As a former school board chair and a former chief operations officer for Portland Public Schools, I understand why the school board wants autonomy over the school budget (Question 5). That said, the two other charter commissioners with school board experience and I oppose the commission’s proposal to do just that.
When I joined the school board in 2007, the district announced a $2 million budget deficit. We worked closely with the city to strengthen the public’s confidence in the fiscal management of the district. This multi-year effort would have been far more difficult if the school board had budget autonomy.
The school budget is a large fraction of the property tax rate, and the school board’s role – as defined by the state – does not include representing the taxpayers. The City Council is in the best position to judge the bottom line of what residents can afford and rarely votes to change what the district requests.
Peter Eglinton
Portland
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