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A 38-member coalition of nonprofit and community organizations sent a letter to the Portland Public Schools Board on Tuesday demanding it execute three steps to acquire a building for the Center for Black Student Excellence by Dec. 1.
The CBSE is a $60 million project that was approved as part of PPS’s 2020 bond, and implementation was scheduled to begin in September 2021. But in December, WW reported that Cathy Brady, a principal at the auditing firm Sjoberg Evashenk Consulting, warned the district the center was not on track and would “not be delivered on schedule or as intended.” Since then, there has been more pressure on the district to both define the CBSE’s purpose and scope out a location for it.
In the letter, the community coalitions write that CBSE will work to supplement classroom learning. The center would help facilitate tutoring and career exploration, help establish “intergenerational relationships that ground [children] in their local and cultural contexts,” and build socio-emotional skills. It would also be up to the CBSE to “collectively expand our reach to serve the thousands of Black children who remain disconnected from critical out-of-school supports.”
The letter was first reported by The Oregonian this morning.
The three demands in the letter are as follows: PPS should have a public presentation in front of the School Board by May 20 on the progress made toward finding a CBSE site, with public comment. By June 30, that site should be identified, PPS should complete a transaction by Dec. 1, and at least one PPS staff member should be assigned to oversee the purchase.
“The district’s willingness to leave $60 million in voter-approved, use-restricted funds unspent while simultaneously cutting vital programs across the district is inexplicable,” Aryn Frazier, executive director of the Center for Black Excellence, said in a statement. “We can and must do better by our children.”
The signatories of the letter, which include Albina Head Start, Self Enhancement Inc., the NAACP’s Portland chapter, and Kairos PDX, commit to helping provide supplementary programming and to engage students and families in the various resources CBSE can provide.
But they ask the district to acquire an existing building as soon as possible, especially because construction costs for a new building have soared since 2020. The new call echoes the demands of various public commenters at School Board meetings, who have pushed for the district to dig in and make a commitment.
As The Oregonian reported in February, the district has thought about purchasing a development at 1 N Fremont St. called One North. The idea of purchasing a building would face at least some opposition on the board, the article reported. But the letter indicates the coalition thinks that’s the best path forward.
“This is more than a pragmatic proposal; it is a call to action that recognizes the fierce urgency of now,” the letter reads. “Our children need targeted resources immediately. Acquiring an existing high-functioning building is the most expeditious path to delivering them to students quickly.”
A 38-member coalition of nonprofit and community organizations sent a letter to the Portland Public Schools Board on Tuesday, demanding it follow three steps to acquire a building for the Center for Black Student Excellence.