Update: Making Progress!

Written By Nathan Loveless

What an incredible 24 hours it's been in our campaign to make our kids' schools safer when an earthquake hits!

Here's the exciting rundown:

Last night: Late in the evening we received confirmation that the Portland School Board was finalizing a draft resolution that fully embraces the demands we've been pushing for. We're told there's sufficient support to ensure passage at next Tuesday's Board meeting. You can read the text of the resolution here.

This morning: Nearly 100 of us gathered to get informed, build community, take action...and enjoy some delicious donuts together. We were joined by 4 sitting Board Members, multiple Board candidates, and several members of the press. It was wonderful to celebrate this breaking news in community with all of you and plot our next steps together!

What this all means:

Once passed, this resolution will mark a major victory in our campaign for earthquake-safe schools—the most significant action in many years on seismic safety in our schools. Seriously, this is big.

THIS VICTORY BELONGS TO ALL OF US. This resolution is happening only because we came together and stood up for our kids' safety with organized community pressure. Thank you for standing with us!

While this is an important breakthrough, our work is not finished. We must ensure this resolution passes, that the bond itself passes, and that the Board's promise translates into concrete action in the weeks, months and years ahead.


For now, we have three key next steps:

1. Join us Tuesday night at the School Board meeting to witness the resolution's adoption. Let's be there to cheer the vote on, and also to remind the Board members that we're committed to seeing this through. Per Olstad will be there to officially deliver our 350+ petition signatures and he'd love your company. The meeting is on Tuesday, May 6th at 6pm, at the Dr. Matthew Prophet Education Center building. More details here.

2. Help pass the bond. Without the money to spend, the Board's resolution to prioritize spending on seismic safety will be meaningless. We need the bond to pass in order to ensure PPS has the resources it needs to get to work improving the seismic safety of our kids' schools in the months ahead.

3. Stay engaged. Once the resolution is passed by the Board, and hopefully the bond passes at the ballot box, our work will continue to ensure the Board lives up to its promise and makes a plan to fix this problem. We'll be following and we'll need your help.

Because of our collective action, we may now finally have a clear path forward for making our schools safer. Our demands are crystal clear:

  • Pass the resolution.

  • Pass the bond.

  • Get to work.

Hope to see you on Tuesday night at the School Board meeting to mark the first step in that important path!

With gratitude and determination,
David and the Safe Structures PPS Team

PS - You can read more about the resolution here:


Nathan Loveless
Previous

✅ Pass the Resolution