Many, many professional broadcasters - locally and around the country - got their start and training at KBPS. Over the years, I have had the pleasure of working with Bill Cooper and his young broadcasters. If all high school kids had half the passion these KBPSers have continually demonstrated, we'd all be better off. I am a big supporter of Portland Public Schools. Just hope this fine program and radio station can somehow be saved.

What do expect when a super blue Oregon PC Brahmin school board selects incompetent protected class candidates to justify their angst insted of looking for the best. We have had so many looser protected class hires for this position that didn't have a clue about running a school district. Let's go for competence and stop this practice of looking for politicaly correct insted of hiring the best candidate that gets results. The last ten years have shown that pc based hires have been disasterous. There have not been positive results. It just stinks.

I comment only to draw attention to the first commenter above, whose credentials are beyond dispute. He's right, too.

It is sad to see PPS gut one "non-essential" program after another...arts, music, PE, this radio station...all things that cannot be quantified on annual standardized tests, but all things that without question contribute to a more rewarding and valuable experience for kids. I've had many, MANY conversations with fellow parents in recent months about the school situation in town. I think Portland is at serious risk for a big "brain drain" when it comes to well educated, upwardly mobile parents who are dismayed by the increasingly poor condition of our local schools, and who are considering moving out-of-state to give their kids a better education.

Happening as we speak Dave.

It's very obvious who the only 'upwardly mobile' people are in this state.

Yeah, but teachers get to retire after 25 years, making even more to do even less.

Disgraceful. Inexcusable. Hit the road, Carol. We've had enough of your stuporintending.

Really well said Dave. All those programs you mentioned engage kids who might otherwise drift in school, and teach things (value of preparation, discipline, team skills, etc.) that, while they can be replicated in some form in the classroom, are really driven home in the context of something a student may enjoy more than math (not to belittle a strong core curriculum, but it takes both). Most engaged parents within PPS I know who can afford it send their kids to private school, and the engaged ones who can't falsify an address to get the kid into Grant, Lincoln, or Wilson.

As a Benson grad is has saddened me to watch PPS give lip service for the last twenty years on the subject of magnate schools while they diligently gut the one they already have.

Will this "art" program be revived with the $35 head tax? Is this the way our schools will ultimately fund PERS, er, classrooms?

Should read the PolitiFact before we vote on the bond and the art for schools head tax.

Its kinda hard to believe, but PPS gets about $15K/student and somehow that is not enough.

These bonds and taxes are all about making up for the shortfall caused by larger and larger PERS contributions.

PPS gets about $15K/student and somehow that is not enough.

And the reason for the bond? "Deferred maintenance" - meaning they didn't take care of the facilities in the first place, because they needed to suck that cash out to pay for benefits. Remember when they fired all the custodians? That dragged out for a couple of years, and no maintenance was done.