No other org. wields more power over our schools. Yet while nearly 1/2 of PPS students will drop-out/fail to graduate, this Union is likely to focus on 3 priorities:
1. De-link Teacher pay, benefits, job security from student results.
2. Amplify the continuous 'Chorus of Crisis" (in all public comments) to demand that average costs per student contin increase while days of required instruction decrease. 
3. Expand Union influence into Community College Instruction Standards (lowering those) & Costs  (raising these). 

I'd prefer an honest presentation of PPS Annual Budget devoid of its current hieroglyphics & showing the amount funding unions (a nice slice of PPS payroll) along with the number of days students spend under instruction.

Interviewed by the Portland Teachers Union (in '94, I ran for a seat on the Portland School Board), I advocated increased days of instruction and suggested that Teachers could teach year round.  They looked astounded, as if I'd just $%*&  on their china.