Teachers shaken but determined to settle Despite hard-line demands from Oregon's largest school district, Portland teachers say they want to settle a five-month contract dispute and avert a strike this school year. Oregonian 11/24/02

Good teachers for bad schools The big question: Who gets to decide where teachers work. They’re arguing over pay and benefit cuts, of course. Still, the most volatile disagreement between the Portland school district and its teachers union might be over a contract proposal that has nothing to do with cash. The proposed change would overhaul how teachers are assigned to schools. Tribune 11/22/02

Portland Public Schools request mediation with teachers union Portland School Board Chair Karla Wenzel and Superintendent Jim Scherzinger have requested that a mediator be assigned to assist with the negotiations between Portland Public Schools and the Portland Association of teachers. KATU 11/19/02

School puts out SOS for teachers Whitaker Middle School Principal Tom Pickett offers a startling pronouncement: My school is unlikely to educate children adequately until one-fourth of the teachers get replaced. With Whitaker under the gun to make a huge academic turnaround, students, parents and some teachers have joined in the unusual plea: Please free us from our bad teachers, because we'll never get better fast enough with so many of them here. "The issue is us," Pickett says. The Oregonian 11/18/02

KATU TV News - Portland parents and students react to new cuts Terrible, unacceptable, just plain wrong were the comments said today about the possibility of losing more days in school. Parents, and school kids both feel that the school district should find a better solution than the 15 fewer school days that has been proposed. KATU 11/18/02

Portland parents brainstorm to avoid school cuts Jeanine Sullivan has tried everything she can think of to support her children's public schools. She has done fund-raiser after fund-raiser, coming back to the same people for money again and again. She serves on the PTA, the school foundation and the school site council. And she has written letters and sent e-mails to lawmakers. Oregonian 11/18/02

Teacher talks enter hot zone. Portland’s plan to cut the school year faces angry opposition In a year of deep budget cuts and increasingly bitter teachers’ contract negotiations, Portland school district management and its teachers union disagree about plenty. But possibly their biggest point of disagreement was laid bare in the rancor that bubbled around a contract bargaining table late Tuesday afternoon. Tribune 11/17/02

Schools consider three-week cut Portland school leaders Tuesday proposed cutting three weeks of school to balance a budget gap, moving the district closer to a stalemate with teachers over their expired union contract. Superintendent Jim Scherzinger, jeered by teachers during a contract negotiation meeting, said the 15-day cut -- an increase of six days from the previous nine-day cut the district proposed -- is necessary to balance a budget shortage for this school year that began at $37 million and now approaches $50 million. Oregonian 11/13/02

Budget Strain Could Shorten School Year The school budget doesn't seem to be getting better, especially when you crunch the numbers and find that $37,000,000 in cuts will not improve the situation. KATU 11/12/02

Multicultural lessons and respect In the classroom, Charles McGee says, race matters. The issue courses through history books and classic novels. It sparks debate or forces silence. It affects students -- and touches teachers. Oregonian 11/03/02

Portland school enrollment stumbles Enrollment in Portland Public Schools dipped by nearly 1,200 students this fall, continuing a slide that brings total enrollment to the lowest level since 1986. Oregonian 10/31/02