Cascade CounterPoint

Cascade Policy Institute
  • 4.6 (9)
  • Politics
  • Updated Weekly

Sit back and listen to Cascade Policy Institute explain the latest research on Oregon's important issues. Cascade advances public policy ideas that foster individual liberty, personal responsibility, and market-based economic opportunity. Visit us at www.cascadepolicy.org

  1. 2d ago

    QP PPS’ Failed Equity Policy: No Evidence, No Results

    PPS briefly revisited its Racial Educational Equity Policy — and once again, the contradictions are hard to ignore. As Cascade president John Charles noted in his letter to the board, the District’s Equity Funding Policy has been in place for more than ten years, yet PPS has never shown whether it improves student achievement. Despite that, the Board continues to insist on “equal outcomes” for all students — a goal no school district can deliver because the premise itself is flawed. Parents know this. Teachers know this. You can offer equal opportunities, but you cannot guarantee identical results. PPS controls instruction, not the untold variables that shape achievement. Declaring achievement gaps “unacceptable” simply guarantees that staff will always be branded as failures for an impossible metric. Even more troubling, the policy treats unequal outcomes as proof of discrimination — without providing evidence. When asked for documentation of systemic bias, PPS produced nothing beyond generic national reports from activist groups. Meanwhile, the District faces a federal civil rights lawsuit and still hasn’t evaluated its own equity programs. And the policy goes further, claiming adults — not students — are responsible for all disparities. That erases student agency and ignores factors like family structure, effort, strong teaching, and disciplined classrooms. When a policy can’t be implemented, measured, or defended, it should be repealed or rewritten. For Cascade Policy Institute, I'm Naomi Inman. www.cascadepolicy.org

    2 min

  2. Jun 2

    QP The False Promise of Portland's "All Electric" High Schools

    Portland Public Schools threw itself a party last week to celebrate breaking ground on the new $460 million dollar Jefferson High School. And The Oregonian dutifully repeated the talking point that the building would be “all electric powered.” Sounds impressive… until you look at the details. Because PPS quietly admitted—right before the ceremony—that the school won’t be all electric. Science labs still need natural gas for Bunsen burners. State law still requires diesel backup generators. And the other two high school rebuilds, Cleveland and Ida B. Wells, are in the same boat. So the “all electric” label is more marketing than engineering. But even if PPS could pull it off, it wouldn’t change emissions. More than half the natural gas used in Oregon is burned to make electricity. So removing gas lines from the school just means the same gas gets burned somewhere else. Meanwhile, wind and solar provided only about eleven percent of Oregon’s electricity last year. Fossil fuels provided at least thirty eight percent. The grid isn’t magic. What is real is the cost. PPS’s own consultant warned that all electric construction would add at least ten million dollars per school. And when Cascade asked the district for documentation on those added costs, PPS gave us nothing. New York’s governor just backed away from its own climate mandate after projecting thousands of dollars in new annual energy costs per family. That’s the future PPS is pretending not to see. It’s not too late for the board to stop chasing slogans and redirect thirty million dollars toward improvements that actually help students. For Cascade Policy Institute, I’m Naomi Inman. Read more at www.cascadepolicy.org

    2 min

  3. May 22

    QP New York Says Yes to Scholarships--Oregon Should Too

    New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced her intent this month to opt into the new Federal Scholarship Tax Credit—also known as the Education Freedom Tax Credit. That makes her the 30th governor to signal support, and the second Democrat to do so, after Jared Polis of Colorado. Congress created this tax credit last year as the first federal program designed to expand K–12 educational choice nationwide. Beginning in 2027 all taxpayers can take up to $1,700 in federal tax credits for donations to qualified scholarship granting organizations. The U.S. Treasury and Department of Education estimate the program could generate $24 billion in new education funding every year. That’s enough to fund private school tuition for tens of thousands of students—or tutoring for hundreds of thousands more. But here’s the catch: children only benefit if their governor opts in. And Oregon’s Governor Kotek, has declined. Last summer she said that she did not intend to participate. More recently, saying that she’s waiting for final federal regulations. Whether Oregon opts in or not, Oregonians can still take the tax credit by donating to scholarship nonprofits in other states. If Oregon stays out, however, those dollars will support students elsewhere, not here at home. Opting in won’t cost Oregon’s budget a dime and it doesn’t impact public school funding. It simply allows Oregonians to direct private charitable dollars towards scholarships for Oregon’s kids. Thirty states have already said yes. Oregon should, too. For Cascade Policy Institute, I’m Naomi Inman. Learn more at www.cascadepolicy.org

    2 min

  4. May 14

    QP Defeating M120 is a Win for the Oregon System

    It’s election time! And the Oregonian editorial board sent a bouquet of sorts to our friends at “No Tax Oregon” when they recommended a “no” vote on Measure 120—Oregon’s $4 billion transportation tax. “The O” urged voters to “drive a stake through the heart of this cursed transportation package.” Which was music to the ears of a quarter-million volunteers who signed the “No Gas Tax” petition in a historic 38 days. The real story here is that Oregon voters get to vote at all on the tax hike—thanks to a pioneering form of democracy dubbed the “Oregon System”—giving voters the right to challenge Salem’s laws and put them on a statewide ballot. In the recent short session, however, lawmakers didn’t exactly celebrate that tradition. Instead, the Governor and union-backed legislators showed their disdain for these volunteers by moving the vote to May and suppressing their voice in the voters’ pamphlet. Those tactics only energized voters, raised the measure’s profile, and ensured its defeat. Lawmakers also managed to spark a new petition drive by passing a claw back of over $300 million in federal tax cuts for small business owners. That bill triggered the reflexive muscle of the same Oregon voters, who must again collect 100,000 signatures by June first. Defeating Measure 120 isn’t just a policy victory. It’s a win for the Oregon System. Read more at www.cascadepolicy.org

    2 min

  5. May 8

    QP Oregon Metro's War on Cars

    Metro is rolling out new strategies and transit plans in what looks more and more like a war on cars — and Cascade is calling out the baseless evidence they’ve leaned on for thirty five years. At an April council meeting, Cascade President John Charles delivered pointed testimony against two major actions designed to prioritize transit while punishing people who rely on their cars. At that meeting, Metro approved its Transportation Demand Management Strategy and pushed forward the gridlocking 82nd Avenue Transit Project — a plan that would dedicate miles of existing car lanes to buses only. Charles reminded councilors that Metro has been trying to engineer travel behavior since the early nineties, yet reductions in vehicle miles traveled have never materialized. Metro’s own performance measures show the 30 year goals weren’t met, so instead of rethinking the strategy, they stretched the timeline to 45 years and kept building plans on the same fantasy metrics. As Charles emphasized, driving isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity. It’s central to employment, wage growth, childcare, and basic mobility. Yet Metro keeps doubling down on failed strategies that make driving harder and daily life more expensive. After decades of missed targets, the region deserves transportation investments grounded in reality, not wishful thinking — investments that actually improve mobility and economic opportunity for real people. For Cascade Policy Institute, I’m Naomi Inman. Read the full story at Cascade Questions Evidence Behind Metro’s War on Cars - Cascade Policy Institute

    2 min

  6. May 4

    QP The $60 Million Question: Where Did the CBSE Go?

    Portland Public Schools has a $60 million question on its hands: What happened to the Center for Black Student Excellence voters approved in 2020? That project was written directly into the bond language. Voters were told their money would build a dedicated center focused on Black student achievement. But today, that center has effectively disappeared. In testimony to the Bond Accountability Committee, Cascade President John Charles warned that PPS is attempting a quiet bait and switch. The district has renamed the project the Grice Adair Center for Educational Excellence—a name that never appeared on the ballot—and the original CBSE no longer shows up in the new bond update. The district’s website now redirects CBSE searches to a “Website Under Construction” page, with old documents scrubbed away. Why the sudden erasure? After a civil rights complaint last year, the district rushed to strip the project of its name and racial identity. By February, the U.S. Department of Education had opened a formal investigation. Now, instead of a center for Black student achievement, the public gets a vague “FACE” landing page with no mission, no curriculum, no programming, and no operating budget. Bond measures are not blank checks. Oregon bond law doesn’t allow districts to take money approved for one project and quietly spend it on another. If PPS believes it can’t legally deliver the CBSE it promised voters, it should say so—and ask voters before repurposing the funds. The Bond Accountability Committee should insist the bond funds be used on the CBSE or go back to voters for permission to repurpose the funds. Click HERE for John Charles’ Testimony to the BAC. Click HERE for the 730-word extended commentary.

    2 min

  7. Feb 13

    QP 42k Texas Parents Apply for School Choice

    At last count, more than one and a half million children now benefit from school choice programs across the Unites States. With 75 programs in 34 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, more than half of America’s K-12 students are eligible to participate in an educational choice program if they choose. That number is set to rise. Last week, the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program opened its application process. On February 4, the parents of more than 42,000 students applied, breaking Tennessee’s record of 33,000 first-day applications for its school choice program in 2025. When the Texas legislature created TEFA, it was the largest school choice program at the time of its inception in the country. The legislation funded Education Savings Accounts for an initial 90,000 students, with a total of one billion dollars. Each student account will be valued at $10,000 or more, depending on individual circumstances. Funds can be used for private school tuition, tutoring, transportation, special needs therapies, and other education-related expenses. Eighty percent of first-day applicants indicated they intend to use the funds to attend private schools, and 20 percent plan to choose other options. Last year, new educational choice programs launched in seven states: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Tennessee. Now Texas is giving record numbers of children access to learning environments in which they have better opportunities to reach their potential. Oregon education policies should expand options for students here, too, so all children can have an effective, meaningful, and empowering school experience.

    2 min

  8. Jan 21

    QP Portland Ends School Choice for Jefferson High

    In 2011, Portland Public Schools adopted a dual-enrollment policy allowing students in Jefferson High School boundaries to choose from one of three area high schools. Of the twenty-four hundred high schoolers inside its boundaries, about two-thousand have opted for alternatives, leaving Jefferson with only 391 students this year. The Portland school board is pouring enormous amounts of money into Jefferson which receives more operating dollars per student than any other local high school because of its higher percentage of Black students – about 40 percent -- and is about to start building a 1,700-seat school for Jefferson students at a half-billion dollars -- one of the most expensive schools ever built in America. Despite such extravagant spending, Jefferson students have routinely ranked highest in absenteeism and lowest in academic scores among local high schools. Sadly, the district fails to understand the social determinants of academic achievement. In their decades-long effort to close the achievement gap between Black and White students, Board members are focused on bureaucratic solutions such as money, facilities, class size, and racial composition. But academic excellence is primarily driven by human factors beyond the district’s control -- such as family structure, parental oversight, student effort, and peer influence. In the hopes of filling the new Jefferson high school building, Superintendent Armstrong called on the board to end dual enrollment in September 2027. While many families expressed concern about losing school choice, their voice was never heard at the January 13 meeting. The board had already decided -- if families would not choose Jefferson, then the district would conscript them. Chances are this decision will backfire, as enrollment is forecasted to drop fifteen percent by 2035 and ending school choices will accelerate that trend. Parents always have options—whether the district offers them or not. They won’t be held hostage to attend a school that doesn’t meet their student’s needs. Open enrollment policies are growing rapidly nationwide and 23 states now have them. PPS could be part of that movement, and the Board should consider expanding dual enrollment for all students in the district. Not only would this empower more families, it would bring market forces into the district to help schools maintain or increase enrollment. Mike Tomlin, coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers for 19 years, was asked about a star player missing due to a contract dispute. He quipped, “We’re looking for volunteers, not hostages.” Portland Schools are making a $500 million bet that filling Jefferson High with hostages will be a winning strategy. Without school choices, the odds don’t look favorable.

    3 min
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Sit back and listen to Cascade Policy Institute explain the latest research on Oregon's important issues. Cascade advances public policy ideas that foster individual liberty, personal responsibility, and market-based economic opportunity. Visit us at www.cascadepolicy.org

Information

  • Creator
    Cascade Policy Institute
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    313
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 212649
  • Show Website
    Cascade CounterPoint

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