The City Council and I have made a commitment that the city will do its share to help get us through, but it won t be enough. This Friday we will meet to continue that conversation. If our children were not in school and their parents were facing decisions to move to another jurisdiction so their children could continue to attend school would cause deterioration in our city faster than any other factor. This city would have lost everything that my predecessors worked so hard for the last twenty years. The City Council and I remain firm believers that to sustain a healthy, vibrant city we cannot ignore their struggles.
Good schools are absolutely critical.
While the legislature refused once again to adequately fund our schools, Portland-area voters now have the opportunity to choose if they wish to help fill the large funding gap. I look forward to working with our school districts, business community, and education activists over the next few months as we explore our options for going to the voters with this question. We as elected public officials for the City of Portland must be accountable about the tax dollars we allocate, just as school boards must be accountable for school dollars. These agreements provide the structure for our working relationship with the school districts and which says to the public these dollars are being spent in an effective and efficient manner. But the most important infrastructure are our children and our schools, and that s the commitment that we ve made as a city and the City Council.