I support the full Portland school budget proposal.

Schools have become the epicenter for all critical human needs and social services. As a food justice advocate, I know this well.

Food-insecure students rely on school meals for more than 50 percent of their daily calories, yet federal reimbursements for meals are at most $3.53 per meal. On this income, federal nutrition programs are expected to be a self-sustaining business that provides two to three meals a day, requires intricate equipment and employs a staff force. And we expect food quality, choice and local sourcing. This unsustainable example is not even one of the issues addressed in this year’s proposed budget.

What is being addressed is pre-K; English Language Learner support; Wabanaki and Africana studies; functional life skills; anti-sexual harassment infrastructure; more nurses and social workers; an outdoor learning coordinator, and developing a more diverse and anti-racist staff. These initiatives directly support closing the achievement gap between white students and Black, Indigenous and people of color students – putting critical action behind the Black Lives Matter sentiment.

The equity initiatives are not extra. They are working toward funding schools to a baseline operating budget to meet the needs our society and government has historically failed at, and this is not the end.

Get out and vote June 8. Vote to support the full school budget. Vote for progressive charter candidates who will rewrite the convoluted budget process. Schools know what they need, and they should have the power to decide a budget based on the best support for students.

Lily Chaleff
Portland