Updated with additional clergy endorsers 2/16/14 | 6:43am
February 15, 2014
Open Letter From Portland Religious Leaders Concerning The Possibility Of A Portland Teacher Strike
Dear Portlanders:
We stand in support of the Portland Association of Teachers (PAT) which has voted to strike after on-going negotiations with the Portland Public Schools (PPS) have failed to achieve a fair and balanced contract that both lowers class sizes and lifts up underpaid professional teachers.
In 2003, the National Council of Churches reaffirmed their historic commitment to public education by calling on “communities of faith to bring their resources, public concern, and moral authority to support not only the public schools, but also the teachers, the administrators, and, most particularly, the children in those schools.”
Our hope is that the Portland School District and the Portland Association of Teachers are able to come to an agreement before the strike begins as scheduled for Thursday, February 20th. We call on all sides to work together for a resolution that promotes the common good of our city. This can best be achieved by lowering class sizes during a time the PPS maintains a budget surplus.
During this difficult time we urge all sides to conduct their private and public actions with civility so that the goal of reconciliation is made easier once this process comes to a conclusion. It is our belief that those involved on both sides care deeply about public education and children.
We affirm the words delivered by The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who said in 1964: “The richest nation on Earth has never allocated enough resources to build sufficient schools, to compensate adequately its teachers, and to surround them with the prestige our work justifies. We squander funds on highways, on the frenetic pursuit of recreation, on the overabundance of overkill armament, but we pauperize education.” Our failure to deliver quality education is a problem that is local, state and national in scope.
If the PPS forces the PAT to move forward with the planned strike by not agreeing to the justifiable requests put forward by the teachers, we call on communities of faith to open their doors, if possible, to take in children who might not otherwise have a safe place to go once the strike begins.
Finally, while we come from different faith traditions, we concur with the sentiment expressed by the NCC when they said: “…public schools are the primary route for most children—especially the children of poverty—into full participation in our economic, political, and community life. As a consequence, all of us, Christians and non-Christians alike, have a moral responsibility to support, strengthen and reform the public schools. They have been and continue to be both an avenue of opportunity and a major cohesive force in our society—a society becoming daily more diverse racially, culturally, and religiously.”
We offer our prayers for all those working toward a just solution to this crisis that averts a strike. Please call 503-208-6521 with any questions. Titles and organizational affiliations are listed here for identification purposes only.
Sincerely,
Rev. Chuck Currie
Minister
Sunnyside Church and University Park Church
Portland
Rabbi Joseph Wolf
Havurah Shalom
Portland
Rev. Kate Lore
Minister of Social Justice
First Unitarian Church
Portland
Rev. Lynne Smouse Lopez
Pastor
Ainsworth United Church of Christ
Portland
Rev. W. J. Mark Knutson
Senior Pastor
Augustana Lutheran Church
Portland
Rev. Jennifer Garrison Brownell
Pastor
Hillsdale Community Church – UCC
Portland
Rev. Dr. Barbara J. Campbell
Pastor
St. Mark Presbyterian Church
Portland
Rev. Tara Wilkins
Minister
Bridgeport United Church of Christ
Portland
Rabbi Debra Kolodny
P'nai Or of Portland
Rev. Cecil Charles Prescod, OCC
Minister of Faith Formation and Youth Ministries
Ainsworth United Church of Christ
Portland
Rev. Sara Rosenau
Assistant Minister
First Congregational United Church of Christ
Portland
Rabbi Daniel Isaak
Congregation Neveh Shalom
Portland
Rev. David C. Dornack
Pastor
Rose City Park Presbyterian Church
Portland
Sister Mary Kay Lampert
Retired Teacher
Sisters of the Holy Names
Portland
Rev. Don Frueh
Pastor
Parkrose Community United Church of Christ
Portland
Rev. Dr. Patricia Ross
Pastor Emerita
First Congregational United Church of Christ
Portland
John T. Schwiebert
United Methodist Minister, Retired
18th Ave Peace House
Portland
Rev. Eugene Ross
United Church of Christ Minister, Retired
Portland
Rev. David Zaworski
Waverly Heights UCC
Portland
