Do the Right Thing for Kenton Elementary and All Jefferson Schools

There are current moral and ethical issues relative to the Kenton Elementary closure and proposed lease situation which underscore the need for the PPS school board to "do the right thing":

1. On one hand the board is overwhelmingly supporting some school communities in their plans to increase enrollment by seeking to pull students AWAY FROM PRIVATE SCHOOLS back INTO their PUBLIC SCHOOLS; this is great!. However, in the case of Jefferson, the opposite is true. The proposal is to allow a PRIVATE SCHOOL (competing for Jefferson High Students) long-term sustainable residency WITHIN the Jefferson cluster, draining additional enrollment FROM JEFFERSON HIGH and threatening it's future existence. Approving this lease would undermine the sustainability/future of Jefferson High School and its feeder schools.

2. The district's obligation is to the Jefferson public school families, not outside organizations such as private schools, The Real Estate Trust or Innovation Partnerships, all of whom have a documented interest in Kenton Elementary School and/or its surrounding property.

3. The district has refused to include numerous interested "Jefferson High School" parents, teachers students, PTSA and Site Council members on the "Jefferson High School" implementation team, but the "Jefferson High School" implementation team DOES include parents and board members of the private school seeking to obtain the Kenton lease. This is insidious.

4. In the recent district-wide configuration, the school communities desiring K-8 have been granted their request. To consider allowing a private school to occupy Kenton while denying the Chief Joseph/Kenton school communities this same desired configuration is unconscionable.

5. Ockley Green has been approved by the board as a district-wide magnet school. Requiring the Chief Joseph/Kenton families to attend Ockley Green in lieu of an existing neighborhood school is unacceptable and wrong.

6. The district has refused to meet or respond to several emails requesting a meeting with the Jefferson High School PTSA to jointly work out a plan to "grow" enrollment for all Jefferson schools. If the district requires enrollment increases to keep the school doors open, they are morally obligated to partner with Jefferson families instead of undermining their neighborhood schools by refusing to allow a genuine process for enrollment growth. Update: Director Wynde responded on 5/18/06, and is supportive of the plan to outreach to all Jefferson families to grow enrollment for all Jefferson schools.

Portland Public Schools must "do the right thing" by denying the proposed Kenton lease and returning it to its public school community; doing so would serve as a much-needed starting point to demonstrate that ALL PPS children and families are valued equally.