The Portland Expo Center has been serving our region through trade shows and local events for nearly 60 years. However, the facility has been under-maintained, and in 2019 upgrades to the Oregon Convention Center made the Expo Center obsolete. The Expo Center is operated by Metro, which is looking for alternative uses for that site. […]
Children are unique, with different talents, interests, and learning styles. A school that works well for one child doesn’t necessarily meet the needs of another. What if all students could attend schools that helped them learn best? Empowering parents to choose the best educational environments for their children is called school choice. School choice programs […]
Worries about the Cascadia Subduction Zone have persisted for the last 50 years. Oregon school districts have considered the possibility of a major earthquake as they build and renovate existing structures. In line with this approach, the Portland Public School district has embarked on a decades-long modernization project, most recently the proposed $491 million modernization […]
For the past 40 years, the scientific community has been aware that a major earthquake caused by the Cascadia subduction zone could strike the Pacific Northwest. Enter Multnomah County’s $895 million “Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge,” set to open in 2031. County Commissioners decided that replacing the current bridge is necessary to safeguard Portland’s lifeline routes. […]
This month, Cascade Policy Institute is releasing a new report explaining why government-mandated “affordable housing” doesn’t actually make housing more affordable. In The Affordable Housing Scam, author Randal O’Toole writes that while “U.S. taxpayers spend tens of billions of dollars a year subsidizing housing for low-income households,” those units cost “about 20 percent more per […]
Last week, Cascade Policy Institute provided suggestions to the Board of Portland Public Schools to reduce costs on the Jefferson High School modernization project. The project is paused due to the budget ballooning from $311 million (approved by voters in a 2020 bond issue) to $491 million. Cascade’s primary advice for the PPS Board can […]
The Oregonian recently reported that “Oregon students as a whole have failed to regain either math or reading skills” lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, unlike students in 29 other states included in an analysis published in January. The article points out that, despite $1.6 billion in federal pandemic aid being spent in Oregon schools, Oregon […]
The last segment of Oregon’s Interstate Highway system opened in 1982. One would think that since Oregon has a nationally prominent planning system, there would be efforts underway to plan for the next generation of great roads. But that is not the case. Planners almost universally hate highways, so they have made sure that the […]
January 21-27 is National School Choice Week, the world’s largest annual celebration of parental choice and effective education options for all children. This month, 183 participating Oregon schools and organizations will raise awareness about K-12 education options in our state. Oregon students today benefit from district public schools, public charter schools, private and parochial schools, […]
In 2023, eight states passed universal or near-universal educational choice laws. Education Savings Accounts, vouchers, and education tax credits are different policy approaches; but the goal of each is the same: to put parents “in the driver’s seat” of their kids’ education. A strong majority of voters agree that parents should be able to choose […]