um, president. It's going to be a bit, so I hope you have patience with me. I've spoken here on several occasions over the past four years. This is likely the last time I shall speak to this board. I want to share several things with you tonight. The first is to emphasize something stated by this district. Core values are an organization's enduring beliefs that remain constant over time. By making these values explicit through value statements and tethering them to a vision, an organization can articulate the ethical principles that guide action towards its vision. Students at the center, racial equity and social justice, honest and integrity, excellence, respect, relationships, creativity
094and innovation, partnerships and collaboration, grounded in the spirit of Portland, joyful learning and leadership as defined by the United Nations of Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. UNESCO. Some of you may know that acronym. Ethical principles are fundamental guidelines that govern behavior and decision making, particularly in fields such as the ethics of science and technology and the social and human sciences. These principles promote values like honesty, integrity, fairness, and respect for individuals, ensuring that actions align with moral standards and social expectations. They serve as a framework for evaluating ethical dilemmas. What are ethical dilemmas principles? That is that definition. I'm going to place students at the center in race, racial equity, and social justice as a specific focus to the side. Although it will permeate throughout what I'm going to share with you this evening. Why,
095you may ask? These principles should always be the lenses we try to see through when working with our youth. Most of the principles the district lists overlap significantly. Let's start with honesty and integrity. Honesty, adherence to the facts, fairness, and straightforwardness of conduct. integrity, firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values, incorruptibility, an unimpaired condition, the equity or state of being complete or undivided. It seems this district would have us believe a large part of the fiscal damage is due to recently declining student enrollment. The district has been in student decline since seriously 1998 when the number of students was 55,831. A closer look at this information demonstrates from 2019 to 2024 the number of students has decreased by 5,392 as reported by the district. From 2019 to 2024, the number of
096employees in the district has increased by 3,374 personnel. As reported in a link, the district has had the steady decline in students, but a drastic increase in staff since 2020. I'm going to kind of skip through a couple of them because there's a few that are listed here. In 2019, there were 49,478 students. Staff 5,952. That's an 8.31 student ratio to one staff member. In 2022 students, 45,456 staff 9,521 that is 4.77 students per one staff member. In 2024, students 44,086, staff 9,326. To be fair, this reports all employees in that year, not just full-time employees. To see what the district reports as FTEEs, one may look at the district schedule 15. As of 2013, the district itself reported 4,830.6 six employees and 48,98 students for a ratio of 9.96 students per staff. The district
097reported 5,942.8 employees and 45,456 students for a ratio of 7.65 students per staff. These numbers do not take into consideration the part-time employees working within the district, which is significant when compared to other staff members listed above. You may ask why this is important. The district's own documentation has demonstrated a decline in student enrollment for many years, which the district has stated is a direct tie to the dollars they receive. And it is. The district should have been right sizing all along and demonstrated fiscal responsibility. The district's numbers of high and middle level administration as well as their significant raises eat away at these dollars. For example, senior administrative chiefs received a considerable lift last year. I can tell you the DCU received a 4% lift last year going into this fiscal year. Admin received
098over 11%. This certainly undermines the honesty and integrity principles of fairness and moral value within nutrition services. The district is not demonstrating either of these principles. The district's own paperwork documents district DCU employees as full-time 260 day employees. The district then direct bargains which is a violation called an unfair labor practice with the employee saying they are 190 employees. Then HR labor relations says these district employees are actually only guaranteed 170 days. These employees get no vacation, fewer holidays, and are some of the lowest paid employees and are seemingly at the whim of the district. This definitely does not demonstrate honesty and integrity. These positions are funded strongly by federal grant dollars which raise the question of how the documentation is taking place. Is the federal government being charged at the 260 rate and the
099employees only receiving the 170 rate? These are going to be strong words. Could this be fraud or wage theft? Why is there so much conflicting information? Additionally, there is time and effort notificationformational email that was sent by the grant accounting department on November 10th, 2025 at 5:16 p.m. The notice in part stated upon review of the guidance and in preparing the distribution of this communication, it was determined that due to the minimal number of employees whose positions are not funded entirety in the entirety by federal funds, employees will instead self-certify their T& rather than the supervisor certification. The district also sent this notification with the same timestamp. This week, the district will begin distributing time and effort notifications to employees whose positions are funded in whole or in part by federal grants. This communication fulfills
100a federal monitoring requirement identified by the Oregon Department of Education to ensure that employees are directly informed of their federal funding source. In prior years, employees signed their own certifications. But when the district transitioned to supervisor certification, that direct notification step was removed. We are required to restore this practice. To date, employees have not received nor self-certified the T& notification as this me email stated is required. Who is doing it then? If not the employee, then is the district being fraudulent based on the requirements this email sent by this district. I now want to take you on another journey, not nearly as light-hearted as Chris, am I? That encompasses nearly every ethical principle this district says is part of its core values. Circles back to a number of employees in the district, budget, history, and
101some stark realities. Most of you have received a couple of reports that I provided to many of you when you first came on board. One was the internal report from the school district dated back in 2008. PPS internal maintenance report. The second one is called the Saison facilities maintenance report. It came out in October of 2022 shortly after I came to be a business rep. So here's the history. In 1987 1988, the district had 181 funded FTE maintenance positions to maintain 103 buildings, 9.4 million square ft of space, and 716 acres of property, and you had 51,880 students. By 2007208, the district had reduced the funded FTE maintenance positions down to 74, but did not have 74 employees to maintain the exact same number of buildings, square footage, acreage, and the 46,088 students as was
102reported in the 2008 PPS internal maintenance report. The district cut the number of maintenance employees more than 50% and reduced the maintenance budget as much. This pushed the district into a situation where preventative maintenance was nearly non-existent. Deferred maintenance escalated and instead of being proactive to preventive issues, everything became reactive, responding to situations that became critical mass and more expensive to repair. A prime example of this was something that happened at Mary'sville Elementary in 2009. You don't have to take my word for it. You can still find the reports about the fire where students and teachers had to leave a burning building. A parents night more nightmare. I say this as someone who has a cousin that was burned over 85% of their five-year-old young body. I say this as an aunt who had a
103young nephew who was severely burned at a very young age as well. So I understand the terror that goes with that. I am so I am so grateful that those students and those teachers did not have to experience that physical trauma. There are federal and state maintenance codes requiring preventative maintenance and yet the district wasn't follow following them because of a shortfall. Deferred maintenance or no maintenance was acceptable to the district to save dollars. Once again, it's fortunate that everyone made it out of Mary'sville Elementary. In 2022, the district had 74 maintenance allocated FTEEs, but only 56 actual employees to maintain buildings and nine employees to maintain the landscaping for the increased number of buildings and structures. It went from 103 to 177 and the same acreage with 45,456 students. The district must have realized
104there was an issue. After all, there was an internal audit report in 2008. It pointed out the lack of personnel to care for the district's physical assets. The this district commissioned Saison for an external report 15 14 years later. It covered building maintenance, groundskeeping, and custodial work. It clearly demonstrated this district doesn't meet industry standards. It isn't because employees are lackadasical. The seaison report reiterated the district should have 113 maintenance FTEEs and 39 landscape FTEEs excluding four persons and assistant four persons. There are 16 district DCU four persons and assistant four persons. While the custodians are separate from the DCU, I feel it is important to lift up SEIU team as well and remind this board the district had illegally laid off approximately 600 custodians at one point. It took a few years, lawsuits, rehires,
105and a great deal of money to correct the district's actions. Once again, don't have to take my word for it. There's plenty of articles out there to follow. The dis this district's actions did not demonstrate collaboration, partnership, positive relationships, integrity, nor respect for employees at the time. This district created mistrust, frustration, and anger. These same feelings are resonating with the district currently. December 2025, DCU had a total of 95 district employees. As of today, literally as of today, the DCU has had five of those 95 positions vacated and no replacements, putting the DCU at 90. What is the importance of this, you ask? The district is looking to cut positions to save dollars due to the lack of rights sizing the district as they go. What is the impact of the current superintendent's proposed budget?
106The budget proposed that state that was proposed stated the DCU was to go from 83 DCU FTE employees down to 75. The second largest percentage cut in the smallest represented unit in the district. Someone's numbers don't add up. This is how the district's DCU employees are broke down. 18 employees are warehouse nutrition services personnel who are generally only employed when the school is in session. These are the personnel who work in the warehouse and nutrition services making certain curriculum materials and students using and the students use for their learning or on site or the hot and cold foods delivered every day so students can feed their bodies and their minds. Mind you, the district either doesn't know how many Daisies employees work or they aren't being forthright. This brings the DCU down to 72 FTEES.
107Already the districts below the 74 allotted maintenance positions established back in 2007 2008. >> Sorry, sorry to interrupt. I just want to ask how much >> I got a bit. Okay. But just be we have a full agenda and you're always well I just want to remind you you're welcome at every meeting. We have time for our union partners to come at every meeting. So um don't feel constrained that you have to have it all today. >> I do feel constrained to have this all today and >> Okay. Okay. Go ahead. >> Thank you. Already the district below uh allotted 74 FTE maintenance positions established in back in 2007208 and below the numbers the district says it's targeting to reduce the DCU FTEEs to of 75. Of these 72, eight are landscapers maintaining 700 plus
108acres bringing the maintenance crew down to 64. How long does it take you to manage an average 5,300 square foot yard? Each landscape employee manages over 89 acres. An acre is equivalent to just over eight averagesized Portland yards. To put it another way, it's over 730 Portland metro area yards per groundscaping person. That doesn't even consider the additional items like doing arborist work or trying to control invasive plants. The landscaping personnel who should be 39 strong but are only eight are trying to ensure the students have a safe place outside the school buildings to take a break from class stress classroom stressors. Have fields to play sports on and help make certain the air our young people breathe is clean and keep keeping the environment a bit cooler. In the Saison report, landscaping again was
109in a totally different area of the report, not in the maintenance FTE count. Two of our personnel are instrument repair technicians who manage, inventory, maintain, and repair over 9,000 district instruments. They are a direct line to ensuring the students who can't afford instruments are able to participate fully in music courses. The district speaks of being student centered, creative, and enjoyful learning. Without them, instruments would be unavailable due to the sheer volume of what is required for maintenance and repair, which cannot be handled by local vendors without significant wait time. Did you know it would take an additional five instrument shops in the Portland area to try and keep up with what these two instrument repair technicians do? Instruments can cost as little as $25 for minimal maintenance to well over $6,000 per instrument for maintenance
110and repairs at market cost. Let's take an average of market cost for the instruments based on these two numbers. If half the instruments for the music curriculum only were required at a minimal maintenance, that's 4,500 learning implements, it would amount to $112,500 per year. The other half at $6,000 cost would come up to $27 million per year. Two instrument repair technicians on the front line helping teachers and students with their instruments, maintaining and repairing music music implements needed for curriculum that aid in student attendance, math, and reading cost the district in the neighborhood of approximately $300,000 a year versus that versus that $27 million that it could cost the district. Is the district going to mortgage the students by paying more at more money attempting to contract out instrument repairs and the inability maintain curriculum
111needed materials while falling failing the students to it purports to protect denying them an excellent well-rounded education and experience. Those two people were not included in the maintenance FTE report. We're now at 62 people. DCU has one district employee who works approximately 50 hours a month. That's approximately 12 hours a week in the communications department to live stream broadcast communications these meetings. I'm sure the district is fully aware that there are federal and state legal frameworks that require you to have the open meetings act to meet the open meetings act. I'll skip a few of those. That brings you down to 61 employees. Another single district employee, one in the DCU, manages the security door access controls in every building. Not two or three employees, one. They are making certain door badging systems work so
112people who shouldn't gain access to the buildings don't. That staff and students aren't trapped inside, making sure that they operate. One loan employee. We're now down to 60 employees. It gets a little shorter. The employees who work diligently every day to ensure the fire alarm systems in the school meets codes and state requirements to make certain as possible another fire doesn't happen like occurred at Mary'sville Elementary and has more tragic results. the employees handling waste sewage lines so it isn't backing up in the schools where our young people are creating a health or creating and exposed to a health hazard and possibly shutting the school down. For example, the 4,000 gallons of sewage flood that happened at one of the Portland schools. The employees who maintain repair the clean water pipes to bring water in
113for the children to drink, wash their hands, and flush the toilets. the employees that keep student food safe in the kitchen when a refrigerator isn't maintaining proper temperature or the ovens up to temperature so students aren't at risk for food poisoning. The employees that are expertly skilled at making parts for building equipment that can no longer be bought at the local hardware or repair shops because they no longer exist for 50 to 100year-old buildings and equipment. the employees who paint and deal with lead abatement to keep our students safe and that the community provided bond money for. Then there are the employees who repair doors, furniture, bleachers, and walls, windows, etc., so students aren't injured by equipment falling on them. the maintenance employees going to newly renovated or new newly built buildings and schools that
114have equipment failures before or shortly after students are welcomed back into them. This is going to be rather pointed. On February 9th, I specifically asked Dr. Armstrong a question regarding the contracting out outsourcing of district work. I asked Dr. Armstrong to respond in writing which she obliged. This is what was stated. I wanted to follow up and clarify that I have not directed or asked any of my executive leaders to explore outsourcing custodial maintenance or nutrition services. I have not been presented with nor asked to consider any information related to outsourcing in these areas. I do expect the team to routinely examine costbenefit considerations to ensure responsible stewards stewardship of resources. We're going to fast forward. Chris might have taken a little of my thunder away, but that's okay. I asked um this person to
115provide me with some documentation. May 4th, they received a phone call from an employee asking for help on how to assess a freezer that had gone down the Friday before that the contractors had not responded to yet. So that was over the weekend. The food had already gone bad and the employee was trying to help the custodian by calling the supervisor and then calling this particular person to get help. The employee was told by the custodian that nobody had arrived yet and he was concerned that nobody may be coming. With nobody coming, we were concerned with the recent layoff of the contractors by seven people. If who does refrigeration may be overloaded, may not be coming for a while. In this employees experience, it takes up to 5 days to get a contractor to look
116at a freezer that has already lost its food. This happened with a work order in fall of two 2025. The person who was called told the employee that I've done many refrigerator freezers and milk coolers. I would love to help them. He told the employee that we commonly have problems with dirty coils not being cleaned regularly. Although the flexible services HVAC and our contractors were supposed to be doing preventative maintenance. The employee cleaned the cooling unit and since it was dirty and then took their lunch and came back later. The employee found that when he came back that the from lunch that the freezer had not completely gone down to its desired temperature. This is where knowledge and skill set comes in. At that time the employee that was called decided that the other person
117needed help more help and should be assigned to the work order he was on. The employee that was called called the supervisor and asked if he could dispatch that person who was familiar with the work and assign them to the work order to help the other employee assess and possibly make the freezer work since the employee was unsure about what they were doing. The supervisor called this person back to tell them they did not have permission to work on that refrigerator and that won't we will no longer be doing refrigeration since the mechanical shop is paying contractors to do this work. I have more to share on that. I'm going to try and be brief about this. That's our work. That is the DCU's work. That is not contractor's work. That was electrical work to
118take care of business. Why are you ousting us out to contractors? They did, by the way, fix the unit. The the employee just didn't know that there's an action that takes place where the refrigerator cools down and then warms back up and then settles back into its state. So, I'll make that one shorter. Our DCU employees embrace honesty and integrity, excellence, respect, relationships, creativity and innovation, partnerships and collaboration and grounded in the spirit of Portland, which you find all of the labor people here fall into. Pat, SEIU, ATU, I know I'm missing one. >> PFSP, sorry. PFSP. You won't get that from the contractors who do not have an invest invested interest in the district with all its intricacies and look at the district as a cash cow. Contractors who are paid through a contract
119the district doesn't fund until a problem comes up and then scrambles to find the dollars to pay the bill. Using the contract is a form of heliloc. contractors who've created problems in the district for employ that our employees have had to go back and fix. I know you have this information. I've given it to you all before. Yet, you approve contracts with no actual fiscal accounting as pointed out in the April 28th meeting by Texas company Prescidio. And I would say rather rudely to director Lefort and I feel bad for you. They should not have approached you and spoke to you in that fashion. A company by the way who was contracted to do an audit by the district then interestingly received another contract just under the dollar amount. So it did not need to
120be reviewed by the board of directors. Then they are awarded a contract to manage one the 1.8 million billion dollar bond. Shortly following after that, a department was let go. Let's look at the optics of Prescidio also hiring the superintendent's daughter and two former schoolboard directors. How does this not wreak of inappropriateness or inappropriate conduct or at least the optics of it? Then the district comes up short on monies and tells unions it's layoffs or furls. The district is riding on the backs of lower paid employees while upper admin staff got significant raises even with a budget shortfall. This year again has the appearances of writing on the back of lower paid employees by stating they do not have money and cannot even afford to keep up with the inflationary rate. Are you as the
121superintendent going to give up your raise, your step increases and cost of living adjustments along with your upper paid level paid administrative staff to accommodate budget shortfalls. The offers that are being put at the table for DCU, I can tell you right now, are abysmal. Telling somebody 1% cost of living adjustment with a 3.3 inflation out there is pathetic at best. The DCU employees meet these e ethical principles the district says it values. Students at the center, racial equity and social justice, honest and integrity, excellence, respect, relationships, creativity and innovation, partnerships and collaboration grounded in the spirit of Portland and joyful learning and leadership. Are you as the district going to take away take that away by reducing an already skeletal crew? Are you going to contract out their work like has been demonstrated above
122and the contractors will get to it when they get to it? What is a child's health and life worth? What is an education worth if the facilities or the grounds our students play on, learn on, and enjoy every day aren't safe for them to be in? Thank you. May I make a May I make a really quick comment? Can >> I make a a quick comment? Um, that was a lot. I appreciate you being here and I know I've met with you and um really am concerned about what you say. I just think when you're calling people out by name, um, it's really disrespectful. And I'm wondering how we can both hear what you need to say and be respectful, which is something that, you know, we we we try to model with each other
123and especially in front of our students. Um, I just want to make that comment. I just found it um really disrespectful >> to call people out by name. >> I'm sorry that you find that disrespectful. Um, but I will say this, having been in a strong leadership position, the buck stops with the person at the top. And I did not call out many people that I could have called out. I was trying to be respectful. >> Hello. I'm going to take a deep breath and get ready. Do we're good to go. Okay. Um, hello uh, Chair Wong, Vice Chair Depass, Superintendent, uh, Dr. Armstrong, student rep. RTOR, and esteemed board members. My name is Angela Bona. I am the current president of the Portland Association of Teachers. I'm here with um, Alicia Chavez, who is
124our incoming president and current vice president. Um, as well as Bianu, who is one of our board members and ELD educator in PPS. Um, I want to start with some kudos. So, first a kudos to uh senior director Baird and uh the head of employee and labor relations uh Kimberly Gibson for their prompt response and support to staff, families, and students around the issues they've had with their administrator at a specific school um from our last meeting. Uh these families have advocated for four years and they were often ignored. So, uh their responsiveness really does mean a lot to that community. Also, a kudos to Dr. Freeman uh the chief human resources officer for spearheading and implementing a system of accountability for our school leaders. Clarity is kindness and knowing that there's a process when
125we have concerns and what to to and what to do so we can work to improve our school climate. Um that is huge and knowing that our administrators will be held accountable through coaching and support has been really impactful for our staff. Um today I want to thank you all for recognizing the importance of reducing costs by asking yourselves, do we really need five layers of management um as we lose enrollment and reduce staff? Um I was glad to see the new org chart that seems to parse down more central office and non- studententf facing positions. However, in order to maintain transparency and accountability, we need to see the charts that include folks besides our licensed administrators, directors, chiefs, and the new role, I think, of executive directors. My members have shared instance after instance
126of administrators who have failed up into the central office, including administrators who oversaw scandals like the White investigations, as well as administrators that didn't call 911 or poison control after a student consumed a dangerous and illegal substance. members want to know that we aren't just rearranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic, but actually steering the ship in a different direction. We also want to point out a concern that was raised in the public meeting of the community budget review committee whose report you you will hear today. And full disclosure, I am a newly appointed this year member of the CBRC in a nonPAT capacity. Um the the concern was around the budgeting of a 1% COLA for each of the units in bargaining with the district right now. No PPS union in recent
127history has ever expect accepted a 1% uh COLA during negotiations. So to budget only a 1% COLA makes me worry that the budget before you is unrealistic and will lead to adjustments this summer once the five unions settle their contracts. All unions are in bargaining right now and ATU and DCU are currently in mediation which is one step closer to a work stoppage or a strike. Whether intentional or not, and I want to believe it's not, it sets up a narrative that PPS may have to cut more staff or services because the unions bargained and the district will have to have agreed to give them a cola of over 1%. especially after a year where we had to take four furlow days, an equivalent of a 2% cut in our salary. Please reconsider this allocation
128to better reflect the reality so this doesn't become a political game later on in this year. Lastly, I want to speak to the need for a fellow a follow-up audit to review how our state funds are allocated. Namely, we're concerned about the spending of funding allocated for our English language learners. We want to make sure that educators who do this work with our multilingual learners have the resources and autonomy to do the work that they are highly skilled to do. Beyondu um a PAT board member and ELD educator is here to share those concerns with y'all tonight and the need for an audit of those funds. Did you know that we are laying off 23% of our EL staff when EL enrollment has only gone down half a percent this year? In fact, EL enrollment
129has only gone down 10% since 2023. This year, at least two of my former ELD families have had their parents abducted by ICE. I put these statements together because I'm struggling with duality of saying we fight to protect our immigrants rights when we're misallocating the services they receive in public schools. Next year we are proposing a loss of 16 EL teachers moving from 108 FTE to 92. So I have a math problem. If the amount of money we get for EL is based on our enrollment and we have 108 ELD teachers, how many EL teachers should we cut next year if we have lost half a percent of students? Half a teacher or 16? The math is not mathing because the enrollment decline in EL is not matching the actual cuts we are making to
130ELD services. Back in the 70s when San Francisco was integrating their schools, thousands of Chinese students went without ELD services. The Supreme Court ruled in Lao vers Nichols that school districts who are receiving funding for ELD should be providing EL supports to those students. The EL admin have demanded that instead of meeting the needs of ELD students and leveled classes, we push in to gened classes without sufficient staffing. We know a lot about inclusion models in North Portland. Some call it neighborhood schools. Most of us call it inclusion without staffing. Because when parents put their kids in public schools and this district continues to force models teachers on the ground say aren't working, do you know what happens to our enrollment? Integrated models need more staff than non-integrated models. If I have 60 ELD students
131in 12 different classrooms, I can't teach with 12 different teachers in one day without additional staff. But if I can pull students from multiple classrooms into one group and serve each of their needs, then we don't got to be San Francisco in the 1970s where students went without services. Next year, we are receiving $22.7 million for EL from the state, but I only see 15.5 million allocated in this budget. So, what are we spending the other millions of dollars on? ELD state dollars should be used for EL staffing. Restore 15 of the 16 ELD teachers and give teachers the autonomy to choose pull out or push in services. The second part cost you nothing except for a little humility and power. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Thank you. So, I was originally planning
132a break around now, but we have um kids in the audience who are waiting. Well, it's getting late for kids. So, I would like to actually move on to the next two and then we'll have a break after the the renaming resolutions. Um, thank you for our union partners for showing up and and testifying. Your words mean a lot. Your feedback means a lot. And yes, again, thank you. Uh, next up on the agenda, we have a vote on a new mascot for the Metropolitan Learning Center. We have 15 minutes allotted for this item. I'll hand it over to Superintendent Armstrong. >> Yeah, I'd call up Chief of Schools Isaac Cardona to introduce our speakers. Good evening, Sher Wong, Vice Chair Deass, board of directors, student representative Ian or RTorto, and Superintendent Armstrong. Thank you
133for the opportunity to speak tonight. I'm Isaac Cardona, the chief of schools, and I'm here to introduce the next two topics. First, I'd like to introduce principal Ashley Hudson from MLC Metropolitan Learning Center as they she shares the community's recommendations regarding the adoption of a school mascot following their engagement process. We appreciate the board's time and consideration um of the work and feedback gathered from students, staff, families, alumni, and community members throughout this process. At this time, uh Principal Ha, take it away. >> Hi, Ashley Hudson here. Thank you, Isaac. Um, I'm here for a long- aaited mascot proposal. The students and staff and community last year went ahead and went through a process of voting on and trying to figure out what mascot would be most appropriate for MLC. Can move on to the
134next slide. Sweet. All right. So, um, we've had a lot of talking here today, but if you're not already aware, MLC is a K K12 alternative school in the city of Portland. And we have a lot of things that make us unique, but I will also say that one of the things that um is very apparent the moment you walk in the door is the community-based feel and the sense of belonging that all the students have in the school. We see this as a place where students really um come and just can be themselves in a way that maybe they weren't authentically able to do in another place. We have some core values that we do work with our students on starting from kindergarten all the way up in terms of courage, compassion, uh respect,
135self-discipline and integrity. And that guides all the work. One of the things that was the intent of the committee that um went through the process of trying to figure out which mascot would be most appropriate is trying to find something that would reinforce the identity of the students and the sense of belonging in the community. So the timeline and process of this, it came up in October of 2024. So hey, we're we're finally here um a long time later. And then there was a mascot committee that was put together in April of 2025. They went ahead and reviewed submissions and narrowed down some options and then came to the conclusion right before the end of the school year last year um that they would hold a vote and they did so and came up with
136the monarch butterfly. And the reason for that is that a caterpillar turning into a butterfly is a great visual that represents the growth and transformation that takes place for the students at MLC. So um the kids are pretty excited about it to be perfectly honest. We've all been dressing in monarch butterfly costumes and things like that um already. That is all for that portion of it. I I think as as part of this as well, and if this is not okay to bring up at the moment, that is fine. We can do it another time. But there also has been interest from the community for several years. Um to possibly change the name from Metropolitan Learning Center to Metropolitan Learning Community. Um, and there's a variety of reasons for that, but would would also just
137ask for the board's blessing and moving forward with that process as well. >> All right. We'll make sure to um reserve a little bit of time to talk about that request in a moment. Uh, but first off, let's let's put this on the table. Do I have a motion and a second to adopt resolution 710? Sorry, 7301. Resolution to adopt a mass mascot for the Metropolitan Learning Center. >> So moved. So moved. Also >> director to pass and director Sullivan moves. >> Thank you. >> Second. So >> director Chase Miller seconds. >> We can have two and two this time. >> And director Split also seconds. >> Too late. >> All right. Uh do we have a board discussion? >> Just that I love the name. I think it's perfect. >> Thank you. >> Um,
138there's a school in East Portland that also has a monarch butterfly as a mascot. I think it's a great metamorphosis is a really uh great choice and really happy to support it. >> Awesome. Thank you. >> We got to know your kids a little bit earlier this spring. Was that winter? I don't know. Um, and Monarch Butterfly does seem like a really great fit. >> Yes, for sure. There are some of them that really wanted to be here today because they've been working on designs and things like that, but unfortunately went home sick or couldn't stay late. >> Well, there's other ways to share email. We'll we'll publicly display it at some point. >> Fantastic. Thank you. >> Interpretive dance. I was gonna I was just going to say maybe we could um collectively plant
139a bunch of milkweed um because I think the monarchs actually do come through Portland and I know that there's a quite a large milkweed planting >> nonprofit here. >> They would probably love to work with you. >> Lovely. Thank you. >> Congratulations. >> Sweet. >> Are you working on a design for it? >> Oh yeah. Yeah, we will. Um, we had to put on pause with the comm's department and things like that to make sure we were following the process, but um, yeah, some kids had some ideas and and we'll move forward. >> Great. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Pow. Is there any public comment? No. >> All right. Thank you for that uh, presentation. The board will now vote on resolution 73011, resolution to adopt a mascot for the Metropolitan
140Learning Center. All those in favor, please indicate by saying yes. >> Yes. Yes. >> Yes. Opposed >> abstensions. Student representative Torto. >> Yes. >> Thank you. The Monarch Butterfly I mean resolution 7301 is approved by a vote of 7 to Z with student representative voting yes. Congrats. Um on to the next the request. I just wanted to do the short request is per our policy. Uh the the the process to change the name can be brought up in the board and then direct we can ask the superintendent to start that process. Um so I will go ahead and say that I do approve of starting that process. Anybody else? >> Yes. >> Yep. Looks like you have the majority of the board that approves the start of the process for renaming metropolitan learning to some
141other Cword. Sorry, it's getting late and getting center or or what was the um community. Thank you. Let me clarify that so I don't get in trouble later. Thank you. Uh, all right. Next up, we also have the resolution to prove a new name for Jason Lee Elementary School. This one is also allotted 15 minutes. And I'll hand this over to Dr. Armstrong. >> Thank you. And passing it right to our chief of schools, Dr. Cardona, introducing the speaker or the principal. >> Thank you. Next up, I'm honored to introduce Principal Alma Velasquez from Jason Lee Elementary to share the school community's recommendation regarding the proposed school name change. This recommendation reflects deep engagement with students, staff, families, and community members. And I especially want to acknowledge Principal Velasquez's leadership throughout this process. As the
142former principal of Jason Lee myself, this community remains deeply important to me, and I appreciate the care and thoughtfulness that Principal Velasquez has brought to guiding this work with the school community. Principal Velasquez, take it away. >> Thank you. Good evening everyone. My name is Alma Velasquez and I am the principal of the currently named Jason Lee Elementary. I'm here tonight to present my school community's request for a change of a name to our school. I also would like to um have the lady next to me introduce herself, please. >> Hello, my name is Miriam Low. I am the southern site manager at Jason Lee and a community um person within the school as well. She's also been an active member of our renaming school community for the past two years. In the spring of
1432024, this board gave us permission to pursue this work. We formed a committee made up of four students and equal parts of families and staff as well as a community partner, our sunsite manager. We met over 20 times in this period and worked hard to ensure our process was inclusive of all the diverse voices in our community from the beginning to the end. The policy that governs school name changes in PPS calls on communities to consider the impact of a new name on our most underrepresented students. We believe the change from Jason Lee, a Christian missionary who was a leader in the removal of indigenous people from this region to our new name will do just that. Our students consider the names of many local change makers throughout history of our region. People of color
144who were pioneers in their field. Simultaneously, we held conversations with our with PSU professors who worked closely and are connected to our region's native communities and local tribes. They suggested that in the tradition of the people who inhabited our region before Jason Lee came here, it was not customary to name places after individuals. This is rather a western tradition. Instead, names for places were inspired by the natural world. We considered that and ultimately decided to let our community choose the name that most inspire them and felt representative of our school community. The ballot included seven individual names of historical figures and two names inspired by nature. As you can see, nearly half of the over 430 voters chose the name Sunrise Elementary. Finally, I'd like to read to you the submission of the name of
145our our community has chosen. It came from our kindergarten teacher, Miss Dar. We hope that you will consider our request to change the name of our school from Jason Lee Elementary to Sunrise Elementary. This name came to me while I was driving to school one morning. Excuse me. Watching the sunrise of a Rocky but I thought it was something so special. Then over the next few weeks, I really noticed the sun rising behind our school and across our playground. I thought about the symbolism of a sunrise. It's the beginning of a new time, a new day. There's a lot of hope in a sunrise. Thank you. >> Thank you. All right, let's put this on the table. Do I have a motion and a second to adopt resolution 7302, resolution to approve a new name
146for Jason Lee Elementary School. >> So moved. >> Director Split moves. Director Chase Miller seconds. Oh, I'm sorry. Uh, Director Lefort seconds. All right. Uh, board discussion or comments. >> I just want to say I thought it was such a beautiful name for the school. Um, just as an aside, the kid, the school in my neighborhood has an amazing sunset. We're on the west side >> and I just can imagine how on the east side that sunrise would be on a school playground cuz I see kind of the opposite. And I just when I first heard the name, I kind of got chills just thinking about how um our school grounds just like give us those feelings and the interaction between the school and what's going on around the school and sometimes have these sort
147of beautiful vantage points. So, I just wanted you to know that I thought it was such a beautiful name and really grateful to the community and everyone who took part. Um my daughter's currently on a renaming committee for another school in the district and I know how much work and conversation goes into it and how much thought. So, thanks to everybody including you who worked on that effort. >> Yes, everyone. We're all very excited about it. >> I I think it's a fant fantastic name and I really love that you modeled in the process um just such an inclusive process really um that really came through. >> We actually went back to some of the students that went to Jason Lee as well and uh the community itself. So, not just the people who are
148in Jason Lee, we did recognize those that went to Jason Lee prior to and came back um during a lot of of our events to vote. So, that was a big part of us um making sure our entire community was involved in this. >> Yes. And I you picked up what I was putting down and that's that alumni um like to sometimes be involved, especially with the high school renaming. There's a lot of um identity tied to where you went to school. So, I appreciate that you invited um alumni in. That's great. >> Thank you. >> I also love it living on the east side of Portland. I didn't even have to get to the slide where you explained how it came to you having driven south so many early mornings and looked over to
149see the sun rising over the east side and thinking of our schools. I have pictures of our schools, several of our schools, the sun actually rising over them. So, I just love it. I think it's just perfect for that area of the city. We actually have a beautiful picture that uh shows the background of Jason Lee in the sunrise. So, it is it definitely is amazing view. >> I really appreciate um the return to tradition and uh uh non-colonial methods of naming and acknowledgement. Um, I think it's really beautiful and important that that was a core uh part of your strategy. Thank you for that. >> Yeah. I also want to thank um the the staff um the community agents who um helped the process, make sure that it was inclusive. We had uh community
150meetings and they were part of ensuring that documentation that documents were translated that people were invited. They made phone calls to make sure that the voting process was inclusive of all of our communities and languages and everything. So, thank you to them and they're here and uh they just made a huge difference. >> Thank you. Can >> I ask you a question? Oh, >> go for it. >> Are you guys the leopards? >> We certainly are. Can you tell? >> We have our family back here. Go Leopards. >> Actually, I have another question. >> You guys have really dope t-shirts. Can Are those available for purchase? >> Absolutely. They are. >> Okay. >> And they're actually going the purchase of of those items, I think, will connect somehow back to funding our name change. >>
151I love it. Sign me up. >> Great. >> Ditto. Um I think the name is perfect and I am so excited to get this officially changed. Thank you. >> So with that, um, is there any board comment or sorry, public comment? All right. Thank you. Let's get this done. All right. Uh, the board will now vote on resolution 7. Don't clap too early. Uh, 7302, resolution to approve a new name for Jason Lee Elementary School. All in favor, please indicate by saying yes. >> Yes. >> Yay. >> Opposed. Abstensions. Student represent. >> Yes. >> Thank you. Resolution 7302, Sunrise Elementary, is approved by a vote of seven to zero with student representative voting yes. >> Thank you so much. Thank you. >> Leopards leopards come down. Can I get a photo with everyone? >> Yes.
152Let's take a photo and then a five minute break. >> Sunrise. back. All the way back. All the way back. >> Thank you. >> Just move this. Okay. >> All right. Squish in friends. Squish back friends. >> All right, let's go. One, two, three. Leopard. >> One, two, three. Sunset leopard. >> Sunrise leopard. >> Thank you guys. All right, let's be back here at 8:54. >> All right, next up we have and thank you for staying so late. Um, we have the community budget review committee. Uh, we have allotted 30 minutes for this as a general guideline and so I'll hand this over to Superintendent Armstrong. Yeah, thank you, Chair Wong. Thank you all for being here. This is an annual item uh board members and um you will be presented this information, this report
153with their recommendations to inform your um budget uh actions later on in the month. So, with that, like to introduce our chief financial officer, Michelle Morrison. Thank you, Superintendent Armstrong, uh, Chair Wong, Vice Chair to Pass, and the rest of the directors. Um, I'm so pleased to be with you tonight, even though it's a little bit later, uh, with these representatives of the community budget review committee, and they will present the report based on the review of the proposed budget. And before I hand it off, I'd like the opportunity to thank them for their courage and commitment to this work in such a difficult budget cycle. There are many new members and I'd like to recognize that I did not differentiate the process enough in order them to anchor the group into the depth of
154understanding required for a really high level of confidence. Um really the and you can see in the in the report itself the timeline from budget proposal to report development is just far too short. One thing we can do differently this year is uncouple the CBRC budget review report from the local option levy certification which you can expect to see soon in an upcoming meeting. I will say that finance staff did a great job responding to member questions. Um but I do recognize the need to provide support and access to this body throughout the year so that the budget development cycle is more amendable to these dedicated volunteers. We've got a plan in place for that. I want to thank the full committee again for participation and express gratitude to the leadership. Um Adriel Pson who
155is chair Kranja Cruz uh co-vice chair and Angela Bonia co-vice chair and with that I'd like our members to introduce themselves and we'll get into the presentation. >> Hello my name is Shane Corey. I'm a parent of one PPS student and a second one in about a year and a half. Hello, I'm Eli Pada. I'm a freshman at McDaniel High School and I've been in PBS all my life. >> Hi, I'm Anne Cherry, PhD, parent to a second grader and a soon to be kindergartener at Arita Elementary and also um a graduate of 13 years of PPS education. >> I think you have to point it that way. >> That way >> is my experience. Roseanne, can you advance or it should be working? >> Is it that one? >> So many remotes. >> They
156don't. >> Right. There we go. So, quick background to start off on the CBRC for those following along at home. Uh the CBRC reviews, evaluates, and makes recommendations to the board regarding the superintendent's proposed budget uh and confirms the local option levy funds are being spent according to the voters's wishes. All right. Uh the purpose and focus of the CBRC is to analyze that the budget aligns with the board's goals. Uh you can see the themes of the goals right there. third grade reading, fifth grade mathematics, eighth grade readiness, as well as high school graduate uh high school graduation. Yeah. We're now going to briefly discuss the themes and recommendations uh that the committee came up with and that was presented to the board in our report. >> Great. First of all, thank you for
157having us. We're very glad to be here tonight. As you know, the CBRC represents the community in this process. And as such, we're very attuned to the impact of budget decisions on the level of support that's available inside our classrooms. And yet, we know this the district faces long-term challenges of rising costs, of declining enrollment. Um, and so we're encouraged to see that this year some of the uh most of the changes that we see in the budget are of a structural nature rather than relying on one-time measures. Um however with a significant shortfall projected not just for this year but also for 2728 the challenges are far from resolved. One thing we want to note that I think has been really reinforced here tonight. We know that families and staff of the district are
158the most important advocates for improvements in school funding. but they can only advocate effectively and they're only going to be motivated to do so when they can understand where the money goes and how it's being spent. So, the CBRC this year has identified multiple recommendations to improve the budget's readability and accessibility to the public and we urge the board to prioritize them for next year's process. Next one. Um, as Michelle alluded to, uh, before we dive into the budget content, we'd like to open by noting a few challenges in the process of the CBRC this year. We received the budget when you did two weeks ago tonight, and our report was due last week. Um, that is too short of amount of time to review a $2.8 billion budget. Uh, and it's it's not equal
159to the seriousness of the task that we're charged with. Um, we raised this concern not as a complaint but as a matter of public accountability. In a time when our budget deficits are growing, our reserves are declining and there's significant reductions to studentf facing supports. We think that accountability is more important than ever and so 11 days is not enough. That said, this committee is engaged, thoughtful, attentive. We're looking forward to sharing with you our recommendations and we ask that ahead of the next budget session, not only is additional time allotted for more thorough review, but also that the board provides a report describing how this year's recommendations have been acted upon and summarizing any key results that have come from them. This will make our report next year even more effective. So now we
160dive in. I think we have 10 points to share and we will try to be relatively brief. Starting with budget accessibility, transparency in the decisions in the district's spending decisions will be critical to building the trust that PPS needs to generate advocacy, to reverse enrollment decline, and to get the fund for PPS up and running. Achieving that trust requires a budget that's accessible and understandable to the community. In our view as community members who have sat down with this budget, its current structure misses two important things about the way the public thinks about school finances. Firstly, our community is very very much wants to know which resources are going directly into schools, which resources are being spent on student-f facing programs and which resources are in non- studententf facing critical necessities. That information is not
161available in the budget as it is structured now because there are no definitions of what in school means. In fact, volume two of the budget shows an average of about $11,000 per student going straight into schools. Whereas, when we look at budget volume one of the same budget after we take out the construction bond and the GO bonds and the PERS unfunded liability, it shows $26,000 being spent per student. The difference between 11,000 and 26,000 per student presumably reflects legitimate and largely unavoidable costs. things like maintenance, special education services, centrally administered programs. Our concern is not that these costs exist, but that they're not described in the budget documents because there are no definitions of what is student facing. The second way the budget is not aligned with public understanding is that huge expenditures like
162the 1.4 4 billion dollar of construction planning and the nearly $300 million of debt service and PERS liability are all mixed in with everything else that makes it very difficult to see spending decisions made within the district's operating budget. We were trying to follow along with the budget tonight to to see some of the numbers that people were talking about. We couldn't because we couldn't see the salaries of just the district because all the construction salaries are mixed in with all the other salaries. It's all one big pot. The documents only tell us how many dollars of the whole budget are spent on one thing rather than for a certain purpose or a certain function. As an analogy, if I were trying to track my family's grocery spending, I need to know that that trip
163to Freddy's just spent a quarter of our monthly grocery budget. But this document is not set up to tell me that. It tells me I just spent 0.1% of my family's annual spend, including our kitchen remodel. This is not a transparent way to communicate spending decisions to the public. We'd like to see the equivalent of the monthly grocery budget, the planned expenditures broken out at the level of major function and major object so we can see which money is going where and how much is being spent on what. Once we have this, a clear visual communication of spend, something like a seni chart of crosswalked function and object data would make the budget more usable by all PPS families, even those not able to navigate an English language 500page technical document. That actually leads directly
164to our uh next slide. As you can see, the first recommendation here is identical to the last page. CBRC is asked to affirm that the levy funds are being spent according to voters's will in measure 26246. But in the budget, the levy money goes into the same large bucket as everything else. The budget contains no documentation about how and where the levy funds are spent. Just like the grocery budget, when spending is documented only from that highest aggregate level, we can't deliver meaningful oversight of individual fund spending. In the case of levy, the stakes are high because the voters have chose to tax themselves in support of specific educational priorities, namely class size and in-classroom supports. And this CBRC exists in part to verify that that trust is being honored. Without a proposed budget broken
165out by function and object, that verification is difficult to undertake. Um, as was mentioned earlier, the district has agreed to extend the levy process and and we will be receiving the CPRC will be receiving additional information that should allow us to make a full examination of where the levy funds are being spent. So, that's work in progress. And then the third piece here, um, as we reviewed the budget, we looked for national benchmarks of how much is being spent on instruction and how much on support services, which are the two major classifications within the operating budget. Nationally, support services are only about 39% of this combined budget, the national average. In Portland Public, support services make up 47%. The CBRC is concerned that that difference could indicate that instructional resources are getting squeezed out by
166support services in PPS. Please remember we had less than two weeks to look at this question. So we rep we request that the board has it properly analyzed by undertaking regular benchmarking assessments of instructional and operational spend compared to districts that are similar to PPS in size in population as well as in age of facilities. And in fact this recommendation echoes the report from the secretary of state's office in 2022 where it recommended PPS to conduct regular and public peer benchmarking. And then the final note on this topic, as part of this work, the CBRC has noted that any reductions in instruction may be more acutely felt by students with fewer resources. So we ask that the board also determine whether any such gaps fall disproportionately on historically underserved students and develop a response plan
167if so. So as we talk about risks in the budget, we are concerned that the budget relies on optimistic assumptions. As we talk about labor, the 1% cost of living analysis is significantly lowerly lower than historical trends in current labor proposals, as I believe the PAT is proposing an 8% cost of living analysis, whereas previous years have been between 3 and 6%. revenue. CBRC questions if property tax projections are conservative enough to avoid a repeat of this year's budget deficit as cost of living uh as property taxes in Portland decrease in value as we go through. And while we appreciate the inclusion of expense buffers and the focused on student stability, the district must use more conservative projections to prevent another mid-year shortfall and maintain public trust. Proportionate reduction framework. To address the budget gap
168while prioritizing equity and stability, CBRC recommends a proportionate reduction framework focused on these priorities. Protecting vulnerable students such as preserving ELD services and middle school health supports, maintaining equitable access, including retaining access transportation, which we heard a lot tonight, and inclusive programming such as VDLI programs, not VDLI, dual language immersion programs. um weighted reductions as such as avoiding uniform staffing cuts and applying reductions in a manner that protects high need schools especially title one schools which we have also heard a lot about tonight and especially transparency providing program specific accounting of staffing changes for EL counseling and special education and strategic retention balance core services with high value arts athletic and advanced learning to stabilize enrollment these programs especially attract students to our schools and maintain their active interest in the program and in our
169schools. Advocacy. We appreciate that the districts has a lot of transparency regarding state funding impacts. To address current deficits and ensure long-term stability, we urge the district to expand advocacy for the following reforms. PERS rates form a statewide coalition to separate PERS liabilities from the state school fund. This ensures the school the state fulfills pension obligations directly and provides transparency for instructional spending as rates rise from 4% to 23%. Special education funding advocate to raise the 11% funding cap to better support the 17% of PBS students receiving services ensuring that all new mandates are fully funded. And then student investment account ensuring that SIA funds provide additive support for mental health and student services rather than backfilling state school fund gaps. Education stability fund secure onetime dollars from this fund to minimize service disruptions from
170structural budget adjustments. And I know that there was effort to secure those funds this year and they fell through and yeah. >> All right. So blended classrooms was another topic that we discussed in the report. Uh over the course of the meetings of the CBRC, members raised questions around the estimated savings from increasing the use of blended classrooms as well as any evaluations of their educational efficacy. We were provided certain data from PPS including a report that was prepared by PPS and provided to the Aworth community earlier this year uh which we understand included interviews from principles and educators but no family members. Uh seeing that as well as the other data provided to us uh caused concern from the committee about potential student tracking inequities, teacher stress and the lack of stakeholder input in
171the use of blended classrooms. In connection there with the CBRC recommends that the district evaluate the long-term efficacy and equity of this type of model. That the district explicitly identify multi-grade enrollment in its data systems for outcome tracking and also that future reports include interviews with family members and its educators and specify where licensed staff are utilized for math instruction. Our view is that these measures are necessary to confirm if blended models maintain the educational standards while actually reducing costs. contracted services. In reviewing the budget, the CBRC observed that there was a 62% increase in this year's proposed budget from last year's for purchase services. This rises from $270 million to $437 million, which is nearly triple the budget gap that was identified as what needed to be closed for this cycle. CRC recommends that
172the board direct the district to explore ways of potentially reducing these third-party spending costs, perhaps through renegotiating contracts or seeking lower cost alternatives. Uh we also urge the board to ensure the future fiscal responsibility uh to ensure that the district must provide a transparent breakdown of professional service contracts and to ensure that these uh these expenditures are based on effectiveness and their impact on equity. One specific suggestion that is made in the report is replacing MAP assessments, which cost roughly $218,000 a year, with free OD interim assessments, which are available currently for grades 3 through 8. >> I can jump in for a moment. And if you're wondering, well, how much of that increase is because of the construction bond? That's why we need to have the construction bond costs separate because it's it's very
173difficult to look at that and say well this is due to the construction bond and this is due to electricians. >> Right. Yeah. Right. Kind of the other flip of the coin from seeking ways to reduce costs is uh seeking alternative ways of bringing in additional revenues and opportunities there. Uh as discussed in our report, the CBRC recommends formalizing a community investment strategy that's focused on equitable, durable funding. Uh some of the initiatives that the committee suggested included community benefit agreements. So partnering with major local institutions to generate recurring revenue for district-wide athletics, arts, and other extracurriculars. Next would be scale the inind partnerships that the district is currently utilizing. Uh the suggestion is to establish a centralized office that could expand on models like the ones currently used by Lincoln High School with the
174MAC and McDaniels High School with the people's court. Uh and with that comes scaling lowcost enrichment opportunities equitably. Next is strategic asset use, which is really reimagining our underutilized real assets that the district has. This could include prioritizing public public partnerships over one-time property sales. uh potentially also including converting underutilized buildings into affordable housing to stabilize enrollment and leveraging assets like the one north uh building for ongoing revenue. And lastly uh the suggestion of modernized fundraising as we know the board has been talking about in prior meetings. Um the committee suggests replacing school specific fundraising with district supported equity based models uh that can help to eliminate neighborhood wealth disparities. And our final topic is long-term outlook. Uh to start this one off, uh the CBRC would like to commend both the board and the
175staff for their efforts to implement a long-term strategy this year and to engage the community uh during this year's budget process uh which was a recommendation of the CBRC last year and we thank you for taking that into consideration and putting that into effect. Uh that said, we want to note that a a structurally sustainable budget is continues to be an imperative for the district. Uh the changes done this year need to continue. Indeed, PSU's project projects oh sorry PSU projects continued enrollment declines through at least the 2029 2030 school year and a budget gap is already projected for the 2728 school year. So, this year's changes are only a first step in the process. The CBRC urges the board to continue implementing a long-term strategy, including additional reductions where necessary to eventually reach a
176position of growing resources and revenues. We also request that the district maintain its continued cander on goals, timelines, and progress with offering meaningful opportunities for the community to give their input along the way. All right, with that I present a list of uh our colleagues who join us on the CBRC this year. Several of them you can also see currently online. Uh we want to thank you for the chance to speak to you all and share uh these findings and our recommendations and happy to open it up for questions or discussion. >> Great. Thank you for the presentation. Uh we will do it in order as before. or just check on questions. I just want to remind we are kind of right up 12 minutes left of our 30 minute hopefully a lot of time
177and we do I know in the next report we also have a kid waiting so let's be mindful but this is super important so yeah so talk fast um let's start with director Lefort >> well thank you very much that was uh just uh excellent especially considering the amount of time you had um just wanted say that I had the uh same initial gut reaction when I uh looked at the budget in terms of wanting to have the general fund separated from bond funds and um Michelle's been great. We spent some time together yesterday talking about you know how to chop pieces up so I could take a deeper look at it. So I just appreciate that you're kind of seeing the same thing and I think looking towards next year. I think that is
178an excellent suggestion. um and um share the desire to look at potentially, you know, where can we renegotiate in our third party contracts. You know, that's on my mind as well. And then I love your idea of checking in throughout the year to see um how and if we're implementing your recommendations. So, I know that as a board member, I'll be thinking about how making some suggestions about how we can work that into our work stream. So, I love that idea so that when we're sitting here next year, uh we could take a look back and see um what we were able to address and what we may want to move forward or or um not consider moving forward. So, thank you very much and thanks for your time yesterday, Michelle. >> Well, I had
179the advantage of listening to you quite a few times. Very impressive group of people who came up with, you know, so many very important things. And I think um Michelle is working on making it so we can actually start earlier. There's not a whole lot I think we can do with getting the budget book out earlier, but we can get the understanding of how the budget works before the budget book comes out. And I just think this report is phenomenal. and to watch it and you you didn't all see it, but there was a lot of talk, a lot of ideas, and then they managed to get this report together in what, like two days, all of you working together. >> 48 hours. Yeah. >> And it was Yeah, it was it was amazing. So,
180thank you so much. And I'm I feel blessed that I was able to be part of that because I learned a lot, too. So, thank you. I'll just be brief in the interest of time, but um I appreciate all the work that went into this and especially with the constrained timeline you all had. Um some things that uh stood out to me um were your thoughts around partnerships and how we can build capacity by uh partnering with um companies in the community. Um, oh my gosh, I forgot the other thing. Um, and the assessments. Um, I think that is, uh, something we've heard our friend Karan talk about in the past and, um, really interested in how that can help us, uh, meet some of our budgetary goals, um, while also, uh, aligning with academic
181goals. So, thank you. Uh yeah, again just wanted to thank you guys especially considering the uh the size you know of this of this budget. I remember getting my budget book you know two volumes and just going wow uh and and opening it up and you know and it's it's a lot. Um so thank you guys for putting this together. I especially agree with your points about um outsourcing. I'm very concerned um about the amount of outsourcing that's going on. just you know personally I hate outsourcing in general uh in public institutions but I know it has it has its places and so I would love so it would be it would be great if it was a lot easier to to see how that actually works out in our budget um in in these
182volumes so um but yeah I great report good job guys >> hi um Shane Eli an right y >> um thank you so much for your service and thanks to everybody else who you served with in this process I know it was really truncated ated timeline. Um, and I just really can't thank you enough. Um, I have so many agreements on how the state's required budget framework that we do a killer job of doing doesn't do much for everyday Portlanders understanding what is going on. Um, I'm deeply intimidated by our budget documents. I can handle volume two pretty well. Volume one, I can't get there. And like I have a master's degree. Like come on. um and have worked in this type of stuff for a long time. Um but I'm nowhere close um and
183have to rely on asking questions and um just generally sort of trying to be more comfortable with confusion and that's not acceptable, right? Like we're supposed to be holding everybody accountable and being good stewards of fiscal resources and it's really hard to do when the document is um as you put it just doesn't give you kind of what you need to make those decisions. But again, like we're doing the thing we have to do by state law. So, we have to like follow the state law and then do more and which is already really hard in order to get the information we need to actually make it accessible and transparent to people. It's a real balance and struggle and um I hope we can as a district work on figuring out how we can address
184some of those concerns. I wanted to share good news on advocacy. The list that you put forward are things that I think we are already supporting or have in the past. And I personally um reached out to my own legislator to ask if she'd be willing to run the PERS separation bill. We'll see if she's willing and was really proud to have Angela from PAT um a part of the ask to my own legislator to see if she might be willing to run something. We'll see what happens. Um, but I just think I after doing school funding work and hearing from legislators so much about how well we fund our schools at this rate, but then if you take out the 30% that goes toward PERS, um, then actually that's a lot less money that's
185going to our classrooms than in these states that we're being compared to. And we really need to put an end to it or legislators are just going to continue to say there's not a problem. Um, I loved the benchmarking idea or particularly the looking at peer school districts to see how our spending compares. I wanted to thank you for that. I also appreciated the caution on the risks, the mention of the contract situation. Um, and then and then I thought found it interesting like you had a list of ideas for further like as we make further cuts like don't do these things kind of or do the Anyway, that was interesting to me and I wish I could like have more time to ask some questions about what sort of cuts you would do instead
186if we were to say pull back on some of the things that we already have put forward. Um, I think that would be an interesting exchange um that we don't have time to have. Um but I will just throw it into the universe and move on. Thank you. Um thank you all very much. Uh this is my first time opening as a board member the board book and um it was really overwhelming and um someone asked me on Friday I think what page I'm on and I said on page 143 and I have tabs and circles and questions which are coming your way at some point very soon. Um, but it's really hard to digest and understand and you sort of hit the nail right on the head, like how do we support spending X
187on transportation when we don't know what ABCD E F G HK all the way getting up to it are? And that's been really challenging for me. So, um, I appreciate that I'm not the only one. I appreciate that you recognize that it should be more understandable and transparent and not transparent understandable um for the community who is also trying to figure out where things are going. Um I really I really like the idea of starting earlier. I can't imagine having your role and responsibility and as a volunteer committee to go through this in nine days and then turn around this report that is really extraordinary. But nonetheless, that's just not enough time. So, I hope we can start earlier and I sounds like dis decoupling or disconnecting from something will help that happen. And I
188love that there's already a plan in place. I just just read this this weekend and of course there's already a plan. So, I really appreciate that. Um, you talked everyone's talked about a bunch of things. Uh I I really like the idea of making sure we get meaning meaningful impact on multi-grade classrooms from instructors and families and that we make sure that it's working and not sliding us backwards because if a system is put in place doesn't save a whole lot of money but then sets us back. We need to know about it as soon as possible. And the way to do that is to engage the people who are in the classroom and then the families whose kids are in the classrooms. Um, I I I I guess I did wonder the MAP assessment
189versus OD assessment. Um, the $200,000 a year savings seemed very very small in this giant budget. And I I wondered how much it would cost to have to learn the OD testing. My own personal question is more that we do MAP and I Ready and OSAS testing. And as I understand it, lots of teachers spend time getting their kids ready for MAP and I Ready and OSAS testing and all of that is lost instructional time. And so I wonder why we do any of it or at least maybe we take a breather, use all that instructional time and then see where we are a year later because my own kids come home and say we took a practice test to get ready for next week's test and that seems like a lot of lost instructional
190time. Um yeah, I I really um want to echo that uh the board directing benchmarking and following up on items is really imperative and so I hope that's a conversation that we can have to make sure that your work does not just stay on this paper. So thank you. >> Thank you. Um I love Seni charts. That's a great idea. We should I think we should do that. Um I I have a couple things I that brings me to the one point I want to make. I really appreciate the voice that you take in this report and that it is not only identifying issues but also creating creative and problem solving. I think that just invites collaboration because you know good ideas come from all over the place and the more places we we have
191for those ideas to come from the better we will be. Um I think one of the things I really take into seriousness is about um your request and comment about creating continuity uh knowing what your what recommendations you have and what effect it had and whether it was implemented the response about that. So that's something I am actually seriously exploring. I'll be talking with um district leadership as well trying to figure out what what systems are possible that we can do. I'm going to try to bring some ideas to the board as well about because one of the things that I really want to do is move away from this like one time a year budget report and then it goes out in the ether, right? Um and the idea is that when we build
192not only just um continuity well continuity builds long-term progress. So instead of constantly revisiting the same thing over and over again, continuity creates an opportunity to start digging deeper into things instead of just revisiting the old same story over and over again. Right. I'm I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir. Um but yeah, so I I I am going to explore that. I will I'll talk with district leaders leadership about what possible uh scenarios that could be. I'll bring ideas to the board and we'll have this because I think it's pretty universal that we all want this to be something that is iterative and continuous and and um I mean I already heard from already more than three people here who said that same thing. So we we'll get to work on it. So thank
193you again for everything. Um any last comments before >> Oh used to ending um I um I really appreciate you too. I love the composition of this committee and especially the educator voice which actually gave us some homework. Provide a feedback loop uh by publishing a report showing which CBRC recommendations were act upon and the resulting outcomes. And what I like about that exercise is that it does create kind of an iteration of uh you know it's not a one-time static process. A couple of things in the report that stood out to me were this idea of public public partnerships. I I like the idea of partnering on potential assets that we might be, you know, putting in storage or, you know, we're moving things around right now. Um, but I was like, what public
194the none of the public agencies have any money. Everybody's facing deficits. So, I wondered why it wasn't public partner public um private partnerships. Um, I do love the idea of studying the peer districts and figuring out where that right balance is between the what what we spend and what other peer districts if we can find one uh somewhere in the country. I think Sacramento uh is mentioned and sometimes Denver I think I would have to double check that. I like that idea of actually studying you know right sizing where our um our dollar our our our dollars are going. And finally, um the reconsider reconsideration of our thirdparty contracts is important and it's important, you know, I know, um bond funds are kind of wrapped up into this, but um to the extent that we
195can, you know, not only reduce cost, but also make sure that some of the voters actually get there's there's there's money that stays in Portland. In other words, that's um really important. And I think it would be interesting just to look at where we are spending on third party and what we might be able to do if we're really creative. So, thank you. >> Can I just quickly just share a fun fact? I think I'm going to ask our wonderful council to be listening in case I get this wrong, but I'm pretty sure it already is board policy that the first right of refusal for any sale or lease maybe of any sort of disposal of our land has to first f first go through a public entity. Um so we actually have in policy
196already a preference that would put a public entity first. Um and um while we are having a lot of cash issues in our local governments for similar reasons to our own, um we do have housing money. Just saying. So I'm hopeful that maybe something can come together too. Um but yeah, I do love that we already have that policy to keep us from um selling it to private first. >> I Yeah, I also didn't mention this, but I love the idea um housing was mentioned and you know, I hope that we don't become a city where our teachers and t C cab drivers and people that are in the service industry can't afford to live in the city limits. And so maybe in this tangled, you know, web of a budget, we have a solution
197to one of our most pressing problems here in our community. >> Can I said one thing? I just wanted to share that there is a CBRC um Q&A tracking log that was put together that's incredible. Um Michelle shared that with me yesterday. So if any of you are interested, send her an email. I mean it's phenomenal. So thank you. I've got it up in front of me and I'm like it is just great job. Thank you and thank you for getting this done. I'm sure over a weekend because people have other things to do and the tight turnaround. Um, I'm hoping that next year we have a little bit more spaciousness in the calendar. Um, so we can really do some deep thinking and some a little bit more back and forth. >> Could you
198send that tracker out rather than getting eight separate emails? Can we just ask for that now? >> Certainly. Yeah, we'll share that with Rosanne and and you all. >> Awesome. Thank you again. really appreciate your time and uh the intense amount of work that you put in in this short period of time to get this done. So, thank you again. And uh yes, >> thank you. >> All right. Thank you all. >> And I just noticed the folks online, thanks for sitting in to those of you that were there online. >> I think we have one more comment or question. to give a quick uh shout out to uh the staff that have been supporting us as well. Um Tammy and Alexandria, they've been doing a whole bunch of work making sure that we're all
199together on meetings, helping create all the make sure all the documents were put together. So, I just wanted to give that shout out as well. >> Thank you. Yes, absolutely. All right. Next up, we have the our climate crisis annual report. Again, thank you all for staying so late. Um, we have uh 15 minutes aotted to this time. This is our annual climate crisis response policy annual report. I said annual twice. I'll hand this over to Superintendent Armstrong. Yeah, this is anformational item for the board and my chief of staff, Deborah Kafuri, will start us off this evening. >> Thank you, Dr. Armstrong and board members. I'm excited to be here tonight with some fantastic news. We have had some not some bad news, some not so great news, a few moments of hope and
200inspiration, and this is one of those good moments to share. So, I'm really excited to be here with you tonight. Um, I'm proud to introduce uh Cat Davis, the climate justice adviser. And with her tonight, with us tonight, Alyssa Kumas is the chair of the um climate crisis response committee. And also, we are thankful to have a board member as well, Martaza uh Balta. I hope I didn't say it too incorrectly, pronounce your name, but I'm really excited that you all stayed so late tonight and thank you for coming. >> Absolutely. Thank you so much for having us tonight. Good evening, board of directors. Good to see you all. Um, I'm excited tonight to share the climate crisis response policy update, which is an annual up to the to the board around the progress made
201on our climate crisis response, climate justice, and sustainable practices policy. Um, did you want to introduce yourself? >> Yeah. Yeah. Go ahead. >> I'm Alyssa Kumis. She her. I'm a PPS parent of two kids at Sunnyside Environmental School and also honored to be the chair of the committee this year. >> And I'm Richard Zabatla um parent of two BPS kids um board member >> and um and I'm Cat Davis. I am the climate justice adviser here and my role is to oversee the strategic implementation of our climate crisis response policy. Um so um I'm the staff leazison for the climate crisis response committee and get the honor of working with them on making sure that the policy is moving forward um as expeditedly as the policy mandates. So tonight I'm going to share some context
202from a staff perspective about some of the different activities that we have been doing this year to make progress on our policy goals and then we'll hand it over to the committee to provide their report. So to just dive in, uh, for those of you at home who are not familiar, the climate crisis response, climate justice, and sustainable practices policy that we call the CCRP or the climate crisis response policy for short is one of the most ambitious climate policies for K K12 district in the nation. This is something that PPS is leading the nation on and something we should be really proud of. It commits to swiftly mobilizing resources for climate action to do everything from reducing greenhouse gas emissions to improving mental health and wellness to focusing uh climate literacy centering on racial
203equity and social justice. Um it includes three pillars, 10 goals and over 75 objectives that span every department and touch every student in the district. Um here we go. Uh this just breaks down the policy goals. Uh we have two overarching goals. The thing that makes this policy so ambitious is that we as a district are requiring our schools to um our buildings to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030. Originally, when this policy was being discussed, the district was talking about having this be a 50% reduction by 2040 initiatives and students and teachers and parents advocated, no, we need to push it further and we need to, you know, be ambitious if we're going to do it. And so that's how we got to the 2030 goal. The other overarching goal is to elevate engagement,
204resilience, and wellness. Um and then the three pillars are listed as such include everything from um our increasing solar and all the things you think about with sustainability initiatives, climate resilience, what does it mean to teach and learn in a climate that is too hot or too cold or too windy as it tends to get around here. And then um what does it mean to become a engaged, empowered and excited student in as growing up within the climate crisis. And the policy also requires the board to develop the community oversight committee with this annual report. So here we are today. Um we went through the decarbonization goals. Another thing I'm going to just quickly mention that's unique about our policy is that we do require all um phasing out of all fossil fuel infrastructure by
2052050 and prohibit installation of any new fossil fuel infrastructure for new buildings or remodels in the district. So these are goals around emissions that we just don't see in other districts. Okay. Um so um the climate crisis response committee develops an annual report every year with recommendations to the board and to the staff on how to more um strategically and ambitiously move our policy work forward. So these are the goals from last year and I as the staff person charged with overseeing this implementation take these goals really seriously and use them to guide the work of um how we're mobilizing this all the different activities and objectives that move this work forward. Um, so the goals from last year include aligning climate work with our priority goals, embedding transparency and engagement tools, uh, preserving and
206scaling our climate programs, institutionalizing student voice, and expanding and redesigning our volunteer programs to include more policy implementation support. Uh, the way that uh, we've seen this show up this year and the priorities that we really led for the 2526 school year were to integrate our decarbonization roadmap into the work that we did. That was a a scope that the board passed um uh us to pursue and really created this ambitious plan that allows us to plan out how to decarboniz decarbonize our district in a way that prioritizes health and equity. Um we also have been working to integrate climate literacy into our curriculum adoptions process. uh increasing support student uh systems for student action through our especially through our Portland Clean Energy Fund grants and increasing accessibility and transparency by really trying to provide
207as much of an interactive and robust uh website just to like real platform um on the climate justice and sustainability page. Okay. Um so that's how we've been strategically mobilizing this work. I'm going to share some highlights because I think we could use some good news in the world. I know it's late, so I'll be quick with this. Um, something I really want to point out is that with the commitment for the board to fully um commit to fully electric high schools with our modernizations, we are on track to meet our 2030 goal, which is pretty amazing. Um, not saying that we didn't think it could be done, but this is pretty great. Um it does require PGE to meet their you know decarbonization goals as well but just positioning ourselves to be on track
208to meet this ambitious goal is a huge exciting win that should be celebrated at PPS. I also want to celebrate that um little wins like we've completed our LED retrofit across the district. We're at 100% fully electric leaf blowers. Like the little things that make a big difference in terms of air quality and emissions impact. Um, I also want to throw a big shout out to our transportation director, Band Brandon Kunrod, because we when I was giving this report four years ago, we were really excited to celebrate bringing on two electric school buses um to our PPS fleet. And we are now at 27 electric school buses either um currently operating or on their way um and counting due to his really hard work writing grants um and connecting with our contract partners. And um
209we've also just increased it our safe routes to school program uh which has been phenomenal. um just to move things along. Um we've been working to like really think about how to mobilize around heating and cooling and have really focused on um partnering with the state of Oregon's climate literacy standards that they adopted at the state level to make sure that we're in alignment with the work that we're doing and not creating additional work for our teachers moving forward as those get um become more robustly adopted. And then uh my final big highlight is just going to be spending a little bit of time sharing some celebrations around our climate friendly public schools program. Um you all have gotten a lot of updates about PAF in the last couple weeks. Uh you've heard that term
210a lot. Uh this is the really I mean they're all it's all great programs but this is the really fun one which provides $3 million to PPS to provide studentled climate projects um across the district for five years. It gives $10,000 into the hands of students every year for five years for any school that has six through 12. So, it's all of our middle schools, high schools, and K8s. Some really just exciting things about this year. This is the second year of the program, and we've had 100% of schools participate that are eligible by submitting proposals. Um, over 2,700 students participated in that. They anticipate engaging 20,000 students. They anticipate spending almost half a million dollars. like it's a really exciting program to see happen. And we've really expanded the uh community partners partnership process
211with that. We've also um created a showcase where students uh over 300 students came on a field trip to actually get to see each other's work and had some amazing speakers including Director Wong and Superintendent Armstrong um come and speak to our students and had three schools show up and talk about the projects that they did. Um, and then these are just some of the programmatic supports that we've I'm not going to go through all of them, but we took the feedback from our community last year that we heard that were um, barriers to participating in this program and implemented a ton of different resources and support networks to really elevate and empower students to be able to plan ambitious climate projects and make them happen with a very short timeline. Um, and supporting our
212teachers who are amazing in supporting these students with almost no time to do it. So, just want to give a huge shout out too to our program manager Carrie Jones Bahara who is the one who really like made these different things happen as well as our Americanore fellow birdcock um because they deserve to be shouted out. Um so, moving forward, some of the challenges we saw this year were from limited staff capacity and resources um to just really move forward the strategic alignment amidst all of the poly crises happening in the world. Uh so to maintain some progress uh some recommendations are around just continuing to operationalize these goals and really help to lean into the volunteer capacity that our PPS community has to offer around this. Um so that's some context about where we've
213been this year and I'm going to hand it over to Alyssa. >> Great. Thank you. That's leaning in enough. Um so thank you for having us. I know that it's late. Thank you for your attention. Um so the climate climate crisis response committee the CCRC you just heard from the CBRC but the CCRC um we are a 12 member committee we have two student representatives um we had five new members this year uh which was wonderful um and the duties of the CCRC are to receive regular reports and data from our staff liaison to understand if the policy is being implemented and how it's impacting frontline communities to determine detine whether the status implementation aren't consistent with the goals of the policy and then to share written findings with the board on at least an
214annual basis. Um our committee also has kind of an unofficial support and advocacy role for the district's climate work. Um so I just wanted to share for instance one of our special session meetings engage staff from the district AI workg group and we are finalizing our recommendations and hope to share them um with you all soon. Um, we also aim to be engaged in the policy review process since the climate crisis uh response policy will be up for review in the near future. Uh, this year's annual report highlights many successes. Um, I don't want to repeat what Cat just shared, but I will say that it is um such a priv privilege to be at this school district that is taking the climate crisis seriously and really leading the charge around the nation. um it
215feels like a big privilege and I think the fact that we are not only have ambitious decarbonization goals but are actually on track to meet them is such a huge success in addition to everything else that's going on. Um I want to shout out our student survey which was something that was started last year by our student representatives on the CCRC. Um, it was disseminated in April of last year for the first time to understand how students are feeling around how the district is implementing this work and also how they're feeling about the climate crisis and how we can best engage them. Um, it was disseminated again this year and they even got a larger response rate which is phenomenal. Um, and we um are just really excited for that to be institutionalized. Um, so
216I will talk about the challenges that we saw this year. um but I don't want it to outweigh some of the wonderful things that we've seen. Um but they are noteworthy. So um we believe that these challenges really require careful attention because they will be exacerbated next year if the district doesn't take action. Um we experienced quite a bit of backsliding this year in a few ways. Um the climate policy public dashboard which debuted last year um was hosted by Invisio but was lost due to budget cris. Um so that contract ended. Um that was an interactive dashboard that provided a way to show the community and also the committee where we were integrating and implementing the policy. Um efforts have been made to recreate it and house it on the PPS website, but that
217hasn't been ex fully executed yet. Um but we look forward to that because right now we're missing this crucial tool to communicate how we're doing. Um the climate justice and sustainability team had two people this year. They were really um reduced due to budget cuts and just vacancies. Um and specifically um the energy and sustainability project manager role was vacant. So we didn't have anyone trained to utilize the decarbonization tool which was also something that the district invested in last year. um that allowed us to track our climate progress, make updates as variables change, and to test how different scenarios will impact emissions reductions, equity, cost, and student health. It's really the reason that we knew that electrifying our modernized high schools would get us to achieve our 2030 decarbonization goals. Um so without that
218filled position, it was hard for um CAT to help us understand as a committee how we were doing. Um, and bittersweetly, the new um new staff member has been has now been hired but only has a few weeks to overlap with Cat Davis whose position has been eliminated for next year. Um, so looking ahead to next year without Cat, um, we foresee future backsliding and we just think it's important to raise that flag. Oh, it just got quiet. Um, so our recommendations for next year really center around how are we preserving the tools and work that we've already invested in and how do we maintain transparency with the community. There's a lot of great things happening, but we're missing some key pieces to help us measure our progress and to continue to have that dialogue
219with our partners. So our first recommendation is to ensure that the climate policy public dashboard is recreated and housed on PPS's website. This dashboard should have clear ownership and be updated regularly. The student survey um is also a key mechanism for gaining student feedback and the results should be shared and incorporated into the climate team's implementation plan. Um CAD has done a phenomenal job over the past four years integrating the policy and ensuring its implementation across the district's many departments. Without her position, it will be the leadership's job to ensure ownership, monitoring, and reporting of the policy's objectives. And then lastly, our committee identified ways that we can improve our capacity and effectiveness, including earlier onboarding of new members and requesting that um our next staff liaison um can utilize the climate policy dashboard and
220also decarbonization tool to share progress with us to improve our effectiveness. Um, and lastly, before I kind of turn it over, I just, um, want to share my gratitude for Cat. Um, who is really, we have her to thank for the policy's implementation over the past four years. And this is why we are a leader. Um, she's taken such a strategic systems approach to integrating the policy, building bridges across departments, and making the climate policy the way PPS does work. Additionally, the respect, attention, and responsiveness she has shown for community engagement is truly unparalleled. Her impact in leading this work at PPS is of profound significance and importance for all of our futures. So, thank you. >> Um, we'll go in order for if you have questions or comments. We'll start with Director Sullivan. >>
221I get lost in the order here. Well, I just remember when I first came and first met you, Cat, and you were I think you'd been here maybe a year, but pretty new and your ideas. And it's amazing to see how much more has happened since you been here. And um it's just it's really amazing to me how much has happened. And I was at the the I don't know what you called it, but uh the like student project showcase. >> Yeah, the student project showcase and to see the number of schools that were represented and the three schools that presented orally were just like you know seemed like college kids presenting about the climate. So I just want to really appre show how much we appreciate you and hope you find something perfect. >>
222Thank you. Okay. I just want to express my appreciation for your work and um this is really important. It's work that needs to continue and um I don't know I don't really have good words right now. Um, but thank you and I don't know. We'll keep keep doing the best that we can. Um, just I really I really hate the situation that we're in as a school district right now. It's not fair to our employees. It's not fair to our students. everything director Chase Miller just said, you don't seem like you love being the subject of a bunch of stuff. Um, but so I will leave it at that. Um, but just um, want to say thank you. Um, maybe more importantly to you. Um, you've got at least a few people who like by
223profession are climate advocates, which I think is pretty remarkable actually. Well, two of us by profession. You just by I don't know what nerdiness. Okay, let's go with that. Um but um but who just like know this stuff really well and can lean in in ways like that other people maybe couldn't. So, you know, tap me in, boss. Um but I um just want to say that I know that I will help to make sure that despite the changes, you all still feel like you have people on the board that are listening and care. Um it is pretty darn remarkable to see um that we're like targeted to hit hit our goals um and the all electric high schools which some of us took some real grief one day about um uh made it into
224the high school design. So I think that's great. Um I did have a question. Um, I think maybe I've mentioned before that on Fridays, most Fridays, um, I literally like work school lunch, which is half working school lunch and half managing getting kids K through five to compost their waste at our school. And I'm just curious for schools that just like are doing their own weird stuff like that. I don't know that the district knows that we have these volunteers every day that do this. Like, how do you know when schools are just doing their own thing like that? Do you guys have like tracking? Is there like a list? >> It's so hard to keep track of all. So, here's the thing. Like, when I started at PPS, I was so impressed to see
225the amount of things already happening, right, with this policy. And I quickly learned that the breadth of things happening at each school site was just remarkable just and al and so that's where I think the volunteer capacity and leaning into that communication structures and tapping into volunteer excellence like how do we create a space where people can share these stories and like show what's going on and get really excited about it. But to uh from a central perspective, it is definitely challenging to try and keep track of all of it and trying to gauge like the benefit of like trying to like really have your hands on it versus letting it happen organically. Yeah, we um we actually have two EOS school network volunteers that are part of our little team and it's been like
226the same people for years and we did she did the math that she thinks were um keeping 402 gallons of milk out of being just thrown away. Um 35 700 gallons or 3500 lb of food waste diverted. 35,000 of cartons sorted and rinsed that would have otherwise gone in the trash. Um, so I think it was pretty cool that she decided to figure that out to see how much we do every year as a group. Um, I think we should figure I don't know. It's like I don't want to add more work, but it'd be so cool if we could like harness that cuz it's like GHD reductions that we're not even counting, right? Um, so anyway, that's all, but um, maybe we could think about that for the future. Um, thank you again. >>
227Thank you. In the spirit of brevity, I only had one question and I'm I'm certain you've looked into all of it because of all the piece of funding, but I heard the city council grappling for many weeks about what to do with all of this piece of funding. I think could could your role be covered? Like, has there been has there been a communication with the city >> to like figure out what to do with their money to help us? I I don't know. I just wanted to ask that. I'm sure it has been explored, but >> what we've heard is that there's like everybody wants PCF money, right? Um and so, uh we work really really closely with them on the grants that we have received and are continuously looking to see like how
228we can expand capacity, but I'm not sure that that's like specifically targeted been asked of them, but yeah, it's a great question. >> Yeah, absolutely. Love it. Actually, I I did actually ask two city councilors about exploring options like that. >> So, yeah. >> And I haven't earned back. >> They're looking into it is what I heard. Um, director split. It's a little bit beyond nerdy. Uh, I was actually help at least in two >> district said that. She said, >> "Oh, wait. That was me." >> That was you. >> Thank you. vice chair to pass a little bit nerdy. Um I was part of helping well actually in two separate districts uh developing helping to develop ecology curriculum. So it is something close and dear to my heart. Um and I'm also super uh
229honored to be the board leaison to the the best committee on the planet and the discussions that were happening were just amazing just incred. But before we begin, I want to start with a story about the the the student project um summit >> showcase. >> It was really great. >> Yes, it was awesome. One of the one of the groups that presented I have to share the story because it's just students are so brilliant. Um the sunnyside they were building an out they one of their projects was to build an outdoor classroom. So they designed this roof and things like that. But one of the things they found out was the roof was too big and that the fact that it would have required a lengthy and expensive permitting process in order to get that
230done. So what did the students figure out? They did two smaller roofs just right under the the permitting requirement and overlap them. So it's one group and it was like wow. Kids are super creative and that was just that made my day. Um week or year. Um, I I want to just also share uh, you know, I think Kat, you came on right before I started on the board and you were always a I know you didn't want this attention. I'm sorry, but um, >> just a bright spot in the district and and the attitude that you took in the work and it was always just so um, focused on problem solving and uh, your outlook was just infectious. So, thank you for your work and I hope you do move on to a better
231place after, you know, this change, but I'm hoping it's for the better. I mean, for you, it's going to be worse for us. So, >> thank you. Um, that's all that's all I have. And I I want to again, we'll work with you to figure out time for the AI update as well as um >> what was the other one again? It's really >> policy review. >> Thank you. Policy review. Thank you. >> Okay. Okay. Um, so Kat, I'm going to miss working with you. I really particularly um I love that the district uh hired someone to focus on implementation and also um just learning from you and exploring this concept about uh climate grief which some of our students might be experiencing. So I just want to appreciate you for that. Um I had
232a couple comments. One is about the term climate justice. And when we think about justice, we think about frontline communities. those are black and brown communities that are going to be hit worst and first and worst. And so I'm hoping that we can um be really intentional about that justice piece and uh do whatever we can to include um our black and brown students in this work. To that end, um I've done a little bit of work in my in my former role about um investigating what it was like. We're in Portland and you know, love is love. And yet in climate spaces, energy efficiency spaces, we just don't see the climate justice piece as much. And we can change that. We can be really intentional about who we in in invite in and also
233the language and the concepts we're using. Um we we we know how to include people and we we need to do that in climate spaces specifically. So I just wanted to put that out there. Um, I would like to see the work be, you know, an inclusive space for our kids of color that are going to experience um, impacts that are more likely to live in places without air conditioning, um, and poor quality housing and and all of those impacts. Um, I heard I wrote the word testing and then I said student survey. And so I was wondering if if there is an annual survey if we can do some exploration around how we can um what are what terminology how are we talking about climate justice in a way that's um in some communities
234you might want to say you know your grandma told you not to keep the door open when the heat was on. And that's like an that's a that could be a gateway conversation rather than talking about decarbonization which is very science-based um term. The last thing is just kind of a wondering I have because we've got this climate action policy and we know that transportation and um buildings are uh 40% like that's the bulk of um you know um I'm losing my words because it's so late but creates the bulk of emissions. My question is then how can we tie some of this work into our right sizing work? How can we create exemplary schools that people don't have to crisscross town? We've got lots of people driving to, you know, better schools or options
235that their kids need to go to for various reasons. But, um, I'm wondering if how we consider right sizing can be a a solution to, um, some of the decarbonization efforts >> because transportation is I believe it's 40%. Or is it is it buildings? Buildings are 40% and transportation's very close. Um, and just also just want to thank you for the work you're doing. Really appreciate it. Thanks. >> Well, this is an impressive presentation and I have to tell you that um we have not met, but your reputation precedes you. I knew who you were when you were up here and I was listening to you talk thinking how amazing you were. So, I'm was sad to hear that uh you're leaving us. So, I think I'll join Chair Wong in saying I, you know,
236wishing you the best and, you know, in your future opportunities, endeavors, you're clearly going to be missed and we'll definitely take your recommendations under advisement um as we move forward. So, thank you very much. >> All right, with that, I think that concludes the CCRC report. >> Thank you. Thank you again for all the time and volunteer hours that you put into this. >> All right. Next on our agenda tonight is the board discussions on the resolution to adopt the guiding principles for right sizing Portland public schools. >> Can I ask a question? >> Yeah. >> Um I don't I'm gonna I'm too late for me to do Robert's rules right. Is there anyone that's not doc MC Margaret, sorry, that is going to that's like in the audience waiting for this item. That whole
237crew. Okay, great. Right. But the ERP people are here. That's what I'm trying to get at. Can we like possibly do the ERP first since they're these people that are waiting here to present that don't work for us? I mean, I guess we're paying them. Whatever. I don't know. >> I'm having a hard time. They just look really tired and I just >> employee. >> Right. Right. Right. Yes. Yes. Yes. Anyway, >> I hope you're all from Hawaii and non Hawaii time. So, this is early. >> We can flip it. But up to you guys. >> You support. It's fine. >> Does anybody hear what I'm putting down and have concerns? >> There's just like this. Raise your hand if you're here to present or listen on the ERP. >> Okay. So, these folks are
238all here to present to us on the ERP and they're gonna have to sit through all of us talking about right sizing to Margaret who's gonna be here anyway. She's in a nice way. So, I'm just curious if we should flip. That's all. >> Let's make a decision. >> Okay, let's let's flip it. Margaret, um, the board gives you permission to come in late to work tomorrow. >> I think I I just spoke real quick. I'm very sorry. Um, yes. Okay. So, let's flip it. Let's go to the ERP first. >> If anybody wants to yell at me later about that, I'm I'm available. >> Yeah, we allotted uh 15 minutes for this item. Uh, this is the enterprise resource planning. I guess I'll hand this over to Superintendent Arch. Yeah, thank you. So, um
239just for for reference, inter um enterprise resource planning um is fully full fully funded through the 2020 and 2025 bond program. So, tonight's presentation will focus specifically on the contracts that support this work, including implementation services, system licensing, and change management. So, you'll be asked to approve these contracts later on when you get to the consent agenda. And so this presentation is intended to provide the context and allow for any questions in advance of that vote. So I'll turn it over to Chief of Integrated Operations Tom Rogers. >> Thank you, Dr. Armstrong. Uh good evening, directors. Uh it wouldn't be a late board meeting night without an ERP discussion. So thank you so much. Uh we've made a lot of progress here and Dr. Armstrong, a lot of that is to you and the focus
240that you've given on this ERP project. We've been 5 years in the making and it's taken a lot of focus to get here. So, thank you for that. Um, and the architect of the plan to get us here has brought us here is amazing senior director, Russell Adamson. Um, who's the senior director of information technology and digital transformation. He's wearing a couple hats right now. So, go ahead, mate. >> Thank you. Really glad to be here. It's great to give you all an update. We're at a really incredible milestone in this journey. As you know, there's been a few swings at this project in the past. So to get to this point where we're having a conversation about executing contracts with real detailed plans uh real detailed conversations around timeline and value it's really impressive
241really really impressive. So what I want to do here today as far as the overview is as always remind folks the next slide if you don't mind maybe is remind folks that this is all bond funded. This is between the 2020 and the 2025 bond. Um program is on track. So we are on our timeline. Um if you remember the last time I was here, I was hoping to come to the last board meeting that was a bit of a stretch, very aggressive, but you'll note there's a tone in this program which is we're being very aggressive, trying to move as quickly as we can because time is money. Um even though it's bond funded, we want to make sure that we're being very judicious about how we spend these funds. Um today's discussion is
242really about the contracts. So they basically fall into two categories. One is implementation so the work required to implement and then the actual user license and we'll talk in detail on both. One of the things I'd like to highlight though is the duration that we're talking about in terms of these licenses takes us through fiscal year 3536. So in other words, the user license that we're talking about will be bond funded during that period of time. It opens up an amazing opportunity for us as a district. So, not only do we get all the benefits, we also have this opportunity and we can manage the financials very closely as we move through time. It was interesting to hear some of the previous topics, some of the ideas that were floated around. They're really not that
243possible today given our current systems. They would require a massive amount of work to do them in our current systems. The platform we're talking about hit a lot of those bullet points. So, let's keep going. >> Promise I'm trying. Um I need to crank the wheel behind the scenes. So this you see this slide and the next slide every single uh every single time we talk about this topic. This is ultimately about process and data enabled by a modern platform. The platform that we're talking about that we're replacing 26 years ago. The iPhone came out in 2007. So eight years before that. Okay. So it's a very old antiquated system that we're working with. It has not been well cared and fed for over time and we simply cannot run a modern district on the
244tools that we have today. This is an opportunity for also for us to clean up our data to govern it in the right ways and have very efficient processes so that we can deliver all the services that we need to deliver to this district with the skeleton crew that we have in the central office. This is another slide we always show which is the scope of impact. These are all the things. Anything having to do with money, anything having to do with people, this is going to impact in some degree pretty much every adult in the PPS community. Definitely uh directly impacting all the central staff, but also the school staff as well. I'm I'm really glad Tom's here by the way. >> Yeah. Yeah. Maybe that that'd be great. Thank you, Rosen. >> There
245are in the contracts a lot of vendor names and so I thought this would be a handy dandy uh grid to say who's really doing what and I'm also very happy to have representatives from all these different vendors here to support the work. So we had a really good working session today, did some meet and greet with some of the executive team. So I'm really thankful for their support and being here in the room tonight. Um from a program management perspective, we're relying on plant manoran. are both program management elements across all the different work streams. Plantaran is an expert in this space in terms of doing K through2 ERP implementations. So really excited to have the best of the best supporting us in this effort. Peripio who has an office. >> Oh, sorry. >>
246Yeah. >> Yes. Thank >> you. Um Presio, even though they're right down the street, they're not here tonight. Um they are change management leads, they're also the ones that are going to be designing our testing and training strategy. um the sorry the the training strategy sorry not the testing strategy the training strategy business process design the system configuration our test cycles and then we're also procuring 12 months of go live or 12 months of support post go live that is with meridian and accenture and our workday team um we are also talking about again 10 years of licenses on the workday platform that got that uh procured us the best deal possible And it also ensures that we have a stable platform. So we're not doing this any more frequently than we have to. Again,
247this when we're talking about licenses, this takes us through fiscal year 3536. Okay. Um Rosanne. Um so details on what we're talking about as far as the contractual cost of this program. So above the line, we have contracts ready for signature on the consent agenda. That's the 33.481. Um, we have a memo which hopefully you've all seen that's part of the board package for not to exceed agreements. The I'll just sort of go line by line starting at the top. The implementation, so the actual work required to configure the business processes, configure the platforms so that it works for the 8,000 plus users across the district. 10 years of licenses, change management and program management. Um, we've talked about change management and the criticality of that uh in prior uh sessions here. really critical that
248we get that correct. One of the main ways we're going to make sure we're getting the value out of this work is our people actually adopting and using the system as designed. Um below that one a couple things I want to explain is EUA that is actually our pre-awwards grant management today. It's a very loose process across the district and when we do get awarded grants it's a very loose process to manage it financially causes a lot of headaches in our financial team. So really excited to have a thirdparty system that integrates into the Workday platform. Again, buying 10 years of licenses for that. Debtbook is a tool that we use today to manage our long-term debt. We're basically just ripping up the current contract and going forward with a 10-year contract at a very
249good price. Um, and then the very last line is post- deployment support. So when we go live, there's a hyperare period, which usually lasts two or three months. We're buying 12 months of support after that because we simply don't won't have the team to effectively manage it and safely land it long term. So that buys us time to understand what is the requirements for that platform and how do we ramp as necessary. So that's a problem that we'll deal with in the 20 2028 time frame. >> Okay, next. >> Uh last slide. >> So here are the very high level timeline uh high level timeline dates. The most critical work that we're doing over the summer and into the early fall is process design. That's where we understand exactly what is the work that needs
250to be done on the workday platform and what's the depth and the distance from the way we do things today. When we get to October, that's a really critical milestone where we do the detailed planning. That's where I'll come back and say we're going to do a phased go live or a big bang go live. They have their pluses and their minuses. The team behind me and uh several other folks will help us work through that. And then we get into the classic technical work of architecture and configure testing and training deployment. We're hoping to have some go live starting in the fall of 2027, no later than January of 2028. And then we go into that hyperare and like I said, then we go into 12 months of uh application support. Um really want
251to highlight though that detailed planning. That's really when we go into very strict change control. It's also when we'll have a much better understanding of the scope and like I said earlier much better understanding if we're doing phased or big bang and those things matter because that drives the amount of change that we're pushing through the system and all our different users across the community. Okay, that's it. Any questions? Let's go around and check. Director Chase Miller. Nope. Director Split. >> Thank you. Uh, Julie, I'm just excited. I mean, I just want to reiterate this has been a long process. My first day on the board, I think we talked about the need for an ERP, everything. So, I'm excited for this to be finished. >> Yeah. So, am I. >> Um, it's clear that
252there's a need um for an update after 25 years and um I really appreciate the work that's gone into the planning. Um I have a concern or question a wondering about where the dollars are going. Where are these companies headquartered? I know Pip is it Presipio is here in Portland >> but that represents like 10% of these dollars and >> the last time we went through this process um I worked very very hard to get a minorityowned business as part of the contract and it wasn't even 10%. Um, but what that meant was when we everything was said and done, most of those dollars went to California. And so I'm really curious if you can let me know where or just share with us where these companies are located. I maybe they're in Portland. I
253know Precipio is Portland based, but what about the others? The Meridian P um Plant Moran Euna. >> Yeah. So this came up last time. >> I should say I'm not the only one I don't think on the board. But I think I can speak for a few of us that we're, you know, we're kind of tracking. >> Oh yeah, absolutely. Um, so one of the conversations we had last time I was here was that there's basically two or three ERP solutions globally, right? None of which are local. Um, Meridian is in uh, Florida and they are the reseller of the Workday platform. Um, Accenture is global, so they have, you know, um, Yeah, exactly. Um, Plantaran is out of uh, Michigan >> and like you said, Precipio is here locally. >> Is there has there
254been consideration about um, It sounds like we're s sourcing the best of the best. Has there been any um, any intentional outreach to our uh, minority and womenowned business communities that are here that are fairly robust? There's trade associations associated with each of those groups. >> Yeah. So this essentially came together through two RFPs. One was for the ERP itself, the technical solution, the platform, and then another second RFP which was for program management and change management. And the way we wrote it was we could have one vendor cover both or best of the breed which is what we got best of the breed. Um we did actually reach out through purchasing and contract through the procurement team said who were those designated firms locally nationally. We didn't get a lot of responses to be
255honest with you. >> Um Glad to have at least one locally though. And they are not only they're local, but also womenowned. >> Yeah, I I appreciate that. I I once had to find a vendor that would um take dinosaur bones from Portland to Washington DC back to the Smithsonian, and there were no lo local companies on this side of the country that could do that work. So, >> I just I had to call a question just I was curious. >> Absolutely. Yeah. Well, I would be very excited if I was working in any I'm already excited, but if I was working in a department that was going to be touched by this, I would be counting the minutes until 2027, the seconds. So, uh, it's really impressive. Um, I did read through all the
256materials and, you know, the pieces that are, you know, plugging into the, you know, the backbone that you've built. Um, and I just wanted to, you said something at the beginning. Um, it sounded like the bond funding, even though we have a 5-year bond, that you were able to secure 10 years of licenses with that funding. So, I just wanted to give that a shout out and say nice work. That is great. >> Really strong partnership with Michelle and Sarah, obviously, and the RISE team. The whole RISE team has been amazing partners throughout all this and Michelle's always a great partner. So once that not that I'm worried about 10 years from now right now because I I'm not but in 10 years that's when we would be renegotiating that and hopefully >> exactly. Yeah.
257Yeah. >> That's on for elementary schools and rolling that in. Maybe we'll get lucky. >> So anyway, thanks. This is amazing. I can't wait to see uh uh the impact that it has on staff. >> Thank But then also I think the 10 years it does give us an opportunity to budget for it right moving forward because I don't know if it's common for for districts to put ERPs into into bonds right so so I think it also to the point gives a a runway to start planning so that when it's time to renew the license um we'll be prepared to to do so. >> Absolutely. >> Yeah. Once we get out of the structural deficit. >> Yes. Yes. Um, I have nothing to add. I'm just happy for you, happy for us. So, thank
258you. >> Thank you. >> Great. >> Thank you for staying this late, >> of course. And thank you for >> And for those out of town, hope you have a comfy bed in your hotel. >> What was that? Thanks for calling that out. >> All right. Um, next we have Thank you, Margaret, for staying this late. >> Do you forgive me? Do you forgive me? >> Uh, is our right sizing discussion. We've allocated 45 minutes for this. Um, in preparation for the development of these guiding principles, our board held numerous public engagement sessions across the district. Our staff sent out a public survey. We have feedback form on our website and we're still actively working to engage our community for additional feedback. Tonight is an opportunity for our board to discuss the feedback we've heard
259so far to analyze the current draft of the resolution and to propose changes and additions. At our next meeting, Tuesday, May 26, we will vote on the principles that will guide the next phase of our right sizing work. So did you want me to just start calling going around? >> Yes. But first I have something very important news for you all. Deborah Kavory, chief of staff. >> It was very kind of Margaret. It was a great idea actually. Director split. It's very kind of Margaret. Margaret is on her like 630th day of walking and she has to do it before midnight and she has to walk for a half an hour. So, she needs to be done by 11:30 or else she will disrupt her 2-year Yeah. streak. So, just no pressure, but uh just
260wanted to put that on the table. >> I just >> I'm regretting my shoe choice because I'd so go walk with you. It sounds so fun. My kids are asleep. I got nothing else. Just walking around the D laps. All right. Um So we are uh at this point we're discussing giving feedback on the current draft proposal. So I think next up is I think wait director I forget is director Chase Mill or director split director split. >> It's me. >> Thank you. >> I'm sorry. Um I hate going first because I always have like so many things to say to other people. Anyway, um uh so I was able to take a look at what was provided to us in advance. Thanks for putting all that together. Um I was able to share a
261couple of these things offline, but I'll just share them here. Um so one thing that I asked for was um there's language. This is me word smmithing. There's language in here about healthy learning environments. When I think of health, I really think about like it's really like a narrow definition in my mind. So, I asked that it say healthy and safe learning environments that feels like it would be more clearly responsive to concerns about seismic to me. Um, and so anyway, I just thought I would throw that out if anyone has concerns. That's something I've asked for. There's a couple things missing for me. The two big ones are minimizing fragmentation of school communities. This is something I brought up to some of you already, but um something I've brought up kind of from the
262start. I really would like us to see ways of making these decisions where instead of closing if we were to close a school and then just break those kids up into the nearest five or six or whatever whatever elementary schools that to me seems more um like harmful to those kids than if we can find a way for them to be moved in a way where they're staying with most or a good chunk of their friends and community. Um, so that's a really high priority for me and something I'll like continue to want to see here unless the rest of you enough of you disagree with me, but I'm hoping we can add that. It would be really um I just think it's really important when I think about um a student- centered approach that
263we're thinking about those kids and their experience and I think that's the most important thing we can probably do for them. >> So where are you putting that under healthy? Uh no no no no just somewhere under the guiding principles. >> Okay. >> Um just that we would minimize fragmentation of school communities or however we want to um put that. Very related is um kids being close to schools. This looks like it did pretty well in the survey data we have to date. We can see if that changes, but it seems like that was a priority that was um shared across the is it slido? What technology we're using? Slido. Um was that we had like six choices and the the um one that talks about compact boundaries that promote safer routes to schools and
264a sense of community was the highest one. Um, and that really resonates with me and I really think it relates to that minimizing fragmentation of school communities too. But I would love to see both of those included um, under guiding principles that were, you know, minimizing the fragmentation and maximizing that compact boundaries that promote safer routes to schools and a sense of community. Um, I um, also just the work plan and community engagement pieces and implementation plan. Um, I'm really interested to hear what other people have to say. Those all looked pretty good to me, but I feel like Oh, devils in the details. God, I hate when you're it's late and you can't think clearly and you say stuff dumb stuff like devils in the details. But, um, but I do kind of feel
265like I I feel like I might still have thoughts on that as I think about it and hear more from you you guys, but it looked fine to me at a glance. Um, and then the last thing is, um, I've talked about here before that I really want to see us close out one the current there's a current drive to get more input that's closing at the end of this week and then also I know where we're trying to get some of the some data from some school communities that are underrepresented and I am really curious to see what that looks like. um if we can get to a statistically significant sample or even even a smaller sample size of some communities um that that we know are not represented so far. Um when we
266look at like who's participated, it's pretty clear that it's not representative of the district. And so I still remain concerned about that. Um, I would love it if we could hear from them before we adopt these. But it does make me wonder too if we will I don't even know how to put it. If we that information comes forward later how we could somehow sort of layer it in later if that's what we need to do. I don't know. But I it's just something that's still on my mind is outstanding. And I don't want to um miss a chance to say all out again that I really want to make sure we do what we can to get that input. Thanks everybody for your thoughts that I look forward to hearing next. >> Uh thank
267you. Um so I Who am I talking? We had a chance to have the >> talking to each other. >> Yeah. So we all I mean we all had these small group meetings and I'm just looking back at the notes I had and I was trying to compare and I wasn't sure if any of them had been implemented and it doesn't seem like they were. So I just want to express a little bit of what I said in our small group. Um, I would like to see a timeline listed out better here so our community knows what to expect and when things are coming. Um, I noticed that things like it's so late for my brain. Um, I noticed that things like um descriptions of well-resourced schools by grade spans will be drafted and shared
268with the board and community and will serve as the aspirational vision that will guide right sizing decisions. That's great. But it would be also I think really important to understand when that's coming and how much time we'll have to think about it and talk about it. Um >> can you say something really quick? >> Sure. >> Um because I think you know the the direction needs to come from majority on the board as people are giving ideas. I think let's just I think my suggestion is that we just keep this in mind and at the end we'll kind of go around and see if there are suggestions that people agreed or you know you can point out things that you agree on and if there's a number of board members a majority that would like
269it then those at least you know in terms of just trying to figure out what changes should go and what not. Does that make sense? >> I most you know like when you're in a meeting and you can like plus something I wish we could like do it as we go like thumbs up or nod. I don't know. I don't I'm overthinking it probably, but it'd be nice if we could like affirm things as we go versus remembering what's all been said as we go. >> I'm just confused cuz aren't we talking about the guiding principles? >> Yeah. >> Can we just talk about the guiding principles tonight? And I mean, I think the the work plan is where the details about timelines and things like that will live. And it looks like we're being
270presented with this outline of a work plan which I assume will some soon date have actual dates and times attached to that >> and it's a working plan. It's a it'll be updated and yeah I think you're exactly right. It's the guiding principles because I think the plan is then the next time that we're before you, you all will move to um adopt or give some more direction. >> So the resolution will lose everything below the guiding principles. >> Yes. >> Is that the plan? >> Or should we be? Yes, because the work plan well just remember that like all of the engagement that we've done was to inform you all so that you can create the guiding principles. Once the guiding principles are set, there's a whole host of work that needs to happen
271um with data sets and frameworks and maps and all of that. So that will be going back out to community especially communities um that are looking to be most impacted as we go through a couple of iterations and drafts as we work through the process. So then different things may come up, right? So the the work plan uh details of it, one set of information can send us in a different direction and then we'll need to update the work plan, I guess, is what I mean when I say that it's not like set in stone. >> Yeah, I appreciate the question. So um I think that the the general notion is that we want the guiding principles to provide the frame and the and the and so this is an outline as Dr. Armstrong is
272saying as the guiding principles are firmed up then we can say this is this is the timing in general we've given a general sort of timeline of like where things would happen um and we can provide a little more detail than we have. So I think to the uh specifics of like when will we have something that says it's a well-resourced school like what does that look like? We can give a better sense of that. I can you know we I I'm hearing the request and we can give a general timeline um that we can do that. And the other part that I want to hear back or that I want to respond to just quickly from director split about like as more information comes in how will there be an opportunity to make some
273adjustments? I think the answer can be yes and that that would be something that we could say at this time like we you know in June if we have more information that there would be an opportunity to make it >> but not for guiding principles. So so I think what um MC is talking about are the data sets that you all are going to have before you um probably monthly over the next several months. Um, and that may take different shapes and different forms, but in order for us to even like outline that work, we have to know like what you all are rising up to be like, hey, if you do nothing else, these things must be true and then we'll have that to go forward with. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. Sorry, directors.
274Thank you for giving me the grace of interrupting to clarify some procedure. Um so I am remain concerned that there's no timeline in the guiding principles. I think that our communities would really like to know what they can look for and when. Um and I think that it belongs in a guiding principle particularly if Dr. Armstrong is saying that there'll be things happening monthly to have that in there. So it's a guiding principle that we have a calendar and we have a a road map for community members to know what's happening and when. Um, I also, um, raised some sort of word smmithing concerns. Um, we've had a lot of, um, neighborhood schools, community schools, neighborhood schools coming in and talking about, you know, are we the ones that are going to get closed? The
275heat maps with the enrollment numbers caused sort of shock waves throughout the community. Like, ours is low. Does that mean low and in red? Does that mean that we're going to be shut down? someone else's is high and in green. Um, and so I had raised concerns in my reading with the guiding principle little C little I access to choice programs will be balanced with the goal of assuring well-resourced neighborhood. No, that's not where I was. Where am I? I think MC knows where I am because I brought it up before. Neighborhood schools at the center of the work. Um, where's that one? >> It's under C. It's just in C. >> Oh, it's up one more. Yep. >> Under the occasional option and then it's just the it's just the C not >> sorry
276I'm like two hours past my bedtime. Um PPS operates a variety of schools and programs all of which will be part of this right sizing process. That's great. We've talked about that with neighborhood schools at the center of the work. And so um I worry that we will consider continue to send worry through the community that neighborhood schools are at the center of the work. um meaning those are the ones that are being looked at rather than saying I can't remember what I said in the small group meeting but really something saying you know we want to lift up neighborhood schools every school and every program is being looked at but we I can't remember what I said in the group but I worry that the that the linguistics here suggest to neighborhood schools that
277those are the ones that are being looked at and so I just want to be cautious if that's our intention then fine but if that's not our intention I think we should reconsider how um little C is written. >> I want to back this up because I'm worried that it was that it's confusing. So, you actually like agree with the sentiment that the neighborhood school should be like at the center of our work, but you're worried that what the what it sounds like is the opposite that the neighborhood schools are going to be considered first for closure and that focus options and things like that would be be lower down the list. So, I just want to make sure everybody understands that that's what you're putting down because I was I think it I just
278wanted to make sure people heard you because I think it was >> and I think I was much more articulate yesterday at 11 than I am today. >> It's a different >> at 11. >> What difference 12 hours makes >> or 36? Um, let's see. Um I oh um I went back after we looked at this yesterday and then I looked at the slider results and I noticed that we asked our community members to rank the top four and then it seems like we put perhaps the top three but the at least in the slider results that I saw the walkability to school proximity to school was number four and so I think if we're asking community to rank their top four, then we should have the top four put in here. And it seemed
279like and I heard at every engagement session that I went to, proximity to schools and walkability and being near your school and the neighborhood school and the communities that it offers um was important to people. And so I would like to see that weaved in somewhere into the guiding principles. Maybe it's in C, maybe it's in this word smithing of neighborhood schools. I don't know. Um, that's one thing. Uh, I think that's all I've got right now. Oh, um, I'm glad the slido went out. Um, I'm also glad there'll be continued outreach. Um, yeah, that's all I've got right now. >> Thank you. Um, I like this document as is. I'm going to be easy. I I was debating I almost was thinking about trying to maybe second uh director split recommendation because I also
280agree I think we should try to minimize you know keeping school clusters scheduled as much as possible and also considering um those that have been recently affected and things like that right at the same time I worry about putting it in because of that I think we need as if we're trying to come up with the best plan. I mean the best that we can come up with for the most amount of students. Sometimes there's going, you know, you need some flexibility, right? For example, if you have too many things, then maybe you can't even do the best plan because, you know, to maximize the the outcome for the most amount of students because, well, it doesn't fit this guiding principle that we put in here. So like and and and you know I I
281heard a wise person once say you know when you're when you're making decisions you know one thing to ask always is is this choice coming from a place of courage or is this choice coming from a position of fear and I want to make sure that we uh be very cautious about putting guiding principles that come from a position of fear because then then we become very um constrained in our creativity and thinking and potentially even doing the right thing like um equity. It's going to take some bold moves to make sure the plan is equitable and I that's one of my top priorities. So again, I debate whether putting in things like I I although I totally agree keeping school clusters together and also considering the impact that has but I also think that
282um you as in district leadership and things are also very concerned about that and honestly for me this part is less important than seeing some scenarios because then is that's the time time when we can actually test our guiding principles and our our board um morals. I forgot what we called them in the the retreat values, our board values and see if it actually fits accordingly. So um I'm I'm for keep I like this as is I I want to address the the uh because directors I think you you also pointed something. The next sentence actually I think kind of assures that because it says with the goal of assuring well resourced neighborhood schools and so I'm hoping that's strong enough. Um, but I want to be easy here. I think it's it's fine as
283is. >> Thank you. >> I I almost almost exactly I think I think I I'm happy with it as is with a couple of comments. Um, one is that of course I can personally val my have personal values around um, equity lens and um, I appreciate what you said about courage and fear because we, you know, people are very afraid of change and we're going to have to have some very um, we're going to have to be very courageous during this process. Um, one thing I didn't see in here, and maybe it doesn't belong in the guiding principles, but we did hear from a community that's already kind of suffered a lot through the Southeast Guiding Coalition, and um, having been a member of this um, community that was bust. Um, I still have uh
284I have a memory about um how the black community, specifically here in Portland, was was harmed by the decisions that were made by a board that wasn't representative of that community um back in the way back in the days. So, um I I like the idea of not creating additional harm to communities that have um experienced harm recently. I also love the testimony that came um from Cara and another community member that just said like this is an opportunity to um meet new people and expand your like the capacity for love is endless. So you can love uh new people that you meet. Um the work plan I think is I mean that feels like the nuts and bolts of how we're going to do it but our guiding principles I to your point I
285think need to be very um a little bit flexible. Um I also wanted to just throw in and I mentioned this in our small group but um we're hearing oh I'm sorry I'm also very tired. I do like C um educational operate uh educational options. Um I like that we operate a variety of schools and programs all of which will be part of the right sizing. In other words, no one it's a systemwide look and I like that. I to your point um Director Englesman about neighborhood schools being the center. I'm just curious because that could be that could go either way. I I think that we should center neighborhood schools and but I don't want neighborhood schools to feel like um you know they're going to be the first one the first ones plucked
286off. So I just clarify maybe rewrite part of that sentence. Um, and then finally, I asked for some transportation studies because, you know, we're hearing that walkability and proximity and tight boundaries are important, but we also have some of our schools where a 100% of the people drive uh families drive or need to be transported. And I think that's um I'd like to know how the I'd like to know if we can find out like miles driven um because we're hearing that walkability is important yet we have lots of people driving their families to their children to school. So just curious about what the transportation um might look like current state and then potential future state. And that's it. But nice job. I mean it's it's very um simple. Okay. So I'm one of the
287people who says that the worst decisions are made from a place of fear. I've actually said it up here. Um but I think in this case um our guiding principles are really coming from a place of community input based on a list that we've given them um that we've given to the community. So, I'm not so sure that the community is looking for a lot of flexibility in our guiding principles as much as they're um wanting to know what our roadmap is. So, I'm okay having um you know some semifir guard rails. I think we need to know what we're working towards um throughout this process. And um one of the things I do want to call out and I called this out um actually let me back up. I do want to say that
288I do agree um with um safe and healthy schools definitely especially with how so much of our work has been focused on seismic and the safety of our facilities um that um I completely agree with and also um the consistent uh discussion we have about compact boundaries moving kids together. I love your idea of a transportation study. I think that's a great idea. Um I would love to know that too. Um for section um under guiding principles section D um I brought this up in our small group meeting um under the PPS equity lens adding um we have the bottom we have and then okay um so I'm just going to read it PPS equity lens PPS will apply the equity lens to inform decision making which will consider student demographics socioeconomic status and the
289needs of special education students and multilingual learners um I would recommend that we add our talented and gifted students. And I want to go over quickly why I think that's important. Um, from the lens of our Oregon state statutes, um, Oregon explicitly treats TAG students um, as a it's a need-based educational program. Um, TAG students are legally identified uh, instructional group under Oregon law with distinct educational needs. And I feel like lumping it in with, you know, choice is inaccurate, and I'll get to that part. um and educational equity frameworks um recognize that advanced learners from historically underserved backgrounds are often underidentified and underserved and not including tag in the language of this resolution um potentially exacerbate this problem for the long term because it's something that PPS really needs to work on. Um and
290I also think that excluding them can unintentionally signal that advanced academic needs are not part of our educational equity discussions. Um, also in addition, I don't know if you guys has had have had a chance to read the uh why they stay, why they leave survey that the district did, but I read through that um was sent to us on the 29th and the research narrative provided to the district recommended with high confidence that in order to retain students, the district needs to provide gifted and advanced program support um and advanced gifted and programming options earlier. And the actual top three findings in this report um are related to support of um our TAG students. Uh the number one recommendation is a TAG program restructuring. Number two, honors and advanced coursework at the middle school
291level. Number three is access academy expansion. So part of the reason we're right sizing is not just because of population declines, but because we need to retain students. And this report is telling us that we need to look very seriously at this. So I consider it a very important piece um of our guiding principles um as we do this work. Um so that's my saliloquy on that. I did um I would love to see I say choice programs but we don't really I haven't really heard that used until I read this. You know we really have academic programs and focus options. So when I read this I'm like this choice programs all of these is it some of these? I would love it if linguistically it was kind of aligning with the language that we
292already use. >> Does lottery do the trick? >> No, >> lottery is the choice. But I mean I see the I mean I think it's a great point. I'm I think it's a great point and I think that there was probably going to be opportunities as we go through this course of like just being clear about you know neighborhood school model focus option like lottery DLI native speaker DLI versus the others. I think we just have lots of different y >> things. So, I hear that. >> Um gosh, I think that would be I I think I just want to point out too, just hammering the tag thing, you know, looking at um students who would potentially leave the district knowing that a lot of them are the ones that leave. When we think about
293um you know, families who would potentially, you know, leave for private schools, I just want you guys to know it's not always the affluent families. The private schools give out a ton of tuition assistance and financial aid. They are dying for these students and I just don't want to give them a reason to pick them up. You know, if we look at even the access busing, you know, say $400,000, you know, for every student that leaves, it's $7,200, 55 students. So, really looking at the financial impact of potentially losing those students um as we work our way through this process. That's it. She was just talking about on de adding tag students. >> Yep. Okay. >> Okay. Well, I'm wouldn't mind that, but I'm pretty happy with the way it is. As I remember, there
294is a calendar somewhere about how we're planning this, isn't there? So, I don't So, I think people have seen that. I think they know what we're doing. I don't think they'd be too worried about that. Um, I looked at the results from the village table which I was interested in. They're fairly similar to the other results, not that different. And are we still planning to go to individual schools um where we haven't those people haven't come to the meetings? >> Not for the guiding principles. So I think as we get into the work I think there will be a whole different set of information and planning and engagement that you all will um >> so we'll get more information. Okay. >> Yes. >> And also um someone I parent I guess uh sent me Oregon
295PTA school consolidation advisory guidance. We probably all got that and I read through it and it it sounds like we're doing it. So I felt pretty good about that. So I'm I'm feeling quite comfortable with these guiding principles. I feel comfortable with these guiding principles. Also, I'm glad that Christy said earlier that the devil is in the details because I think the devil is in the details. And I think that um some pieces like um a specific timeline are some of the details that you know will will unfold but um we have to be aligned on our guiding principles which are really like the values that are creating the framework for us to do this work. Um and I think a lot of what we have talked about and called out um is actually in
296here. I I think TAG is addressed in A1. PPS will provide comparable, sustainable, and rich academic programming at all grade spans across the district so students can attend affirming learning spaces that meet their needs um and that are buffered from enrollment fluctuations. Um I also think that um I agree with Eddie. Show me the scenarios. I think I'll have um more specifics to offer when we um have a clearer sense of exactly what we're looking at and um how those measure up against the guiding principles that we've agreed on. Um actually, I also think that tag shows up in the educational options. Um, and and I like thinking about that in the context of keeping neighborhood schools at the center of the work. I agree. We need an overhaul of how we do tag and
297kids should be able to get tag within the context of their neighborhood schools. Um, and if we want to increase equity in tag representation, that is how you do it. Um so I would like to uh I'd like us to do that but I I think I see places where um that is represented where tag and that value is represented um in these guiding principles as written. Um and finally the equity lens. Um I want to uh highlight that there were some groups that we heard from that diversity of stu student population showed up for um and some who did not raise that to the top of the list. So um I trust that that will be captured through our use of the equity lens. Um, but I I want to highlight that and make
298sure it doesn't get lost. Um, one thought that I had about busing, um, it's interesting because we've heard a lot from access families recently about how important busing is for them and not just the transportation issue, but the community that their kids experience from riding the bus. And I will co-sign that. my kid goes to our neighborhood school, but it is not walkable for us. Every neighborhood school is not going to be walkable for every kid. It just isn't. Um, but we have a really sweet little bus stop crew. Um, and they ride the bus together and it's the cutest damn thing you've ever seen. Um, and it's really built community among the families in our neighborhood. So, I want to make sure that um as we're thinking about what it means to center neighborhood
299schools and um kind of some of the values around that such as walkability. um that we're not centering our own personal values, but we're being um expansive in how we consider that. and thinking about what we're really hearing um from families because um busing school buses not busing as a systemic thing but um riding your school bus to your neighborhood school is um an equally good option and um just as much of as part of that that school experience as being able to walk. it's just different and you know equity is not everybody getting the same thing. It's everybody getting uh what they need to be successful. So I hope that we can keep um things like that in mind. Um and that really makes me think of the capacity for change that was spoken
300to um so beautifully by Cara and also uh the Sunrise parent. Um yeah, I think that's all I've got. Great. I think we all said our piece. Do you feel like you have enough information to proceed move on? >> So, I just want to clarify a statement that you made earlier, which is are we going to sort of doubleclick or thumbs up on specific pieces? Um, and is that just so that there's clarity? There's a little there are two different it went two different directions kind of as we kind of went down like can are we going to circle back and like say yes this is something that the majority of the board is looking as direction for. Um there were a couple topics that I'm happy to kind of read back and see if
301that's something unless you guys remember all the the pieces that you wanted to surface. >> Yeah. How about we just do a quick round where everybody can if there's something you wanted to second an idea that was proposed by someone else just state it and then we'll how about let's start from director Chase Miller because start from this end so that you get to go last. Is that >> may I I'm looking at you and I can't even remember what you said but I was like that was a good point but what was it? >> I think all my I think all my things went down in flames except one. Um, and honestly, like I don't I don't mean this in a jerky way. I might vote no on the resolution at this point because
302like one of the things that's the most important to me is on their equity, but at this point the two other things that are most important to me won't be. So, I'm just letting you all know. I don't mind. I mean, we could pass things f, you know, 61 all the time. But I just won't feel comfortable without a couple of things on there that I mentioned. And I'm not trying to be a baby. I vote yes a lot. Um, but I just can't. But I think healthy and safe might be okay. I think people were good with healthy and safe. Yeah. But on compact boundaries, I mostly I wanted to have what we heard from community being the most important thing, which was that compact boundaries that promote safer routes to schools and a
303sense of community was on the list. And it's it's not going to be, which is fine. But I just think if we're going to do all this engagement and then not take the top thing that we heard and put it on the guiding principles, that does bother me. But I understand that the majority is not with me and that's fine. But I just want you to understand when I vote no that that'll be because I want to make sure when we do that engagement that we're we're actually reflecting it back in the work. And then personally as like a person who was a child that minimizing fragmentation of school communities is just like a it's a non it's like a non-starter for me. So I just won't vote yes on it without that. I'm not
304trying to be a baby. I'm not asking you guys to go back. Um, otherwise I do think I think it this hag thing is really interesting. I I can't quite get there and I feel like I have a good friend with a kid at Access that's going to like text me later and be like, "Come on." But um, I think that when you have like the tag 504 combo or something like that where you have like a kid who's like neurode divergent in TAG, they call they fall under that special education and that's the equity piece. the equity piece including tag just feels weird to me. And so I think that it's covered in other places and I support the general idea. It's just adding tag alone as like an equity consideration just doesn't quite
305fly with me. Um so I that will stop short of saying that we should include that. I don't was there anything the time we have a timeline already so I don't know why we can't just use that but was there anything else anybody else said that you wanted to put in >> Can I ask you a question about the compact boundaries? >> Sure. >> Do you feel like the focus on neighborhood schools is not the same thing as focusing on compact boundaries? Because to me it is like I don't have anything against compact boundaries. Um, but when I read having a focus around neighborhood schools, that's what that means to me. >> Yeah. I think to me neighborhood schools mean you get like assigned a school. And so, and that's the school you go to,
306which is like a core value of mine, right? Um, so I really like having the neighborhood school piece that we have. To me, I think what makes me worried I'll think of like I have like a specific example in mind. So like Dunaway has a bunch of kids that live in Cellwood and they have to cross what is that 99? That's like a freeway through the middle of it. Um and like their community seems to be more Cellwood to me. Like they go to the grocery store in Cellwood. They would go to the get a bagel in Cellwood. they're not going to like read and like East Morland to kick it, you know? So, that's like an example to me of where like the boundary doesn't like fit the community and like crosses this like
307major barrier. Um, you know, I but I know we have we'll have schools that will break the break the norm like there'll be a school that has kids on one side of I5 and the other, right? Like that'll happen. But I just think having it be a consideration or like a guiding principle that we try to follow this right boundaries piece that did well in the um in a couple different places in this survey. And then when you look at what that is defined as it has that compact boundaries that promote safer routes to schools and a sense of community. So to me it's not just go to the school you're assigned to that's your neighborhood school. To me, it's having those neighborhood schools like try their best to have kids be close to their
308schools and in the neighborhood where they're like not walkable is nice, but like it's just like their community. I don't even know like Yeah. It's like the identity. Yeah. It's like the placemaking piece. It's really the sense of community that I'm after. You get that on at the bus stop. You don't have to walk to school to have that sense of community. But if you suddenly have the Woodlon district extend like so far that all of a sudden it like includes Cully or something and you're like well they're their their like main neighborhood isn't that like Woodlon community, it's like out Cully. You know what I'm saying? Like that's the difference. I'm talking a lot trying to define it, but that's to me that's the difference. And and it's because it did so well in
309all of this that I feel like it's important. I mean, I would be open to workshopping some language that um is inclusive of what you're describing and kind of um coupling that with the idea of a neighborhood school. I don't know if others feel like, >> you know, I I'm just I think we have very different ideas of what a neighborhood school is. Um, and so, you know, perhaps a definition like and and some of us up here went to lots of different schools, you know, in lots of different countries even. >> Um, and so maybe there's some trauma around that, but I think neighborhood school like in my mind it's it's it's the identity the elementary it's the identity of the kind of the community around it. Um, and as we're talking about neighborhood
310schools, in my mind, I'm like, why wouldn't we put excellent programming so people if you did have to go to your neighborhood school, you'd be it would be a great place to go. It's an opportunity to like increase programming. If Winter Haven, you know, it's such a great place, let's plant that all over Portland. Um, so it doesn't have to be exclusively in one building. Um anyway, I think understanding what a neighborhood school means might be helpful and that that bullet C. >> Can I just say one thing I think might be helpful. Um so and I think right neighborhood school address um the the community you go. I think one of the things that people are lifting up about the focus option or the choice schools um are that they have these specialized areas
311and they're programmed around that. So where our neighborhood school models are using one set of um textbooks and materials, the focus option are designed around, you know, what that um what that element is that makes their school unique, right? And so I think it's just important to just tease that out because they're not it may not be as simple as like using your example taking a Winter Haven and then planning Winter Haven all across Portland in areas where it needs to be because there's things that make that particular school, you know, what it is unique. Now, I'm not saying that it has to be the only one. I mean, maybe there's some others. Maybe it's replicated in some of our areas where enrollment is low. Um, but I think and I'm sure there's going to
312be some detailed data sets that really speak to um all of the programs and the ways in which um they're different and where they're similar. >> And um I I would offer one other um piece of sort of information uh as well. And I think that um you have a very there's a there's a very specific uh vision that you're all holding and I think almost all of it's an in elementary and what we have said is that this is a K12 process and that we're going to be balancing some of these pieces um across multiple grade levels. So when we hear natural boundaries like um major thorough affairs is one uh I can think of spaces like Laurelhurst going to Grant and it's crosses I 84 right so I think that you have I
313would just encourage us to think through that part of you're entering into this with a school in mind and we're looking at a K12 system and so when we talk about what does that mean for when we go back to things like um I think director Agnesman brought this up uh both in Jefferson is rising when we look at like the onem um circle and the one and a half mile circle some of that is driven by geography so we also heard families talk about what's unique about skyline for example and also that some of the as skyline students then metriculate to Lincoln that that bus ride is a long way right and so there are these pieces that we have you're very and I'm it's natural to do to be fixed in a specific
314mindset and what part of the challenge we heard loud and clear is we're going to put everything on the table and we're looking at everything and that means we're going to have to look at it from different vantage points and they're going to surface different tradeoffs. So part of what is happening in the guiding principles is that yes the the six qu the six um pieces right boundaries right impact those six things are in policy we are going to look at those six things and we're going to say when we get into the tradeoffs I think that there's this piece of what did we hear from community and we can lift those things and they're going to be tradeoffs and they're going to there will be times that they're in competition with each other so
315all of that's going to happen um and the guiding principles should should provide a frame um that we're going to try to work towards and you're we're going to also surface some of those trade-offs. So, I don't know that we're going to hit it exactly. I think if we get into if there's this piece I am hearing this concern um from you director split about if it's possible don't don't fragment a community in the change like I'm hearing that as something that is not explicit in sort of some of the pieces that and you've said this a couple of times. So of those of those things I think the nature about sort of what compact boundaries are on the there's ways that we can look at that um that will surface and it's part of
316what is in the policy. Um so I think that the um the question I would that I'm hearing a little bit that's a little bit flipped is it more around if there is a school consolidation or a merger how we do that. What I heard from you is to say try not to take um to split the communities. Um I'm thinking this is like when we had to relocate Markham, we had to spread Markham across multiple schools as opposed to taking Gray and moving it in with Jackson. So that's kind of the mindset that I had as you're describing those is that try not if possible to to spread across multiple if possible. And I just want to double down on looking across K12 because I think when I hear you speak about it, I'm
317thinking of not necessarily neighborhood but even programming. And so like I know Dainci invests in their dance program and those dancers go off to Franklin or they go to Jefferson. And so, you know, with keeping the goal of having these programs that feed into these schools that have like these unique um beautiful parts, all different parts across, right? Getting to that graduating senior and beyond of whatever their goal would be. And so, keeping that community intact as they move through middle and high as well, right? So, but I I know that I have a secondary lens and that's where my brain just defaults to. >> Yeah, >> I think those were really helpful reminders actually and I think I mean when we think about that middle school experience, right, that is bringing together multiple elementary
318schools and so that concept that might work when we're just thinking about an elementary school isn't going to work when we extend out to elementary schools because for some it's just going to be closer and for some it's going to be farther. But at that point, they go from being one community to one community that is made up of many parts. Um, and so we're going to have to have the space to be flexible about how we bring those parts together. Um, and I'm also thinking about the idea potentially like of kids crossing the river, kids from Northwest crossing the river to go to Roosevelt or something like that, like which might end up being really important for a Roosevelt enrollment and a shorter bus ride for those kids. Um, but also it's crossing a
319river and driving down a mountain and like not compact but maybe the best choice >> and highway. Yeah, I guess I was thinking of the guiding principles not as 100% all the time on everything, but as like things that we want to prioritize, >> which is maybe a difference, but I do think getting down to that, like maybe we just have a definition of neighborhood school >> um that we can consider um adding or something like that because I >> that there could be a definition section I think of like here's some of the language and I think that this was brought up in a couple of pieces like what do we mean and Dr. Armstrong said it earlier, uh what is an alternative? What is a neighborhood? What is a focus option? Um what
320does that mean? Uh for heritage speakers, etc. Like what are like to be clear in this and I think that this was that sometimes we use um generalized terms when really we need the specificity of the list. Like this may be one of the places that the list is really important. >> Yeah. I just wanted again, my thing is I just feel like we're hearing it here and I'm trying to figure out how to get it onto the paper. Um, but thanks everybody for listening to me. Did everybody agree on healthy and safe? Safe and healthy, one of the two. Okay, we're good on that one. All right. And we'll figure out if we need to add anything or we can on fragmentation of school communities maybe as we go. The um the one thing
321I want to bring up again, I brought it up in the small group meeting. Um so my house is 1.1 miles from our elementary school, which triggers yellow bus options, which of course cost the the district money. Um and we're five and 6 from two other schools, uh which are not our neighborhood schools. Um, and in our community, there are dozens of kids who are 1.1 or 1.3 miles from our elementary school and who could take the yellow bus. Um, sometimes do take the yellow bus, but I remember talking to some parents who say, "We don't take the yellow bus because my kid has ADHD or my kid has anxiety and we walk to school because it settles their brain. It gets their wiggles out. They're in second grade." Um, and so by the time
322we get to school, they have their blood moving. We know from all the safe routes to school stuff. We know from our research that kids moving is better for learning, which of course is better for our board goals. Um, and then having lots of options about how to get to school, a yellow bus, a bike bus, a walking bus, whatever it is, a a parent driving you or carpool. All of those lift up our goals to undermine chronic absenteeism or fix chronic absenteeism. And so I just I I want to lean into the idea that um being able to walk to school is important for community but also for our board goals of third grade reading and fifth grade math because it helps some students. It helps them learn. And that also for some students
323being on a yellow bus is very hard. It's very loud. It's very hot sometimes. It's um who was I? I was talking to somebody that said all all teachers or all all um all parents and all teachers and everybody should ride the yellow buses and get a sense of what the kids experience because for some kid my my kid loves it, some kids don't. Um and so we do have to recognize that it's just not sort of a one-sizefits-all. And if we can create a school system in and I go back to the fact that we asked people to rate their top four and if we'd said rate their top three maybe they would have done it differently. Um and so just being able to and maybe walkability isn't the right term. maybe alternative routes
324or alternative ways to get to schools is important to have as a guiding principle because our community said it's important to them and then we also know it's important to our kids' brains as they learn. So that's all. >> Thank you. Um I just want to focus on there's anything my I think my vote is still >> 13 minutes. >> I'm looking at that too. No, my vote is still >> appreciate the consideration >> as is um because I think the >> healthy and safe >> except healthy and safe um with the caveat that as we develop the definitions that it incorporates the issues that director split brought up. Uh, one of the things I I do want to bring up is, you know, having seen the SEGC, there's a couple things that kind of
325the reason I I kind of pause a little bit or I still want to think about it a little bit more is because um there are situations where sometimes um you know there's three elementary school and I was thinking about through K through 12 and that's why why I was had a little pause on it is because there's certain situations where it it just makes more sense when one community splits into two. Not. And here's the thing, they become new communities. >> Mhm. >> And and that's a part that I think again place of courage or place of fear, right? It's a place of fear that we're joining a new community, but or sorry like courage to join new community, place of fear not to split it. And that that worries me because and then
326because we have also two other things that are also in play that helps with that transition. I think from the SEGC I remember there's a policy that allows people who start in a certain school to continue in their school in their path and so they can stay with the kids that they grew up with and stuff like that. So that's part of it and the other thing is also the sibling too. You can go to the same school as your siblings. So like that already helps certain groups that already together stay together through the process. So that's that's one of the things that allay is one of my fears about that. At the same time, I think it's still worth the discussion to bring up the issues that director Split brought up and and further
327define it. Um, but my current vote right now is with health healthy and safety as is. The other issue I did bring up which was about the um impact to title one schools have recently seen impact. I think that falls under the equity clause and I just want to verbally confirm it that that would fall under the equity clause and so I think I am fine with this as is. So, thank you. Yeah, we um it's in the implementation plan down below um in the in the approach and analysis that um they will assess the impacts on program change uh on on excuse me on communities that have been recently impacted by enrollment changes as well as title one school communities. So it's down below in four sub.3. >> Great. Thanks. I remember seeing that
328there and that's why I think Um, I'm fine with as as with the addition of the word safe. Um, I I just assumed that we'd look at natural boundaries like the river. >> Um, but I don't know if we need to be more specific about that, but yeah, pretty much um what Eddie said. >> Um, I am fine with the addition of safe. I am curious why there is so much push back about calling out tag when it is a needsbased designation by the state of Oregon. I mean you can make the same argument you know I think that A1 you know all grades spans affirming learning spaces meet their needs. You could say special we could delete special education students in D because it would fit under one but we wouldn't do that. So
329>> that's disability, >> right? But what I'm telling you is that tag is recognized in the same way by the state of Oregon and >> but it isn't. >> It is >> it's recognized and it's protected as its own thing, but there's like a ven diagram of kids who are tagged but not special education, right? Kids who are special education but not tagged and then tag kids who are special education. twice as as the mom of when I to I completely understand this caps still have legal protections but it's not the same thing as the legal protections that are guaranteed to people with disabilities by federal >> I I just want yeah I thank educational equity >> and that is meeting a child giving them the tools they need to you know to I'm it's
330getting to the best of their ability. It's not getting to one bar. It's getting to everybody's bar. And by excluding them, we're feeling I I believe that PPS will leave them behind. In my experience, 15 years of PPS, it has not been a priority. It does need to be a priority. We are losing students because of it. We need to focus on it. And our own data, our own report that we just got is literally like one, two, three. This is one of the reasons we're losing students. So, priority without attaching it. >> But why wouldn't we attach it? So, I'm just kind of wondering what's the reason not to. >> Well, the reason for >> the reason for me not to attach it is because the equity framework is there to ensure that kids
331who are historically marginalized and underserved have the same access to resources and education that other students have. Like I said, there's that ven diagram. So, you have kids in that TAG bubble who qualify as that, who haven't had their needs met, who um have their TAG overlaps with a disability and that's documented in their 504 or their IEP. Um, and then you have kids who qualify for TAG who do okay with extra enrichments or with this or with that. >> I'm not done yet. I know >> we do not have a great system for tag. I think I said earlier I agree that we should take a fresh look at how we do tag. I think there's opportunity for that there. But TAG kids as a whole, as a set of kids are not historically
332underserved and disadvantaged. That doesn't mean they are uh getting everything that they need out of their education in PPS, but they're not a historically marginalized group. And a lot of these kids come from families that have the resources to get them the supports that they need, whether or not it's in PPS. And the reason we have an equity filter is because kids from immigrant families and uh black and brown communities um don't have that same level of access to to fill in those gaps for their kids. >> I think that's fair. I think the way I'm looking at it is through an educational equity lens, which is a little bit different. So, I'm wondering if there's a way to incorporate it into this resolution because if we don't, I have real concerns that we're going
333to continue to leave these kids behind and we're going to continue to lose these families. Yeah. Can I just jump in and say that I I think it's a great uh conversation and I appreciate the the wrestle with with where it belongs, but I also just wanted to remind you all that we will be having a a conversation on uh mission, vision, and the strategic planning part. And I know that um all student groups um TAG and and others will be included in that. And I guess I just wonder if that's more of the place. And then the only other thing that I wanted to add was that one of the data sets that we're going to bring you all are looking at weight lists of some of the um focus options and programs that
334we have. Like we know that there's over 300 families on a wait list for access right now on the southwest side, right? what might that look like or what might that you know change or impact if you know maybe there was you know access on two sides of the river I don't know but all of those conversations are going to be addressed like it doesn't need to be named in a guiding principle to um I think the guiding principle is like holistically right um that whole thing but but fair though questions and we will have data sets that examine some of the the weight list in the particular areas and and what that does or maybe not do to enrollment in other um nearby schools. >> Yeah. >> So I think um I'm just going
335to summarize and and perhaps reassure. So one is there's a commitment to disegregate data and to share how what that looks like both by in terms of in a variety of ways. So I think that that that it will be uh it will continue to be a conversation and I think that the question that we will have and what that looks like is how does um who is accessing we can talk about what it is. So, you know, we can talk about our students uh over representative, under reppresented. What does that mean? I think is and and and uh the other part of that is like which communities are are either benefiting from some of the shifts and also bearing the burden. So, I think that that will be a consistent piece. Um I think
336in some ways we're in the abstract and what I'm hearing is give us some examples so that you we can see if it's if if we're missing something. So um I think that that is the guiding principles will help us do that and then we can start to um you know we're committed to giving as Dr. Armstrong saying this this piece around this you know we've talked a lot about focus option programs alternative programs how are people making families what are those impacts on strong neighborhood schools so we'll bring some of those data sets I think that we'll be able to do that and share some of those um uh soon so that you can see like this is how and the way that we'll be able to share information and see if that um
337makes the mark for your for or reassures um because what you're talking about is intersectionality often is that you're looking at this is access to a specific thing and we're looking at socioeconomic status or disability, you know, or um you know that we're looking at places of intersectionality and I appreciate it. Um >> and you articulated that well cuz I'm going to cut you off because you're going to have to go run here. So, but what I will say is that I would also say that like right start standing there. I think having equity, we don't need to name all of the groups because I would be also concerned if we were naming out other specific groups saying we need to put this in, right? I think we understand the charge with um equity and
338access in the way in which we need to make sure that there's these opportunities across the city. >> Absolutely. Thank you. Appreciate it. >> Thank you. >> Bye. >> As you're walking, I just want to check in with Director Sullivan. is since we didn't hear your final if you had any final >> vote. >> I think it's perfectly fine the way it is. >> Great. I think we have >> but with >> Yes. Thank you. >> We have the first readings next. Correct. >> Process. Yeah. We shift things around. Okay. So, this >> not for today. Yeah. Uh first readings of several policies uh from the policy committee. Um I'll hand this over to vice chair to pass. >> All right. And I'm going to um talk as fast as I can. Um so this
339is the at the April 27th policy committee meeting, we discussed and recommended revisions and recisions to several policies. Um in section 7 with the exception of one policy in section one uh the policy in section one is 1.70.010 P policies and administrative directions directives um add language confirming that will and shall are intended to express the same meaning and that will be throughout our policy manual. Um, moving on to the seven section 7 policies. Uh, that's under community staff recommended applying the following non-s substantive formatting and language updates to all of the policies in section 7. That's applying a consistent template heading, margins, spacing, font, etc. based on the updated template developed by the board office. We'll apply consistent capitalization to superintendent board. We'll correct typos and we'll update language um replacing all instances of
340district with PPS and shall with will. We'll change he or and she to they or his and hers to their. Um the second one is uh school site councils. There's non-substantive updates and deletion of redundant language adding language and reflecting the board's encouragement of inclusion of students as members of site councils. and that was a student suggestion. Uh the next one is district-wide advocacy and fundraising non-substantive updates and deletion of obsolete language related to the 23 24 and 2425 school years. The f the next one um is the policy on district foundation update with language adapted from the OSBA policy Oregon school boards association policy inclusion of a purpose statement and reference to our uh operating agreement in articles of incorporation. We'll add language in to require annual reporting to the board on foundation funded
341projects. And we'll also correct a typo in the internal revenue code citation. And kudos who for whoever read it and found that. The next one is parental and family involvement in support of academic achievement. This policy is recommended for recision out of it's out ofd the references rescended or replaced policies subject mattered covered in other places to other places. The next one is um volunteers will update with language adapted from the Oregon School Boards Association model policy on volunteers including language focusing on student safety will remove outdate outdated or obsolete language. And finally, citizen community sponsored contests is recommended for recision as it's outdated and its purpose is unclear. >> Thank you. If I should >> citizen is kind of a oldfashioned word too. >> Yeah, >> but it's being rescended. So >> great. Thank
342you. As just a reminder, this is the first reading which is when we're introducing these policy changes. Uh with this uh by policy, the public comment period is open for a minimum of 21 days. These policies will also be in the in between this meeting and the June 9th meeting. um will be revisited then for an opportunity for public comment as well as well as when these uh policies will be up for a vote on June 9th, our June 9th meeting which is will be the second reading and the the day of the vote. The these policies will also be on our proposed policies uh website and um we have received no comments about any any of these public comment. Dire director did you have a comment question? >> I do. Um, one of the
343things that I've we talked about at two I think it was at two policy committee meetings and I'm not seeing it in here is that um and I thought I would find it now and I'm hoping that legal can help me. Um, we are removing from 7.2.02 volunteers. We're removing the criminal history verification form. And two times now I've brought up that we don't have it anywhere else. And I was told that there would be language in here that says this doesn't take effect on our vote until we amend the tranch five. And I'm not seeing it in there. >> It is actually the uh I'm sorry they uh I'm guessing you didn't get the that nobody called you. I apologize for that. That the language is actually not removed from there. It was simply
344updated to say that the um and I'm trying to find it here with you. If you look at five >> um that they will complete a volunteer application which includes the volunteer background check which is what is actually done now. So it's removing the wrong reference. They don't volunteers don't go through that's not the right phrase anymore. So what instead of doing what you raised, which you did talk about, um Emily went back and talked with our security people to find out what we actually do and this is actually what we do. So there's no need for that, what I'll think of as the contingent language. And I'm sorry that loop wasn't closed to tell you that it's in here in a tighter way that we don't need the contingency. >> Perfect. So volunteers in
345the volunteer application, >> yes, >> do go through a criminal background check. >> They do that through that process. Yes. >> Thank you. >> So is a volunteer background check. Oh, sorry. I went out of order. Sorry. >> Go ahead. I just >> We're not in any order. >> So >> not technically for discussion, but go ahead. >> So volunteer background check is is a criminal background check. It's the same. It includes that. Okay. This is this is the phrase that we're using because I know it's absolutely not. >> Okay. >> Thank you. I would love that before. It sounds like it's going to be on the policy committee meeting. So perhaps for the next policy committee just so we know it's all buttoned up. >> Thank you. >> I mean we're not putting the
346words in there and we'll get you what we actually do now. Is that right? >> Yeah. I guess yes. I Yes. I think that my the reason that I so what we do now that's not enshrined in policy can change without it can change. And so a policy lays out what happens and if a volunteer application someone just decides to change what that process is, we just have volunteer application instead of having the safety parameters of criminal background check or whatever else happens. So I just want to make sure that because a like a a policy is what is dictates and then the what happens with security behind the scenes can change with what someone in security thinks is important or not import right >> I actually think that's a term of art so let
347me just answer that was my understanding when I heard it that it's a term of art exactly what you're talking about let me make sure of that and >> okay thank And it's also going to be on the P right between first and second readings. It goes back to the policy committee. Is that what I heard say? >> It goes to the >> Oh, will it come back with that? We we can add that to the agenda. Absolutely. But I thought you said we were just going to vote on it. >> Well, typically what happens is you have the first reading introduced and then in the policy committee in between the first and second reading, it's just on the agenda for potential discussion. Not necessarily that you have to discuss it. That's typically what happens
348just so that there's availability for public comment, not just on the day of the vote. >> It makes perfect sense. >> That's typically what the practice is. >> It just Yeah, I just haven't seen it that way. So, when you said it, you said it sometime recently. I don't remember. Maybe it was at our board retreat. You said that that is the process. And so, I thought, oh, that's a great let's do it. >> Except sometimes the cadence of the meeting falls outside of the 21 days. But >> but anyway, yeah, let's we we'll bring it back >> and and sometimes it's not necessarily on the agenda just for discussion. It's just like uploaded on board books there in case. >> Um I in in reading through these there were some that were not redlined
349at all. Does that mean there was no change or >> they're being deleted? >> They're being reset. >> They're just being totally deleted. Yes. Okay. All >> right. Next up, we have uh almost the last thing, the consent agenda. Board members, if there's any items you would want uh to pull for a separate uh discussion, please indicate that now. >> All right. Uh Miss Paul, are there any changes to consent agenda? Do I have a motion and a second to adopt the consent agenda? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Vice sure to pass moves. Was that director Chase Miller seconds the adoption of the consent agenda? Board discussion on the consent agenda. Miss Powell, has anyone signed up for public comment? All right. The board will now vote on resolution 7303 through 7305. All in
350favor, please indicate by saying yes. >> Yes. >> Opposed. >> I didn't vote yes, but I'm voting yes. Sorry, I was late. >> Abstensions. Thank you. Consent as approved by a vote of seven to zero. All right. Uh, board members, are there any items you would like to request for a follow-up or consider an agenda item in the future? >> All right. >> I remind me again if there's another way to share just the next meeting. I did have something, but I forgot it. >> You can always email me and Roseanne. >> Okay, great. >> All right, with that, this meeting is adjourned. Please go home just a bit shy of midnight.