Jefferson Governance: It Takes a Pillage?

Jefferson High School Governance: It Takes a Pillage?
May 11th 2007 12:05pm

BY: Beth Slovic | 11 comments

Last week, WWire has learned, Portland Public Schools Superintendent Vicki Phillips and acting Jefferson High School Principal Cynthia Harris entered into a formal agreement with Self Enhancement Inc. CEO Tony Hopson to create a new governing body at Jeff: the Jefferson Community Advocacy Board.

Harris, who spoke with WWire this morning, says the new board will not replace Jeff's recently revamped Site Council, but will instead act in conjunction with it. "I see it as a full partnership," Harris says.

The new agreement says the initial members of the board will be appointed by a group of seven, with three representatives from Hopson's "core team" and one member each from Jeff's PTSA and Site Council. The other two slots are reserved for Jeff's principal and area director.

Once established, the board will "work with the Principal of JHS to (a) determine the assignment of monies raised by the JCAB, and (b) make recommendations on the assignment of unspecified Title 1 dollars and unrestricted grant funds[.]"

The agreement also says "the JCAB, along with other appropriate groups (Site Council, PTSA, etc.) will have a strong voice on the selection of future Principals at JHS. This would include strong recommendations on the pool of applicants to be considered for a Principal position at JHS, and active participation in the selection process ."

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11 Comments on This Article

#11
Nicole B
May 12th, 2007 11:23am
This article says that "initial members of the board will be appointed," but an earlier version of the agreement also said that "subsequent members will be appointed by the JCAB." Does anyone know what the final agreement said? Will this continue to be a self-appointed group, or will it become a group of elected representatives of the community?

Tony Hopson has been advocating to convert Jefferson into a charter school since 1999 (Charter Territory, Willamette Week, 6/9/99), and at least one other member of the "core team" was also involved in a proposal a couple of years ago to convert Jefferson into a charter school that would coincidentally(?) be operated as four separate academies (Jefferson High is Focus of Charter Effort, Oregonian, 6/10/04). Is the formation of this "advocacy board" another step in the process toward making Jefferson a charter school?

Should PPS grant decision-making influence over a school to a charter school operator without the knowledge and support of the school community? Why wasn't the Jefferson Site Council informed that a new group was being formed that would have influence over school decision-making? Why weren't the parents and teachers informed? Does anyone know if "community advocacy boards" are being created at any other PPS high schools?

#10
Nancy Smith
May 12th, 2007 3:53pm
Having attended the final SEI "Core Group" meeting held last December on behalf of the Jefferson High School PTSA, I can assure you this JCAB agreement is not what Mr. Hopson presented to his group, nor what they voted on. When was it signed?

Mr. Hopson told his Core Group on December 5, 2006 that JCAB would serve "external" functions only. There was NOTHING included in that agreement about Title I or grant funds - both of which are "internal" Site-Council functions. NOTHING was included in that agreement about the SEI Core Group having majority control or that JCAB members would be "appointed" rather than elected. And the SEI Core Group has not received a single communication from SEI since last December.

Likewise, neither Mr. Hopson, Ms. Harris nor Ms. Phillips informed JHS parents, staff, Site Council or the community at large about JCAB, its contents or that an agreement had been signed.

The agreement to grant SEI/Hopson control of administration and funding (internal and external) at JHS was reached behind closed doors, without the knowledge or input of ANY JHS stakeholders, including staff, parents, families and the community. Yet this process was allowed as part of a "Parent, Family and Community Involvement" grant awarded to Mr. Hopson/SEI by the Portland Schools Foundation.

Something is very wrong here. Mr. Hopson, Ms. Harris, Ms. Phillips and Portland Schools Foundation: the Jefferson High School community demands an immediate explanation.

Jefferson High School parent, Site Council and PTSA member.

#9
Joe
May 12th, 2007 4:10pm
Did I miss somthing? Did Tony Hopson purchase Jefferson High School? Is he the owner?

Last I heard it was a public school that also happens to be a Title I school; that makes it against federal law to grant authority to outside organizations while taking away parent voice.

Are there any other schools where PPS is giving decision-making power of the public neighborhood school to an outside community partner? I didn't think so.

#8
Just Wondering
May 12th, 2007 7:02pm
Wow another layer to buffer what the Jefferson community wants? Needs? PPS just snuck that one in. There is something very, very wrong in how was awarded to Tony Hopson. Just how deep does this go with VP and her cronies and followers?

#7
Anon
May 12th, 2007 9:16pm
This can put pressure on the site council (and the PTSA), but it cannot replace the former by state law. Tony Hopson is a leader in the wider Jefferson community; is this what it will take to get him and the power base of SEI, Inc., to effectively partner with Jefferson? The school district's current plan to adopt uniform curriculum
(see "Portland schools’ low-income students thrive on regimented learning, but affluent families seek more flexibility" in The Oregonian, 5/11) is a much more real "chartering" happening right before our eyes. The School Board is to vote on the curriculum adoption plan on Monday.

#6
Infuriated
May 12th, 2007 10:37pm
This is just another example of Portland Public Schools making secret deals with certain Black "community leaders" on matters affecting Jefferson (remember the Design Team?). And another example of Black community leaders gatekeeping and devaluing Jefferson families and children for their own personal gain.

Shame on you Design Team members who made deals with Vicki Phillips, but have never bothered to be seen at Jefferson again. And shame on you, Mr. Hopson!

#5
James
May 12th, 2007 11:03pm
We are citizens living in the Jefferson area. As such we pay taxes for our community's public schools. Jefferson does not belong to SEI or any other organization or individual. It belongs to all of us, and as such we demand the same respect for our children and famililes.

This is the last straw from Vicki Phillips, the school board and community "leaders" making back-door decisions for Jefferson, which has resulted in deterioration, particularly rapid over the last decade.

We will take back our public high school; we will do it together, from all backgrounds, because we love our children, our families, our community. Enough is enough!

#4
cjj
May 13th, 2007 7:56am
If a non-parent, non-staff, non-site council or LSAC member can be granted authority to hand-select a governing group with controlling interest in decision making for a public school, where do I sign up?

Nothing personal against Mr. Hopson, but this garbage would never have been attempted in the white community!

#3
It Never Ends
May 13th, 2007 8:35am
Parents in the Jefferson community are not stupid or incompetent. Who does Tony Hopson, or any other so-called leader, think they are to dictate or override parent voice in their children's education? And who does Vicki Phillips and Cynthia Harris think they are to disrespect the Jefferson families by entering into this agreement? It's obvious why they did it in secret, because they knew it was wrong.

If parents want Tony Hopson to lead their children, they can choose to send them to the SEI charter school. If he wants a greater say in how Jefferson is run, he should apply to become principal.

This is just another example of the continuing discrimination against Jefferson parents and community by the school district, with big-time help from the gatekeepers.

#2
Angry
May 13th, 2007 8:47am
What authority does the Portland Schools Foundation have to award a grant to Mr. Hopson to effectively strip the authority from Jefferson's "elected" site council (dictated by state law) in favor of his "self-selected" group?

#1
Zarwen
May 13th, 2007 12:17pm
I am pretty sure this new "governing board" is illegal. If Tony Hopson was that anxious to "help" Jeff, he could simply have joined the LSAC; that is what community members are supposed to do if they have an interest in a particular school but no children there. If Jeff does not have an LSAC, one could be formed; there is precedent for doing so. There is NO precedent for this "JCAB" business.

I suggest that the Jefferson Site Council take a close look at Section 7 of School Board Policies (available at this link: www.pps.k12.or.us/directives-c/pol-...) and THEN hire an attorney to file a lawsuit. I am sorry, but I think legal action is the only way to get this District to treat the Jeff community with any respect whatsoever. After everything that has happened, I thought it couldn't get any worse--but I guess VP couldn't leave without taking a parting shot. Disgusting.

More comments are posted on Willy Week website here:
http://www.wweek.com/wwire/?p=7901