Q1: What are the elevator policies? 

A1: The elevators in every building in Portland Public Schools [PPS] are all badge access. That’s not something that Lincoln decided. That’s a universal policy across the district which limits the number of users for each of the elevators. It’s the same in our building. It’s the same in the old building. The district provides us a limited number of guest badges. Every staff member can access the elevator using their own badge because the access to the elevator and entrances to the building are all sort of baked into the badges that we have. 

Q2:  Which students get elevator passes? 

A2: We keep one or two in the office always for teacher assistants, because they’re delivering packages they have an elevator pass that they use temporarily. There are a limited number of passes that are used for students who either have a documented medical reason that would require elevator access all of the time, or a temporary medical reason that would allow students to then use the elevator for the period of time in which that injury prevents them from using the stairs.

Q3: In the event of an emergency, is there a plan in place for the elevators or students that need access to them? 

A3: In the event of a fire, you’re not supposed to access the elevators. For students who would have no capability of using the stairs, then there’s [something] called a VacuTrack. [It’s a] system throughout the building close to the stairwells. There’s these gray metal boxes, and they contain a chair that a lot of us are trained on now. There’s a manual way to get students down the stairs. It runs on a track, and then it drives down the stairs, the wheels catch on each of the stairs. So it’s a smooth ride all the way down. There is a system in place that meets the ADA requirements for the building to get students out of the building.