News

An audit by the State of Oregon has found school districts missed out on $40 million of potential energy savings by an ineffective use of money intended to help them save energy.

The audit found that during 2009 and 2010, schools received $15.7 million for energy efficiency measures, such as improved lighting, heating and insulation.

But after examining 6,859 measures taken by schools across Oregon from 2002 to 2010, the audit found:

"....that school districts did not consistently implement the most cost-effective
measures or realize the greatest energy savings. We estimate that, had
districts implemented the top-ranked measures instead, they could
potentially have achieved almost $40 million more in anticipated district
utility bill savings and gained an additional 70% energy reduction over the
collective lives of the measures compared to the estimated results of those
measures that were actually implemented."

The audit recommends that the Legislature consider:

• conferring stronger authority to the Department of Energy or another entity to review and approve school districts' planned energy measures;
• providing more specific guidance on cost-effectiveness results or other desired outcomes for the measures; and
• revising the methodology for allocating energy surcharge funds to prioritize high energy use school buildings or providing the Oregon Department of Energy with authority to reallocate future funds from districts with large balances to districts with more high energy use school buildings.   

News

We're not going to record every donation to the new political action committee called Oregonians for Higher Education Excellence, but it's not often that such a concentration of powerful people piles into the same PAC at the same time.

Yesterday, Nike Chairman Phil Knight joined former University of Oregon Athletic Director Pat Kilkenny (who made a pile in insurance in California), Columbia Distributing Chairman Ed Maletis and Endeavour Capital's John von Schlegell in supporting the PAC—each contributing $65,000. Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle gave $62,500.

The PAC now has $258,000 on hand after just five donations.

News

A newly-formed political action committee recorded two monster donations on Friday. As WW reported earlier, Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle and John von Schlegell, managing partner at Endeavour Capital formed Oregonians for Higher Education Excellence at the end of March.

Columbia Distributing Chairman Ed Maletis initially seeded the PAC with $65,000 and on Friday two wealthy Duck supporters, Boyle and former University of Oregon Athletic Director Pat Kilkenny chipped in $62,500 and $65,000 respectively. 

In an earlier interview, Boyle said the new group is interested in seeing the legislature and the Oregon University System cede autonomy more quickly to the system's seven campuses, which have seen their financial contributions from the state shrink far faster than their authority to govern themselves has grown. 

He added that the group hopes the Legislature will accomplish that devolution of authority but the PAC's money could be used to promote a ballot measure if lawmakers fail to act.

News Mike Burton, a former long-time public official who most recently served as vice-provost at Portland State University, pleaded guilty today to a charge of official misconduct in Multnomah County Court.

Burton, 70, agreed to make restitution of $4,503 for a personal 11-day European trip he took at university expense last year. He will serve 18 months probation and carry out community service.

As WW reported last summer, Burton abruptly resigned in the summer of 2011 in front of a scathing Oregon University System audit that uncovered his use of PSU funds to cover what amounted to a vacation trip.

Burton served in the Legislature and as the top executive of the Metro regional government before taking a job at Portland State in 2003.

He told PSU officials he was going to attend professional conferences but those conferences were either fictional or not taking place while Burton was in Europe. The university subsequently referred the case to the Oregon Government Ethics Commission. Before the Ethics Commission investigated, however, Multnomah County District Attorney opened a criminal investigation, which took precedence over the ethics probe.

That criminal investigation was somewhat unusual—Portland State did not request it, saying that since Burton agree to pay the money back, the university was satisfied.

And in a state where misdeeds often seem to go unpunished, nobody would have been terribly surprised if criminal investigation ended quietly.

But a chastened Burton appeared in court this afternoon and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. In addition to probation, Burton must do 40 hours of community service, write an apology and must seek court approval for any future public employment.

Updated at 3:44 pm: 

The two lawyers who led the criminal investigation into Burton's travel, Gary Meabe, a senior deputy district attorney for Multnomah County and Andrew Campbell, a senior assistant attorney general, jointly wrote a letter (PDF) to their bosses expressing concerns about Portland State's travel reimbursement policies that went beyond the scope of their investigation. (The travel office at PSU handles an average of 775 reimbursements worth $316,300 monthly, according to a recent audit).

"We remain concerned about issues that came to light during the course of this investigation and whether adequate controls and procedures exist," the lawyers wrote to District Attorney Mike Schrunk and Deputy Attorney General Mary Williams on May 14.

"A system that both requires a much more substantial business purpose justification and reliable proof that those purposes are authentic would act as a deterrent to abuse."

Portland State spokesman Scott Gallagher provided the following response via email:

The following policies, procedures, and staff changes in the School of Extended Studies have been put in place to improve business practices and controls: ·

 All deans and vice provosts are now required to provide more detailed, daily travel itineraries prior to dates of travel.
· No travel reimbursement will be approved without a Travel Authorization form signed prior to the dates of travel.
· More documentation is required to verify that travel occurred as outlined.
· A fiscal officer in Extended Studies was hired that meets regularly with the University business office.
· A new software system was purchased that more accurately tracks revenue and expenditures.

“The system worked,” said Roy Koch, provost of PSU, in a statement. “The University system’s checks and balances discovered the discrepancies, Mike resigned, he pleaded guilty, and we got our money back. We do not tolerate university employees using public funds for private trips or any other inappropriate purpose."

News

What do they want? Money for schools! When do they want it? Tomorrow!

The new group Underfunded Parents, Students, and Educators Together (UPSET), which is bringing a lot of energy to the latest chapter of Oregon's long-running school funding saga, will march across Portland on Friday.

Here's the lowdown on the action, which will likely attract many of the candidates on Tuesday's primary ballot:

This Friday afternoon, more than a thousand students, parents, teachers, and other community members will hold a march and rally in Portland to demand an end to ongoing school budget cuts.

The march will begin at the Rose Quarter and end at Pioneer Courthouse Square, where a rally will take place featuring performers and rousing speeches by students, parents, and teachers affected by years of slashed budgets.

When: Friday, May 11 March begins at 3:30, Rally at 4:15

Where: March from the Rose Quarter to Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland

Who: UPSET—Underfunded Parents, Students, and Educators Together Why: To demand an end to years and years of school budget cuts that have led to overcrowded classrooms, school closures, and fewer opportunities for Oregon K-12 students.

The basic message: No More Cuts, No More Excuses!

News

Retiring Oregon Attorney General John Kroger has been named the next president of Reed College.

He'll become Reed's 15th president in July—seven months before his public job is scheduled to end—despite declining to run for re-election as the top official at the Oregon Department of Justice for health reasons he won't disclose.

"Reed College is a remarkable institution with an unparalleled commitment to the life of the mind," Kroger said in a statement today. "Reed has fostered independent thought and expression for more than 100 years."

In October, Kroger said he wouldn't seek re-election, citing health problems that weren't life-threatening but required him to travel less. It ended one of the fastest rises in Oregon politics—from crusading federal prosecutor to the state's top counsel, with a book and teaching stint at Lewis & Clark in between.

He had been widely discussed as a potential gubernatorial candidate.

The news about Kroger's next job raises the question of what condition would render him unfit to run again for the AG's spot but fully capable of heading a private university. Justice Department spokesman Tony Green declined to comment on that question.

UPDATE, 2:15 pm: Reed College spokesman Kevin Myers says Kroger's health is not expected to be an issue.

"Health concerns arose during the interview process," Myers said in an email to WW, "but neither John nor Reed felt that they would prevent him from serving as Reed's president at the highest possible level. John said he hopes to be fully recovered by summer."

News In Portland Public Schools, it’s not only curriculum and academic standards that are changing. The standards for school lunches are changing too, due to a federal mandate.

Gitta Grether-Sweeney, head of the PPS nutrition services, says next year the school district won’t get reimbursed for lunches where a child does not select at least one fruit or vegetable.

Grether-Sweeney says meals aren’t expensive and are reimbursed on a sliding scale. The government pays full price for students who live in poverty—$2.79. For students who pay a reduced lunch price, the feds pay $2.39 and for students who pay full price, the government chips in $.28.

Until now, schools have been required to offer protein, grain, fruits, vegetables and dairy, and the federal government reimburses them for any meal where a child selects at least three of the five food groups. Theoretically, a meal with protein, grain and dairy would qualify.

In the autumn of 2012, however, plastic trays that don’t contain a fruit or vegetable can’t be subsidized.

Grether-Sweeney says it shouldn’t be a problem. Portland schools all offer a salad bar already, she says, and there are enough options that “the kids usually choose something.”

She says some schools are at an advantage in meeting the new lunch standard. Elementary schools with more than 75 percent of students living in poverty have federal grants for programs focused on fresh produce and Grether-Sweeney says teachers have already seen results.

“They’re much more receptive to eating fruits and vegetables,” she says.

 

News Wieden+Kennedy took a break recently from selling Old Spice and hanging with Clint Eastwood to sell a different kind of product: Portland's public schools.

At a Feb. 16 conference called "GOOD Ideas for Cities: Portland," put on by GOOD, the non profit and quarterly magazine dedicated to look for solutions to public problems, representatives from the Pearl District advertising firm unveiled their plan to motivate Portlanders to donate to schools.

Among their ideas:

• Appeal to the 85 percent of Portland residents who don't have kids in public school. They've designed logos featuring the 85 percent vs. the 15 percent.

• Recruiting local designers to create school logos so cool hipsters will want to wear them on T-shirts and as tattoos.

• Encourage local businesses to interact with schools. They even named a few names: the Ace Hotel, Comcast and Sera.

The did the work for free at Mayor Sam Adams' request, according to his spokeswoman Amy Ruiz. The entire video of the presentation, including Adams' input at the end, can be watched here:

News

The Multnomah County District Attorney's office will not prosecute any of the Grant High School junior varsity boys basketball players involved a Jan. 12 locker room assault because parents of the victims don't want to press charges.

The news was first broken in an article in the Grant Magazine earlier this week in a news package dedicated to the incident and its aftermath, but the District Attorney's office didn't officially confirm its decision until this afternoon.

Earlier reports said two basketball players were targeted by their teammates int he assault, but the investigation identified a third victim who might have been targeted at a different time.

According to the DA's office, the parents said the school's response and the mediation between the boys was sufficient, saying they only want to move on from the incident.

One of the four attackers was expelled; the rest were suspended and have since returned to school and issued an apology to the entire student body. Grant High now requires coaches present in locker rooms at all times.

Here's the full press release:

Grant High School investigation concludes and below is a statement from the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office regarding the resolution of the matter: 

The Juvenile Unit of the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office received reports of an investigation regarding Grant High school.  The substance of the investigation involves reports of alleged assaults that occurred in the men‚s locker room after sporting events.  During these incidents the lights in the locker room were turned off and there were no adults reported to be present.

Police identified three individuals who were alleged to have been subjected to assaultive behavior.  All three are juveniles and spoke with police. In all three incidents the juveniles were adamant that they did not want to proceed with formal filing of charges of any kind. The Multnomah County District Attorney‚s Office Juvenile Unit spoke separately with all three families and thoroughly explained the juvenile process and answered any questions.  During those discussions each family clearly reiterated their strong desire that none of these matters be handled by a formal adjudication process.  Additionally, the families involved in these cases indicated to us that procedural and policy changes by Grant High School administrators have taken place since these events were reported.  It was also explained to us that mediation services were offered and deemed helpful by those who participated.  Family members we spoke with felt confident that they have reached resolution regarding this issue and now desperately need the opportunity to move on.

On the facts presented relative to each case, a successful adjudication will require the participation of the three juveniles as there is insufficient collateral evidence to proceed with formal adjudication without their involvement.  After a thorough review of the facts presented by the Portland Police Bureau investigation into these matters, and careful consideration of the perspectives of the three families, the District Attorney's Office will not file a formal petition in any of these cases at this time.

News Grant High School student journalists have confronted the fallout after an alleged locker room Jan. 12 with a series of stories that look at the culture of sports, the pressure on students not to "snitch" when they see wrongdoing by their peers, and how teenagers' "accessibility to provocative materials is changing how they react to inappropriate behavior."

The student publication, Grant Magazine, also breaks big news: sources tell its reporters that the police will not bring charges in the incident, which involved JV basketball players after a game.

Here's what the magazine reports this morning:

Police have yet to release a final report on the investigation, and that has helped fueled the rumor mill. Students and adults continue to speculate about what they think happened. A fight. A sexual assault. Hazing. But Grant Magazine sources tell us that the police investigation has been wrapped up and no charges will be filed against any student at the school.

Inserted in the magazine was a letter to the student body from the students involved in the incident—the victims and the accused attackers—that issues an apology and an assurance that the teammates have forgiven each other and made amends.

Oregon Public Broadcasting broke the story this morning in an article that includes interviews with the student staff of the magazine.