Upcoming Events

Announcements

Advocacy

An Open Letter to the BCS Community Regarding the Seismic Risks

The seismic risks at our schools are real and can feel overwhelming. But there are things you can do and actions you can take that can make a difference, especially right now, as the PPS Board is planning what to do with a new $1.8 billion bond measure that will be put to voters in May. According to recent reporting, there are still significant decisions to be made about how that money will be spent - we need to engage the Board now to make sure our concerns are addressed.

If you are interested in advocating with the PPS School Board about the seismic deficiencies at Beverly Cleary and other elementary and middle schools, this email outlines some of the actions you can take (with more info on each action below).

  1. Email the PPS Board
  2. Participate in meetings with PPS Board members as they get scheduled
  3. Engage other parents, at BCS and at other schools

1. Email the PPS Board:

The most immediate need is to email the PPS board. They need to hear that this is an issue we care about.

Here are the email addresses for the board members: csplitt@pps.net, ghollands@pps.net, mdepass@pps.net, jbrim-edwards@pps.net, psullivan@pps.net, eddiewang@pps.net, Hermangreene@pps.net, jkunsevi@pps.net.

It would also be good to copy the PPS Board's general inbox: schoolboard@pps.net.

It is important to put your concerns into your own voice (form letters/emails tend to get dismissed or ignored). That said, there are some key points we'd encourage everyone to make:

  • We, the parents of Beverly Cleary, want to meet with you to discuss our concerns.
  • It's not acceptable to not have a plan for how the District is going to address the deficiencies at Beverly Cleary and other high-risk schools.
  • It's also not acceptable to develop a plan without the input of the families most impacted - those that send their kids to school every day in the buildings that pose the greatest risk.
  • PPS cannot focus exclusively on modernizing high schools. The needs at several elementary and middle schools - including Beverly Cleary - are just too great to ignore.
  • The May 2025 School Modernization Bond needs to be used to address the greatest risks - it makes sense to finish the high schools, but it does NOT make sense to build bigger high schools than are going to be needed.
  • As much of the $1.8 billion bond as possible should be allocated to addressing the elementary and middle schools most in need of retrofits.
  • We want you to meet with us so we can have a real discussion about how the 2025 bond money will be used.
  • Will you commit to meeting with us?

2. Participate in meetings with PPS Board Members:

Which brings us to the next way to effectively advocate - when those meetings get scheduled, participate if you can. The PPS School Board needs to hear from us directly how much it matters - emails are great for getting the ball rolling, but there is nothing like a face-to-face meeting (even virtually) to make sure our concerns are heard and addressed.

We already have two board members willing to meet with us, based just on the Willamette Week article and a handful of parents sending emails with the points above - Michelle DePass and Julia Brim-Edwards. That is very encouraging.

3. Engage other parents at BCS and at other schools

Another way to make sure the School Board focuses on the issue is to engage families at BCS and at other schools, especially families at other high-risk schools. The Willamette Week article increased attention on the issues, but there are still a lot of parents who don't really know how risky the building is. We need to increase everyone's awareness and help as many BCS families as possible have their voice heard.

There are also 18 other unreinforced masonry (URM) schools in the District, and an even longer list of schools that have significant seismic deficiencies beyond URM concerns.

We need to engage parents at those schools as partners and allies as we press the PPS Board to engage the broader PPS Community on these issues. If you know families who attend other schools - especially other high-risk and/or URM schools - reach out to them. Feel free to share this email with them and encourage them to engage their PTA, school principal, and the PPS Board.