Pressure pays off, Chief Joseph school to remain open
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PORTLAND, Ore. - The Portland Public School board took the advice of parents and chose not to close a North Portland school.
The school board approved the merger of Ockley Green and Chief Joseph schools into one neighborhood school, but that school will operate in two buildings.
Originally, Portland Public Schools Superintendent Carole Smith proposed closing Chief Joseph and combining it with Ockley Green to balance enrollment.
But parents questioned what it would mean to the neighborhood surrounding Chief Joseph, and why the district had previously released two options for school closures, neither of which included Chief Joseph.
The outcry appears to have had some effect.
At a recent school board meeting, three board members opposed closing Chief Joseph, leading Smith to amend her recommendation.
"Parents are not going to back down," Becca Russell, the parent of a first grader at Chief Joseph said back when the school's future was in doubt. "We are going to fight for our school. Whatever it takes, we are going to fight to keep our school open because we love it that much."
And...how dare they name a school after Native Americans. You have to change the name of sports teams because the Native Americans might be offended by someone honoring them...why is the school allowed to keep it's name. Or perhaps it should be closed because of that...nothing to do with education! (sarcasm)Â
"Whatever it takes, we are going to fight to keep our school open because we love it that much.""
Watch this. Ready? How about a bond levy? How about tuition? We pay tuition for our child, AND we pay taxes for their public school children. They want more tax money to keep their school open, but, I don't see them offering to help pay my kid's tuition, and their tax money doesn't help our school at all. Our school has saved money and held fundraisers, auctions, book fairs, they've made hard choices and, through aggressive repayment on their debt, they will be free and clear of debt next year.. Fantastic education and fiscal responsibility.
So, if you love your school as much as you say, Chief Joseph parents, pay for it like the rest of us with our niche schools have to do. I'm curious as to whether this has been considered yet.
Seems like Superintendant Carole Smith tried to pull a fast one, but miscalculated neighborhood opposition! Now what, Ms Smith? What are ya gonna try to close next?
Sounds like the parents bullied the school board into this.
Close them all down. Â As long as the teacher's unions are in control of the schools, the kids won't learn anything, with the exception of brainwashing them to the liberal side of things.
I thought schools in your state couldn't have any Indian names in them. Maybe Obama middle school would be more appropriate.Â
Looks like the Portland School DIstrict needs to grow a pair. Perhaps now they'll move on and close Jefferson H.S. AKA Gangbanger University.
""We are going to fight for our school. Whatever it takes,"
Private elementary schools in the Portland area charge $700/month for tuition, and due to aggressive payback of debt, our daughter's will be completely out of debt next year.Â
What if "Whatever it takes" involves paying tuition for your kid to go to your favorite school? Let's see what "Whatever it takes" actually means because I bet if you suggest that parents pay a little more, they're going to scream bloody murder. Maybe not. We'll see.
Yeah, let the emotional over rule the financial aspects. The PPS should increase taxes on the Chief Joseph district so these people can put their money where their mouth is.
@I812 Yeah, the PPS should charge every parent who goes to Chief Joseph district extra money, like say $500 a month for each child. Especially where's there's more than one kid in each family going to the Chief District school.They need to pay. We are sick of funding their schools. Let's make sure our tax money is spent on protecting our borders and funding our military.