Andrew Scott, a board member of Portland Public Schools, is leaving with two and a half years remaining in his tenure after moving outside of his Southwest Portland zone, and three people are running to succeed him.
According to a Portland Public Schools representative, school board members will interview the three applicants and cast their votes for Scott’s replacement the next week.
Christy Splitt, a government relations coordinator at the Oregon Department of Energy, nonprofit CEO Jackie Wirz, and real estate dealer Jazzmin Reece are the three candidates. Each of the three has kids enrolled in Southwest Portland public schools.
The district’s top goals, according to Reece, who is the treasurer of the Bridlemile Elementary School PTA and a member of the comprehensive planning committee for the impending remodeling of Ida B. Wells High School, are academic achievement, equity, student mental health, and teacher support.
In her application, she stated that one of her objectives would be to collaborate with [PPS Superintendent Kimberlee] Armstrong to create an accountability roundtable with community leaders in order to identify, monitor, and address concerns in order to enhance service delivery and results for underserved populations.
Particularly in Portland Public Schools, Black and Native students fall short of their white and Asian counterparts in almost every category, from chronic absenteeism to third-grade reading proficiency.
Splitt is a member of the executive board of the PTA at Hayhurst Elementary School, where her children attend. For a short time, she coached the Lincoln High School Constitution team and served as a substitute teacher for the district.
She added that as a board member, she would place a high priority on community outreach, including lobbying the Legislature on behalf of the district and educating the public about the impending vote on a planned $1.8 billion bond that includes money to modernize three high schools.
According to Splitt’s application, “I would use my voice as a school board member to urge additional investments in those kids and schools that need more support.”Last year’s staffing cuts in special education were particularly difficult, so if the Legislature were to approve more cash, I would give priority to that.
Wirz, a former executive director of Saturday Academy, a popular after-school and weekend enrichment program, has served on the site council at the Odyssey Program, a social studies magnet program.
In a year when the district anticipates having to make cuts of roughly $40 million from its budget, she stated that she will use a data-driven approach to budgeting.
In her application, Wirz stated that she would use statistics to find achievement disparities and make sure underrepresented students were included in decision-making procedures. In the absence of adequate data, I will support approaches that fairly and truthfully represent the needs of these people.
The volunteer will remain in their role until at least June 30th. In mid-May, there will be an election to complete Scott’s remaining term; the victor will hold office until June 30, 2027.
Former Vice Chair Herman Greene and former Chair Gary Hollands, two other current board members, have declared their intention to run for reelection in May. Julia Brim-Edwards, the third board member whose tenure is about to end this year, has not yet made her intentions public. In addition to being a Multnomah County commissioner, Brim-Edwards was re-elected in 2017 after serving on the school board from 2001 to 2005.
In addition to hearing public input on the topics covered by the $1.8 billion bond that will be on the May ballot, the school board will review the final draft of a new policy regarding student cell phone use in middle and high schools this Tuesday. In the upcoming six months, board members might also have to make large budget cuts, depending on state funding levels.
Julia Silverman writes for The Oregonian/OregonLive about K–12 education. Her email address is [email protected].
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