Vicki (and Gates) still have their fans

It seems that Oregonian editorial board member Susan Nielsen has interviewed all five candidates vying to serve out Dan Ryan's remaining ten months on the Portland School Board.  If Nielsens' comments are any indication of a possible Oregonian endorsement, it looks like Steve Buel is out of luck.

Buel was the only one of the five who had nothing good to say about former superintendent Vicki Phillips, at least according to Nielsen.  Given the state of the district, rife with inequities, that should make Buel the front runner.  That's how I see it, anyway.

Nielsen sees it differently. "Hurricane" Vicki was the "bracing wind Portland needed."

Rita Moore seems to be Nielsen's favorite, and, next to Buel, mine too.  You have to like someone who musters the courage to say

"If half the city fails, the whole city fails." 

Moore places the blame squarely on the school board:

"Frankly, I blame the board. They didn't ask questions, they didn't get the answers.  ... There's a real credibility gap."

I fear that such statements will not endear Rita Moore to the board which has the final say on Ryan's replacement  Nonetheless it's something the board needs to hear.

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And then there's Bill Gates, whose largesse the Portland district has become dependent on, especially when it comes to "small schools" in the city's poorest communities.

What a surprise then to read that Madison High will no longer be a recipient of Gates money.  According to Employers for Educational Excellence, the organization charged with distributing Gates' money, Madison wasn't committed to "small, fully autonomous high schools."

Silos, in another words. 

Opposition to those silos was what caused counselor David Colton to lose his position at Madison.  It also prompted a faculty vote of no confidence in Madison's principal, a vote that Superintendent Carole Smith criticized. 

In the end, the district lost big time, both the Gates money and the battle with Colton.

David Colton is back at Madison.

Comments

[Steve Buel]

You are right Terry. Susan Nielsen asked me if I could think of anything Phillips had done well and I couldn't think of a thing. Must have been something I missed. I also liked Rita Moore's comment about the city fails if half the city fails. I don't see why people in the know can't see that if we continue to send young kids out into the community as drop-outs, criminals, gang members, too-young unwed mothers, drug addicts, and alcoholics the city will continue to struggle with an undereducated underclass that costs the city and the county and the state a fortune that could be going to far better things.

[trueblue]

I'm proud of you for standing by your principles Steve. You spoke the truth that the O does not want to see or hear. Thanks for all that you do.