Thursday, June 10, 2010

The Portland School Board is prepared to close Jefferson High, co-chair says | OregonLive.com

The Portland School Board is prepared to close Jefferson High, co-chair says

Published: Thursday, June 10, 2010, 5:42 PM Updated: Thursday, June 10, 2010, 6:56 PM

Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian
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Steven Nehl/The OregonianFive members of the Portland School Board have lined up behind a plan to close Jefferson High School in North Portland.

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A majority of the Portland School Board is prepared to vote to closeJefferson High School and scale back to just seven neighborhood high schools, board co-Chair Trudy Sargent announced this evening.

She indicated that board members Dilafruz Williams and Martin Gonzalez are prepared to join with the three board members who already had said they want to close two schools -- Jefferson and Marshall -- to provide a more robust array of courses and services at the seven high schools that would remain.

Superintendent Carole Smith unveiled an eight-school plan in April for reorganizing Portland Public Schools' high schools, recommending that only Marshall close.

Read previous stories about the Portland high school reorganization.

"More schools means weaker programs," said board member Pam Knowles, who favors closing Jefferson and creating a districtwide college-oriented magnet program on the Jefferson campus in partnership with next-doorPortland Community College.

Tony Hopson, head of Self-Enhancement Inc. and one of the highest profile champions of Jefferson High, decried the development.

"Once again, the decision was made on the backs of black children. That's how it's been historically, and here it is again," he said. Jefferson is in the heart of Portland's historic African American neighborhoods and is the only majority-black high school in Oregon.

"This decision will probably ignite a very serious ethnic discussion across this city," Hopson said.

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Thursday, June 10, 2010