Two Portland School Board candidate forums this week will provide the public the opportunity to hear from eight hopefuls vying for four seats in a May election.
The first discussion with the candidates, sponsored by the League of Women Voters, Portland
Council PTS and the Bus Project, will be Thursday, April 11 at 6:30 p.m. at school district headquarters, 501 N. Dixon St.
The second, hosted by Black Voices United, will be Saturday April 13 at Maranatha Church at 4222 N.E. 12th Ave, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
For Zone 2, encompassing schools that feed into both Cleveland and Jefferson High Schools, two African American community members—Shanice Brittany Clark and Michelle A DePass—have put their hats in the ring for a seat that won’t be contested by its current holder, Paul Anthony.
Amy Kohnstamm is running for re-election against challenges Deb Mayer and Wes Soderback in Zone 3. Zone 1 only has Andrew Scott as a candidate. Of all the people running, only Eilidh
Lowery in Zone 7, won’t be able to make it to either forum, though she’ll provide statements for moderators to read in her absence. Robert Shultz is the other candidate running in Zone 7.