Portland Public Schools Superintendent Vicki Phillips
It's time for parents, students and neighbors of local schools slated for closure or change to ask questions and state opinions at several school district meetings planned throughout Portland.
Portland Public Schools Superintendent Vicki Phillips is proposing to create 17 new kindergarten-through-eighth-grade schools across the city. She also wants to change several attendance boundaries and close seven school buildings — five through the K-8 conversion and two to be determined next fall from community recommendations.
The series of community conversations and hearings slated through April are meant to help refine the proposals before the board makes its decisions May 1.
School district staff will answer questions, take comments and listen to suggestions from the communities involved at the meetings. Dates and locations of the meetings, and the schools that would be affected by the proposed changes, are:
• Gregory Heights Middle and Lee, Rigler, Rose City Park, Scott and Vestal elementary schools: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, April 17, at Madison High School, 2735 N.E. 82nd Ave.
• Ockley Green Middle and Humboldt Elementary schools: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, April 17, at HumboldtElementary School, 4915 N. Gantenbein Ave.
• Fernwood Middle and Hollyrood, Irvington and Laurelhurst elementary schools: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 18. Location to be determined; call 503-916-3304 for more information.
• Southeast area schools: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 19, at Marshall High School, 3905 S.E. 91st Ave.
• Northeast area schools: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 20, at Madison High School, 2735 N.E. 82nd Ave.
• North area schools: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 25, at Roosevelt High School, 6941 N. Central Ave.
• West Side schools: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 26, at Wilson High School, 1151 S.W. Vermont St.
In addition, the school board and various district committees will meet several times before the board makes its final decision. These meetings will all be in the Blanchard Education Service Center, 501 N. Dixon St.
• School board meeting and budget hearing: 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 10.
• Board Finance, Audit and Operations Committee meeting: 8:30 a.m. Thursday, April 13; and 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 19 (with a Citizen Budget Review Committee report).
• School board meeting and budget hearing (with a Citizen Budget Review Committee report): 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 24.
• Final school board meeting and budget approval: 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 1.
