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The Mid-county Memo is your newspaper. We want to hear from you. Discuss an important issue or address a concern you want to call to the community's attention. We prefer e-mailed letters to the editor sent to Darlene Vinson at editor@midcountymemo.com. Please put “Letter to the editor” in the subject line. You may also mail your letter to 3510 N.E. 134th Ave., Portland, OR 97230 or fax it to 503-249-7672. Deadline for the April issue is Tuesday, March 15.

Parkrose in a much better place

To the Editor:

Mr. Keating's recent letter (“This voter: Say 'NAY' to bond measure renewal,” February 2011) in regards to the upcoming Parkrose School District Bond election raised some interesting questions.

Mr. Keating was correct in saying that the average home owner will pay approximately $165 per year if the bond passes, depending on the value of their home. He also noted that this is a replacement bond, and that there will be no additional costs to Parkrose homeowners above what they now pay.

This amount breaks down to about $14 per month, or about as much as an individual would spend to go to the movies by themselves. In the example Mr. Keating used, it is about as much as it would cost to take a family of four out to dinner at a nice restaurant once a year.

One suggestion that Mr. Keating made was especially interesting to me because it has been an issue raised at school board meetings. It has been suggested that the district should sell one or more of the three schools that we own but are not presently using. At first glance, this seems like it might be a good idea. However, all three of these properties are presently being leased and each of these three leases produces significant income for the district. It would be fiscally irresponsible for the district to sacrifice permanent income streams for a one-time shot of cash. After consideration, the school board has determined that burning through limited resources to address a short-term problem would have lasting detrimental effects on the district. If we sell our assets off now, what do we do the next time we are faced with a fiscal crisis?

In response to Mr. Keating's suggestion that Superintendent Gray does not have a clear understanding of the district, I would like to point out that under three years of Superintendent Gray's leadership the district has gone through a remarkable transformation.

In just these last three years the state academic rating for Parkrose High School has gone from the lowest possible rating to the highest possible rating, the Parkrose athletic program has gone from arguably the worst in the state to competitive in virtually every sport, participation in arts and music have grown dramatically, our elementary schools have won multiple awards for excellence, and community and volunteer involvement is growing.

To summarize, under Dr. Gray's leadership the Parkrose School District has improved dramatically in just about every measurable way.

Finally, in response to Mr. Keating's comments about the lack of a community center - on my way in to my office this (Saturday) morning, I dropped by the high school to sit in on a boosters meeting. The participants in the meeting were talking about the boy's swim team having just won the district championship.

While I was there, I dropped by the dance team competition and spoke to some parents about the regional soccer facility that will begin construction within a few months on the open space behind Bronco stadium. I then walked through the aquatic center where a group of seniors were doing water exercises, and drove my pickup over to the middle school to drop off some bottles and cans at the monthly fundraiser. While I was at the middle school, I talked to some folks about the Saturday Market that will be reopening in May.


If that is not a community center, then what is it?

Mr. Keating's view of Parkrose is much different from mine. He describes an impoverished community struggling with ancient grudges and past mistakes. I see a community made up of tough, resilient and proud individuals who are fighting to make their community a better place for their children to grow up.

I would encourage Mr. Keating to move past old complaints and mistakes and embrace the positive changes in our district.

Parkrose School District is carving out a place as a leader and innovator in public education. I encourage all Parkrose voters to participate in improving the quality of our community by supporting the Parkrose Educational Bond Measure that will be on the ballet this coming May.

Guy Crawford, Vice-Chairman
Parkrose Board of Education
503-256-7300
guy@nwcoc.com




Letter writer right on … sort of

To the Editor:

I would like to take the opportunity to respond to Mr. Keating's thoughtful remarks (“This voter: Say 'NAY' to bond measure renewal,” February 2011) about the upcoming Parkrose School District Capital Bond. His main points were:

o The 15 year-old high school was riddled with construction flaws.
o 85% of the residents of Parkrose don't have kids in school
o The people of Parkrose are low income and do not have the funds for capital improvements.
o There are three schools not being used by district students that could be sold to fund the new construction.

Everything he said is true.

Yes, the school was riddled with construction flaws, and, in the late 90s, the Parkrose school district, board, superintendent and administrators could have been featured in the comics section of the newspaper.

That was 15 years ago. Those people are not here any more.

There is not a board member, superintendent or administrator remaining from those days. We have cleaned up the mess. Having an engineer and an auditor on the school board, as well as hiring the right consultants, helps avoid those missteps.

Yes, it is true that 85 percent of the residents of Parkrose do not have kids in school. But, over 85 percent of them attended public schools and had their education paid for by people who were unlikely to have children in public schools. It is the way we fund education in this country. People take on 12 years of public education and then pay for it through property taxes the rest of their lives.

It is an imperfect system, but it has been part of the Oregon Constitution since its founding.

Yes, it is true, we are a low-income area. Having grown up in a low-income family, I know how important it is to be frugal, save your pennies, and buy what you need when it is on sale. The best time for capital improvements are when prices are lowest. Construction materials prices and commercial construction costs are very low right now. We are not going to find a more cost-effective time to rebuild the middle school.

Yes, it is true there are three schools not being used by district students. We rent those buildings out and use the funds to maintain the other properties. They are a profit center for us.

Given Parkrose's history, selling these buildings would be short sighted. In the late 80s, during a three-year period, the Parkrose student population was cut in half. Students filled those schools and then were gone. Imagine the financial stress of selling these buildings at the bottom of a real estate market and then in 15 years having to find space for another 3,000 students because all those houses, emptied of kids in the 80s, filled back up.

In short, everything that Mr. Keating said was accurate but none of it was right.

James Woods, Ph.D.
Parkrose Board of Education
503-465-4883
james_woods@parkrose.k12.or.us

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