This May, constituents of the Portland Public School (PPS) Board of Education will have the ability to vote for representatives for all seven of the school board zones. Zone one has quickly emerged as one of the most competitive races after board member Andrew Scott stepped down as a result of moving outside of the zone earlier this year. Contending for the seat is its interim occupant Christy Splitt, along with Jazzmin Reece.
Following Scott’s departure, a majority of the board appointed Splitt to serve in the seat until the upcoming election. Splitt is a former social studies and civics teacher at Lincoln High School who has also served as an educator and constitutional law team coach while working in Oregon politics and managing budget affairs on the Parent Teacher Association at her children’s school.
Reece wants to spend her time on the board advocating for greater school funding. She believes she can accomplish this task with her experience as a real estate agent working with the government for public property development, serving on the board of Governors of the City Club in Portland, and starting a management consulting firm. Reece did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication. Splitt believes she “can utilize [her] experience in public education and in Oregon politics to better represent [the] parents, teachers, and students” of Portland. She is very passionate about representing a wide variety of people, hearing their opinions, and raising their concerns to the board itself. Splitt has already been working to distinguish her ideas from the rest of the board, having spoken on her tentative rejection of the proposal to require Yondr pouches in schools. Additionally, Splitt emphasizes that she would like to hear the concerns of all community members, regardless if they are in her zone or not. She says her top concern is representation, having seen room to grow in her time working in schools and with Oregon politics.
Vice Chair of the board, Michelle DePass, whose seat is also up for reelection, explains that the campaigning process for running for re-election is complicated — board members have to concern themselves with campaigning and funding, both of which vary based on the competitiveness of the seat. DePass explains, “If a [current] member runs unopposed, they don’t have to raise as many funds and can dedicate their time during election season to their ongoing duties as a board member.” However, when a board member has strong competition, it encourages them to revisit their communities and make decisions more representative of their community.
After the election in May, the new school board will be faced with a variety of challenges, such as a $40 million budget deficit, layoffs in the district office, concerns about the use of phones in the classroom, and declining enrollment.
Board members represent one of seven zones and are up for reelection every four years. These zones are designed to give representation to all schools and communities across the city rather than having a board made up of individuals from only one region.
While the future is uncertain for the board seats in the lead up to May, community members are excited that the new board members, whoever they may be, will bring a fresh new perspective to the school board.
