Far Southwest Neighborhood Association (FSWNA) Minutes
Tuesday, September 11, 2007 (7 pm to 8:30 pm)
Comfort Suites Motel - Barbur Blvd., Portland, Oregon
Guests: Will Fuller of the SWNI Schools Committee
[Note: FSWNA belongs to the neighborhood coalition group Southwest Neighborhoods, Inc or SWNI. For more information, see http://swni.org.]
I. SWNI Schools Committee (Will Fuller)
Will handed out the Committee's quarterly newsletter, which included a list of all K-12 schools in our neighborhoods. He noted that we are the ONLY neighborhood coalition with a schools committee and that ours began because of the Rieke and Smith School closures. The goal of this committee is to bridge the school communities with the broader communities and to promote education in SW Portland. They meet every third Thursday and our neighborhood is invited to send a representative.
Will then briefly discussed 3 schools issues (the hiring of a new Portland Public Schools (PPS) Superintendent, Teacher Transfers, and The Schools, Families and Affordable Housing Initiative). Regarding the Superintendent, he recommended that we visit http://pps.k12.or.us if we want to keep up on the search. They have held several community meetings already, ran a nationwide search, and the search ended 8/15 with a strong pool. We should hear what is happening soon.
Regarding Housing and Teacher Transfers, Will said that PPS hires late, which protects seniority, but limits the available pool of new teachers, because sometimes teachers get hired 10 days before classes start and some teachers have already committed to other districts. There is a group called Stand For Children that runs the New Teacher Project. This group has studied the effects of this late hiring process and changes are being suggested.
Will discussed the three programs that would help families stay in Portland under Erik Sten's Affordable Housing Initiative.
II. Committee Reports (Marcia Leslie and April Ann Fong)
The SW Summer Concert Series in Willamette Park was a smashing success. Please look forward to supporting them again next year!
The Holly Farm Park Grand Opening is 9/15 at 3 pm. This Park is already well-used and loved!
The Private Pleasures Measure 37 claim regards a 600 square foot billboard 300 feet in the air, which is denied by building code rather than Measure 37. The building is now for sale.
April received a phone call from Andrew Aebi regarding paving between SW Capitol Hwy. and the college. Mr. Aebi informed her that the main supporters are on SW Buddington between 51st and 53rd. More surveys and public process will be happening and everyone in this area should receive phone calls.
III. New Business (Marcia Leslie)
The small grants for neighborhood programs is being offered again. Some grants funded last year involved communications (web sites, welcome packets...), get acquainted neighborhood block parties and picnics, etc. We could get up to $1000 and the applications are due November 1, 2007.
IV. Announcements (Marcia Leslie)
Marcia told us about the 9/15 yard sale/emergency supply fundraiser, a workshop on 9/22 from 9-11 am at Tryon Creek Nature Center on Invasive Plants and your garden, and a new Neighborhood Emergency Training class that begins 9/27 and runs 8 weeks.
Next meeting is Tuesday, November 13th at 7 pm at the Comfort Suites. The intended topic will be disaster and winter preparedness.