Portland City Hall moves to empty chemistry lab

Portland Mayor Tom Potter has moved City Hall to Jefferson High School this week. The Portland Business Journal characterized the move this way:

“Potter said the exercise will give North Portland residents and students [a chance] to see firsthand how government works. The mayor’s staff will set up temporary offices in an empty chemistry lab starting Jan. 14.”

Equating city government and Portland’s worst performing high school with an empty chemistry lab paints an interesting word picture.

For a detailed look at how the Portland Public School System has failed generations of Jefferson students, see:

Leaving Most Children Behind: Thirty Years of Education Reform at Jefferson

Steve Buckstein is Senior Policy Analyst and founder of Cascade Policy Institute, a Portland-based think tank.