The establishment supports the re-election of at-large City Councilor Jill Duson (Our View, Oct. 28) and the two-school bond (Our View, Oct. 31) because this is how Portland works. We do nothing while our schools fall apart. This inaction is exactly why our schools have become so bad. This is the fight we have been having for almost three generations.

The cost of the bond is literally an average of $104 per year for owners of homes valued at $240,000. For an estimated $104 a year, my kid’s school windows will open. For $104 a year, the fire code will be upgraded from the 1960s. For $104 a year, the front desk can see who is coming in and out of the building.

For $104 a year, we can get our own boiler so the building stays warm past 2 p.m. in the winter. For $104 a year, children and parents with disabilities can get onto the second floor and use the bathrooms. For $104 a year, cancer-causing asbestos can be removed from where my children learn.

For $104 a year, children can hear and learn in school because the classrooms have walls. For $104 a year, our ceilings will stop leaking. For $104 a year, all four schools in Portland will be totally renovated and fit for 21st-century learning. For $104 a year, we can finally stop deferring maintenance at our schools and actually fix them.

How is anyone OK with letting our schools get so bad that they become infested with mold or catch fire while we wait for state money? I just can’t believe this world sometimes and how hard we have to fight for progress and change.

Eva Humeniuk

Portland