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The Oregonian endorses Ruth! - UPDATED

I'm honored to have received the endorsement of the Oregonian:Oregonian

Wynde, Adkins for school board

The pending departure of Vicki Phillips raises the stakes for board leadership in Portland schools
Friday, April 27, 2007

...[B]oard members can kiss their dreams of a restful year goodbye, now that Superintendent Vicki Phillips has given notice. The board will need to hire a replacement, oversee the transition and create a sense of educational stability during this leadership change.

For these reasons, voters should re-elect incumbent David Wynde and elect challenger Ruth Adkins.

She's a Yale-educated market research analyst, longtime schools activist and co-founder of a neighborhood group formed in 2005 to oppose school closures....

She says she's prepared to tackle the excess capacity in high schools, where operations costs are the highest. She also makes a good case that the district can boost its enrollment by improving school quality, mending relationships with parents, marketing the district's many strengths and working with other agencies on affordable housing.

UPDATE:

April 29th's Sunday Oregonian reiterates the reasons for The Oregonian's endorsement, and adds some timely advice encouraging everyone to vote in this election:

Small School Races, Big Impact

April 29th, 2007

School board members in Oregon don't enjoy big staffs and respectable salaries like so many other elected officials. They're volunteers, yet they oversee a significant share of taxpayer's money and make decisions that affect countless families' lives and educational choices.

With so much at stake, it's important to have thoughtful, smart people in every seat.

Large districts with contested cases this May include Portland Public Schools and the Multnomah County Educational Service District. Our endorsements in these races are as follows:

Portland, Zone 1: Challenger Ruth Adkins, a parent and market research analyst, makes a good case that the district can boost its enrollment by improving school quality, mending relationships with parents, marketing the district's strengths and working with other agencies on housing.

.... In races this local, with the stakes for schools so high, every vote truly does count.

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