Corbett school board election puts district charter school on trial
Corbett students boast some of the better test scores in Oregon, and the district has made top 10 lists in Newsweek and The Washington Post for having so many students taking tough, college-level classes.
Despite such successes, not everyone believes the unconventional way the district operates is the right fit for the quiet, unincorporated community across the Sandy River from bustling Gresham – and the discontent is revealing itself in yet another heavily contested school board election.
All four Corbett school board seats on the May 21 ballot have two candidates, and the future of both the district's educational philosophy and the character of the community at the western gateway to the Columbia River Gorge may be determined by the choices voters make.
Community forums
Corbett voters can learn more about school board candidates at the following community forums:
– Monday, April 22, 7-9 p.m. at Corbett Community Church, 34309 N.E. Mershon Road. The moderator is Lorraine Griffey of the League of Women Voters of East Multnomah County.
– Wednesday, May 1, 6-9 p.m. at the Corbett School District’s Multi-Purpose Building, 35800 E. Historic Columbia River Hwy. The Corbett Education Association is organizing this event.
At the heart of the conflict is the district's decision to create a charter school that draws students and their state tax dollars from neighboring communities to Corbett. The school has doubled Corbett School District's enrollment in the past six years while Corbett's resident population has grown only slightly.
Most of the nonresident students attend Corbett Charter School, and those 450 students share the same main campus as most Corbett students. Another 150 students in the Corbett Arts Program with Spanish are housed in the Springdale School building two miles down the highway.
Many of the additional 600 students added in the past six years come from families who don't live in the community, who have brought morning and afternoon traffic jams to the Historic Columbia River Highway and who have helped usher in high-pressure academics to a traditionally blue-collar community.
"I like the changes we've made at Corbett," said longtime board member Charlie O'Neil, whose seat is one of four positions up for election.
But Nick Kerslake, a farmer who is trying to unseat another board member, says, "I