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In an abrupt about-face, Portland Public Schools will wait until next May to take their $750 million bond to voters.
The board has been moving toward placing the bond—which would fund repairs at Lincoln, Benson and Madison high schools—on the November ballot, and that plan appeared intact as recently as Monday morning.
The sudden switch is further fallout from the scandal over lead in the water that resulted in Superintendent Carole Smith's abrupt resignation last week after nearly nine years on the job.
At a meeting on Monday night, the board announced they'd wait till the district has a better handle on its environmental problems. In the meantime, the district will provide water to schools throughout the district for next school year.
"To be clear—our needs have not changed. Our school buildings are in great need of urgent, basic repairs and full modernization. To be a truly great city we need to have great schools with great facilities for our kids and the community," says Vice Chair Amy Kohnstamm, who also chairs the Board's Bond Committee, in a statement.
Willamette Week