Throughout the Portland Public Schools teachers strike, The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board has said state funding for schools needs a fix. One thing to remember, however, is if Measure 97 had passed in 2016, despite the editorial board’s objection, state funding would be more stable. In the end, funding from the Portland Clean Energy Fund was offered to help end the strike, but remember the editorial board opposed this measure well. I am thus not trusting The Oregonian will be future allies to fix school funding the next time a solution is suggested.
Meanwhile the editorial board functionally backtracked on its calls for a “compromise.” The Portland Association of Teachers compromised a great deal on cost of living increases and class size. When PAT had moved from wanting hard caps to just a school- based committee, the district did not accept this agreement, and instead kept negotiations going for multiple days. Did the Oregonian criticize the district for its failure to compromise? No, in fact the editorial board said PPS was “rightly pushing back.”
Despite the district dragging its feet to offer a proposal responsive to teachers concerns even as students lost instructional days the Oregonian faulted PAT, the Legislature, and even parents for prolonging the strike, but never faulted the district’s lack of urgency. As Portlanders we should all want our local newspaper to hold our public agencies accountable and keep its positions consistent; not having this is a tragedy for this city.
Jacob Jonas-Closs, Portland
To read more letters to the editor, go to oregonlive.com/opinion.