u/Inevitable_Egg6361

>The issues at Rosa Parks Elementary School in North Portland began in mid-February, when teachers at the school took a vote of no confidence in then-Principal Tina Joyce, according to a letter — signed by 17 of the school’s educators and shared with The Oregonian/OregonLive — that was sent to Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong and school board members.

>In the letter, the educators outlined a litany of complaints against the then-principal. They contended that she had created an unsafe work environment, hired friends and relatives and given them preferential treatment, targeted staff for union participation and showed a lack of responsiveness to concerns raised by staff and families over everything from student behavior to promised professional development that never materialized.

Email received from Lisa Reynolds:

Dear Community Member, 

As most of you know, on Thu, May 7th, the Multnomah County Commission heard a briefing on an ordinance that prohibits distribution of syringes by mobile syringe service providers within 1000 feet of a K-12 school. I’m grateful for the community engagement at that meeting and everyone who has reached out to their commissions to share their support for this ordinance. 

This is not a slam dunk to get passed. We will need your help: participate in the hearings, and contact Multnomah County Commissioners. 

The next opportunity to weigh in on this ordinance is the upcoming May 21st Commission meeting where the Safe School Zones Ordinance will have a public hearing and possible vote to move to advance to the next step. You can sign up here to testify on this specific agenda item or to submit written testimony. Ideally you testify in person (I will be), second best is testify virtually, and then written testimony. When signing up, the ordinance is considered an AGENDA item. You will need to check the agenda to get the agenda number and name. The agenda for 5/21/26 is not posted yet, but will be found here. Please note, you will have to sign up by 4 pm on Wed, May 20 to participate on Thu, May 21. 

Contact Multnomah County Commissioners 

Please reach out to the County Commissioners to share your thoughts and perspectives about this proposed ordinance Establishing Safe School Zones. You should reach out to the commissioner who represents you (and state they are “your” commissioner), and Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson (who represents every Multnomah County resident). We actually recommend you reach out to all five! 

Find your Multnomah County Commissioner here  

County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson: mult.chair@multco.us | 503-988-3308

Email Commissioner Megan Moyer, District 1: district1@multco.us | 503-988-5220

Email Commissioner Shannon Singleton, District 2: district2@multco.us  | 503-988-5219

Email Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards, District 3: district3@multco.us | 503-988-5217

Email Commissioner Vince Jones Dixon, District 4: district4@multco.us  | 503-988-5213

 

Thank you for your engagement on this issue. Please reach out to my office with any questions.

 

LISA REYNOLDS, MD

(she/her)

State Senator SD 17 900

Court St NE, S-409

Salem, OR 97301

Legislative Website

(503) 986-1717 

EmailI received from Oregon State Senator Lisa Reynolds.

******************

April 30, 2026 

Dear Community Member, 

Thank you for joining me and Multnomah County Commissioner Julia Brim Edwards last week for the discussion about regulating syringe service providers. I appreciated hearing your feedback and comments about my work with Commissioner Brim Edwards on making our schools zone safer from littered syringes. County action is an important first step to establishing safe school zones. I work with you all to bring forward a statewide bill in the 2027 session. 

As we discussed, Commissioners Julia Brim Edwards and Megan Moyer are jointly sponsoring a safe school zones ordinance that prohibits distribution of syringes by mobile syringe service providers within 1000 feet of a K-12 school. I’m grateful for their leadership on this topic and appreciate their work introducing the ordinance. You can find a draft of the ordinance here: Establishing Safe School Zones. This draft may change ahead of the first briefing on May 7. The plan is to prohibit mobile providers of harm reduction supplies to operate within 1000 feet of a K-12 school. This will go into effect July 1, 2026. Enforcement mechanisms are being worked out. 

This is not a slam dunk to get passed. We will need your help: participate in the hearings, and contact Multnomah County Commissioners. This letter contains the information you need to do both. 

Participate in County Hearings

As we discussed during the virtual meeting, this ordinance will be considered by the Multnomah County Commission at several upcoming meetings in May. These dates are subject to change. The Board meets Thursdays from 9:30 am- 12 noon. You can watch in person or remotely. 

Please track board meeting agendas here. Agendas are posted the Friday before the next meeting. 

Commissioners hear public comment at every public commission meeting and you can sign up to give public testimony on any topic. You can testify virtually, in-person, or submit written comments. To participate in any of those upcoming meetings, you can sign up on the County’s public testimony webform, linked here. The deadline to sign up for public testimony is 4 pm on the Wednesday prior to a Thursday Board meeting. 

The current plan is that the Board will hear the Establishing Safe School Zones Ordinance on the following dates (remember, track agendas here):

• Thursday, May 7th: Anticipated Briefing/Work Session on the proposed ordinance Establishing Safe School Zones. The meeting is scheduled from 9:30am-noon. You can attend in person or remotely. 
  • Sign up to speak or submit written testimony here by Wed May 6 at 4 pm. This testimony is considered “non agenda” and will be heard at the beginning of the meeting (soon after 9:30 am start time)
  • Invited testimony (Sen Reynolds, Rep Isadore, School official)
• Thursday, May 21st: Introductory Reading/Vote to Move to Next Reading for the proposed ordinanceEstablishing Safe School Zones
  • Time: between *9:45 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.
  • Sign up here to testify on this specific agenda item or to submit written testimony
• Thursday, May 28th: Anticipated Final Reading/Adoption of the Ordinance
  • Time: between *9:45 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.
  • Sign up here to testify on this specific item or to submit written testimony

We will send reminders and updates to this mailing list. 

Contact Multnomah County Commissioners 

Please reach out to the County Commissioners to share your thoughts and perspectives about this proposed ordinance Establishing Safe School Zones. You should reach out to the commissioner who represents you (and state they are “your” commissioner), Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson (who represents every Multnomah County resident). We actually recommend you reach out to all five! 

Find your Multnomah County Commissioner here  

County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson: mult.chair@multco.us | 503-988-3308

Email Commissioner Megan Moyer, District 1: district1@multco.us | 503-988-5220

Email Commissioner Shannon Singleton, District 2: district2@multco.us  | 503-988-5219

Email Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards, District 3: district3@multco.us | 503-988-5217

Email Commissioner Vince Jones Dixon, District 4: district4@multco.us  | 503-988-5213

Thank you for your engagement on this issue. Please reach out to my office with any questions. 

Lisa