Bond measure that includes Lincoln rebuild approved by voters

Sophomore Raja Moreno, who spearheaded student advocacy efforts for the measure, hugs Walter Robinson II, the campaign’s engagement coordinator, at the election watch party.

A little girl among the group of volunteers and staff gathered at campaign headquarters Tuesday night summed up with one word the feelings in the room and for students, teachers and administrators across the district: “Yay!” she yelled.

Portland Public Schools’ $790 million school modernization bond, the most expensive in the history of the state of Oregon, passed with 63 percent of vote, as of 10 p.m. Tuesday, with most of the ballots counted.

The funds will rebuild Lincoln High and Kellogg Middle School, renovate Benson and Madison high schools and make $150 million in health and safety improvements across the district.

The group of around 100 at the campaign headquarters, in an office building on N.E. Couch Street, cheered and hugged when the results appeared projected on a wall.

Campaign field director Ben Katz told The Cardinal Times that he felt a “mix of relief and pure joy” upon hearing of the victory. He called the campaign “tough.”

Advocates had to overcome negative attention the district has received over the past year, including lead found in schools last summer, the resignation of a superintendent and nearly a dozen executives at the central office, and, most recently, a botched hiring effort for a new superintendent.

Leaders of the effort said they were celebrating the win not for themselves, but for current students and “generations” of future ones, as campaign manager Jeremy Wright said in a speech.

For Wright, his stake in getting the measure passed was personal, as he has two young children who will enter PPS soon, he said in March interview with the Times.

On Tuesday, he thanked the work of his staff and volunteers, who worked to place thousands of phone calls, knock on thousands of doors and write over 5,000 postcards in a tight timeline. There were only 77 days between when the measure was placed on the ballot to when it was passed.

Many of those volunteers were students. Leading the way was Lincoln sophomore Raja Moreno, who formed a political action committee, or PAC, to advocate for the measure.

“It is our duty as both responsible citizens and as students who are suffering years of a crumbling building to stand up and make a change on behalf of the next generation of Lincoln students,” he told the Times in February.

On Tuesday, Moreno said he felt “elation” when the results were announced, after being very anxious in the days leading up to it. He said it was a “validation of the work” he and his volunteers had put in, and thanked his fellow students for supporting the effort.

“They really made a difference,” he said.

Field director Katz felt the same way. “Students made their voices heard on this.” One Wilson student was even a staff member at the campaign office.

He said it was a reminder that “students shouldn’t hesitate to make voices heard on future issues.”

•••

The ballot measure was originally planned to be placed on the ballot in November of last year. The school board’s decision to delay the measure drew criticism, including a student walkout in September, and concerns that it would not pass.

Those concerns were alleviated on Tuesday night, and school board members at the watch party said they felt validated in their decision.

“We took the time and did it right,” outgoing PPS board chair Tom Koehler said to the crowd, referring to the delay. “This shows people agree that schools are foundation of our community.”

Despite the win, construction will not begin for quite a while, and no current Lincoln students will go to school in the new building.

Chief of School Modernization Jerry Vincent said at a Feb. 8 Town Hall meeting at Lincoln that a two-year planning period would begin immediately after the bond passes, and would conclude in Spring 2019, roughly around when Grant High School’s remodel, which is already under way, finishes.

Plans call for the new school to be built where Lincoln’s athletic field currently sits, meaning students attending Lincoln at the time would not have to move out during construction. That means work could start right away when planning is completed, while Benson and Madison must wait until summer. With the project estimated to take three years, the new Lincoln would likely open in 2022. That timeline is subject to Board approval.

Meanwhile, Lincoln will likely receive very little of the $150 million in health and safety funding, as it is to be rebuilt, even though students will remain in the building for at least five more years. This was a point of contention at the Feb. 8 Town Hall. Interim PPS Chief Operating Officer Courtney Wilton told a community member, “Our attention is on the other buildings, but we’ll respond to any major safety issues [at Lincoln].”

•••

Among the other items on Tuesday’s ballot, economist Scott Bailey, along with Nike executive and former board member Julia Brim-Edwards, captured two open seats on the PPS board, while Rita Moore looked poised to take a third. Moore is a district committee advisor and Oregon Health Authority policy analyst.

Read more about those new board members here.

The other four seats will be up for election in 2019.

This was the final night together for the campaign team, which was hired by PPS in February. Katz said they will all disperse to new projects, and he plans to work for the American Federation of Teachers.

In terms of Moreno’s plans, he will shut down his PAC for now, as it was formed for the specific purpose of passing this measure. However, he did not rule out re-opening it for a future issue affecting students.

But his first plans? “Sleep,” he said with a laugh.