Students attend the first day of Portland Public Schools’ Summer Acceleration Academy on July 1, 2024. The Summer Acceleration Academy is a supplemental academic program for students in grades K-5.
Courtesy of Portland Public Schools
Temperatures across Oregon and Southwest Washington continued to reach the triple digits this week. There’s hope the heat wave will break soon. And though school is out for the summer, some districts are still grappling with dangerous conditions as they offer programs this month.
Earlier this week, Oregon’s largest school district canceled all programs inside buildings that don’t have air conditioning. Portland Public Schools officials said programs — such as the district’s Leap into Ninth Grade for incoming high schoolers — were only allowed to continue at air-conditioned sites. Schools that have been rebuilt or retrofitted with air conditioning include Faubion K-8, Kellogg Middle School and Franklin, Grant, McDaniel and Roosevelt High Schools.
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Athletics employees were instructed to exercise discretion when canceling practices based on OSAA guidelines. Schools in Washington have to follow the WIAA policy.
“At such extreme temperatures, it can be very difficult to keep our non-air conditioned buildings cool and safe for staff and students,” Dan Jung, chief operating officer, and Joe Crelier, director of risk management for PPS, wrote in a recent letter to families.
“We also have to consider the fact that many of the buses being used by our summer programs do not have air conditioning,” they said, “and that a large number of students are scheduled to remain at their assigned summer learning sites late into the afternoon when the heat is likely to be at its most severe.”
District-sponsored summer programming resumed in Portland on Wednesday for all sites. Parents are being instructed to use their discretion regarding optional afternoon activities and childcare.
Students attend the first day of Portland Public Schools’ Summer Acceleration Academy on July 1, 2024. The Summer Acceleration Academy is a supplemental academic program for students in grades K-5.
Courtesy of Portland Public Schools
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Districts such as Portland have received state funding for summer learning to help bridge academic gaps that have widened since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The state approved a $30 million investment in such programs during the spring legislative session. Many recipient districts, including Reynolds, Forest Grove and Gresham-Barlow, had to cancel or close programs this week due to the weather.
Conversely, the Hillsboro School District, which also received some of this summer funding, continued its bilingual summer enrichment program and said buses were providing “optional water mist bottles” and water bottles if students didn’t have them.
Some of these programs, including the ones in PPS and Forest Grove, serve students with disabilities who are disproportionately behind. PPS officials said they were not aware of plans to make up the lost learning time, noting the heat wave only canceled two days of instruction. PPS made significant changes to last year’s school calendar to recover days lost due to the Portland teachers’ strike and severe winter weather.
Districts such as North Clackamas tried to strike a balance when dealing with hot conditions this week. NCSD limited its high school summer school credit recovery classes to a half-day on Tuesday and canceled all other student activities. The district continued to offer summer meal services and provided families with a list of resource links for those in need of relief from the heat.
Other districts in the region have been able to avoid issues.
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Officials said Bend-La Pine Schools isn’t hosting summer programs in its buildings. However, some community groups lease space for various programs year-round. Officials earlier this week said they weren’t aware of any cancellations of those programs due to the heat.
Officials from Evergreen Public Schools in Washington said they hadn’t heard of any issues with their summer programs due to the heat. Officials in the neighboring Vancouver school district said their schools are closed for the summer, and there are no official athletic practices scheduled, so the warm weather has had little effect.
Oregon’s second-largest district, Salem-Keizer, was able to keep most programs and activities open, with the exception of canceling one evening basketball program at one of the middle schools.
“Many of our academic summer programs are hosted in the morning hours or end in the early afternoon,” said Aaron Harada, director of community relations and communications for Salem-Keizer. “Most of them are also in locations with some level of air conditioning.”
Exposure to extreme weather conditions — including heat and cold — can be harmful to both staff and students.
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As climate change accelerates, temperatures are expected to continue rising into the school year. Many schools aren’t prepared. This is critical as research shows repeated or prolonged exposure to extremely hot conditions makes it much harder for students to learn.
The University of Oregon’s Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to approve a $1.55 billion operating budget for the next fiscal year.
But they asked university leadership to return with an amended proposal by Dec. 15, when more details about future budget cuts will be known.
FILE — The Board of Trustees recently approved next year’s budget for the University of Oregon. The vote comes several weeks after the school’s president announced that he wants the university to reduce its annual budget as revenues and out-of-state enrollment decline.
Brian Bull / KLCC
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The vote comes several weeks after University of Oregon President Karl Scholz announced that he wants the school to reduce its annual budget by around $65 million.
At a trustees meeting Monday, Scholz said the estimated budget shortfall for next year is just around $23 million. But he said out-of-state enrollment is below historical norms for the second year in a row, and it’s unlikely to bounce back.
“One year can be an aberration. Two years is a pattern,” said Scholz. “And I believe we have to treat it as a new reality.”
Scholz said in May that discussions about the budget would happen over a six-month period. He said no final decisions about cuts would be made over this summer.
On Monday, UO Senate President Dyana Mason told trustees that the Senate had approved a new process to allow for community feedback in the cost-cutting process.
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Mason said the provost will work with the deans on budget proposals, finding “clear rationale” for why programs are considered for elimination.
The provost would then bring those proposals to the Senate Committee for Academic Modifications—which includes staff, faculty and students—for feedback.
Once the plans are nearly finalized, the Senate could then hold a period for public comment.
Mason told trustees that a six-month timeline is better than the three months that frustrated some staff last year, but she recommended taking however much time is necessary.
“The worst situation would be rushing forward to make decisions without appropriate evidence, data, feedback from the people that are most in the know about the impact on our students,” said Mason.
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UO’s Board of Trustees Chair Steve Holwerda said that every week that university delays the decisions could cost them millions of dollars.
Nathan Wilk is a reporter with the KLCC newsroom.This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
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Oregon’s juvenile justice system has been reshaped in recent years by a sweeping reform law that changed how the state handles minors accused of serious crimes.
Senate Bill 1008, which took effect in 2020, ended automatic transfers of juveniles into adult court and eliminated life without parole sentences for juveniles. The law also created “second-look” hearings and established parole eligibility after 15 years for certain offenders who committed crimes before turning 18.
To help explain the law and its impact, KVAL’s Frannie Pedersen put together a timeline video tracing the history of Senate Bill 1008, from the passage of Measure 11 in 1994 to the reforms that later reshaped Oregon’s juvenile justice system.
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The video breaks down how the law changed, why lawmakers pushed for reform, and how SB 1008 continues to influence Oregon’s justice system today. Viewers can watch the full video for a detailed timeline and explanation of the changes.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A New Jersey man was sentenced to federal prison last Friday for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon.
Mark T. Eager, 34, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release.
“This defendant showed a blatant disregard for human life by trafficking fentanyl across the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Bradford. “My office will continue to pursue those who profit from poisoning our communities, and we will use every available resource and partnership to combat fentanyl trafficking and keep Oregonians safe.”
“This investigation brought together law enforcement agencies from across the nation,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle acting Special Agent in Charge April Miller. “Homeland Security Investigations special agents from Portland, Newark, and Houston contributed to the case, along with the Portland Police Bureau and HIDTA HIT officers, who were instrumental in identifying Eager. His 11-year sentence sends a clear message: no matter where you are in the country or the world, if you attempt to sell narcotics online to Americans, we will find you.”
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“Fentanyl trafficking poses a grave threat to communities across the United States, and Homeland Security Investigations is committed to working with our partners to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks responsible,” said HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas. “This case demonstrates the power of interagency collaboration under the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, leveraging resources from across the country to hold traffickers accountable and protect the American people. We will continue to pursue those who endanger lives through the distribution of dangerous synthetic opioids, and we remain steadfast in our mission to safeguard our communities from the violence and instability caused by transnational criminal organizations.”
“By following this offender’s digital trail, Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners nationwide executed federal search warrants, dismantled an active dark web fentanyl packaging operation and recovered deadly amounts of fentanyl, thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency, and a trove of electronic devices and packaging materials,” said HSI Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas. “This case is a powerful example of how coordinated, data-driven investigations can disrupt dangerous networks and help protect our communities from lethal synthetic opioids.”
According to court documents, from November 2023 through June 2024, Eager and his co-conspirator sold fentanyl on the Dark Net and Telegram. Eager operated as the vendor WRSEH10 and marketed the fentanyl as “China White Synthetic Heroin.”
In June 2024, HSI agents executed search warrants on two residences associated with Eager in Kearny, New Jersey, and seized over 360 grams of powdered fentanyl, counterfeit M30 pills, drug ledgers, cellular phones, two computers, and drug packaging consistent with three deliveries that were sent to Oregon.
On September 4, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging Eager with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl.
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On February 4, 2026, Eager pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
HSI Portland and HSI Houston investigated this case with assistance from HSI Newark, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Interdiction Task Force (HIT). Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin prosecuted the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey assisted the U.S. Attorney’s in Oregon in obtaining the search warrants that were executed in Kearny.
