Physical Education and other programs would be cut from the Portland Public Schools curriculum as a cost-saving measure intended to "plug" a $19 million shortfall in funding. Oh, really? A "shortfall"?
We spend thirteen thousand dollars per student, per year, passed some truly troubling tax measures just months ago, and PPS has a "shortfall" that will require it to cut PE and other programs? Sorry, folks - that doesn't wash. PPS doesn't have a funding shortfall by any stretch of imagination - what it has is a lack of discipline and sound fiduciary oversight.
Of course, that's pretty much standard for Portland. Our politicians have loftier priorities:
we can build an iconic and sustainable and really spiffy new bridge for light rail and streetcars and bicycles and pedestrians. We can let the workhorse bridges that actually carry freight and services crumble into dust, and the kids don't need exercise at school anyway, because they'll be walking to transit stations all of their adult lives.
Roads, generally speaking, are Very Bad, and must at all costs be discouraged. An ideal Portland road looks like this:
