It can be done
While Portland's public schools grow more and more dysfunctional, the David Douglas School District way out on the city's east side seems to be doing just fine, thank you. Yesterday's glowing Willy Week writeup prompted one reader to provide us an executive summary:
Here is a school district with less money, more ESL students, more free lunches, more poverty, and a much higher graduation rate. They simply have less administration costs, smarter management that isn't hired from a national search, and aren't frivolous with money like PPS. I'm sure they don't have an office of diversity.
He adds:
They built this middle school about a decade ago for only 16 million dollars. In PPS, it would be $116,000,000.
| Posted at 11:47 AM | Permalink |
|
Comments (11)
I'm pretty sure having no diversity office (as it appears they are plenty diverse already) and no Lolenzo is how they can do as well as they are on the money they have.
Posted by Sam T. | February 14, 2013 12:00 PM
Those who have a vivid memory of the PPS Ben Canada misadventure know things are far worse now.
That's how it is in the City Where Things Can Only Get Worse.
Posted by anon | February 14, 2013 12:09 PM
It seems a difficult endeavor to save enough money for all things to ever become fair and equal if we are forever spending scarce dollars to hire people to tell us why they are not.
Posted by gibby | February 14, 2013 12:12 PM
My Little Brother (Big Brother program) is going to attend H.S. at David Douglas in a couple of years. Good Deal!!
Posted by jimbo | February 14, 2013 12:16 PM
Two years have gone by since Poe. How is PPS measuring the results of these equity programs? And what are the results? That's what we want to hear, and not the cost and jibberish from Poe and others.
Posted by lw | February 14, 2013 12:19 PM
The solution seems clear. Portland Public School should be annexing DDHS soon. THAT would solve the discrepancy.
Posted by ltjd | February 14, 2013 12:27 PM
It's the David Douglas Scotts. They have been thrifty for years.
Apparently the prior superintendent takes pride that she's never asked for a box of paperclips in her 30 years with the school in various roles. Rather, keeps the ones she's handed and uses them instead of turning them in to art.
That level of thriftiness is going to make a difference in how a district can function.
Posted by Jack J Foley | February 14, 2013 1:04 PM
David Douglas also has the money to landscape their schools, and make the outsides look nice. PPS can't even mow their lawn.
Posted by Ron | February 14, 2013 1:50 PM
I'll be they don't have dozens of $100k + administrators on the payroll either. Probably no PR department, or 'consultants' to 'coach' said highly paid executives either.
Posted by RANZ | February 14, 2013 2:11 PM
Cynicism is justified.
With the same people providing the same brand of oversight there is absolutely no reason to have any confidence in the coming oversight of the $484 million in PPS remodeling projects.
The only safe assumption is that many problems with cost overruns will ensue with no one ever being held accountable for any of them.
I predict PPS will ultimately need an additional $216,465,129.54 to fully wrap up (re-do some) all of the work promised in the PPS Levy. All along the way the PPS PR department will explain it as prudent decisions to take care of unforeseen additional upgrades. And due to various systemic challenges, of course.
In other words Mr. Nobody will be held responsible as Super Carole leaves town with about a $1/2 million dollar severance package.
Posted by anon | February 14, 2013 3:22 PM
Give it up - For whatever reason PPS is just screwing over the student base one generation at a time and costing us more.
Its just not enough, for whatever reason, for anyone to care that the carnage continues unabated.
Posted by steve | February 14, 2013 4:49 PM