Courtesy of Jorge Sanchez-Bautista
Jorge Sanchez Bautista, an 18-year-old who will be graduating from McDaniel High School this coming May, is campaigning for a seat on the Portland Public Schools (PPS) School Board, hoping to represent Zone 5.
Zone 5 consists of peripheral NE schools in PPS, including neighborhoods such as Laurelhurst, Hollywood, Alameda and Vernon.
Bautista is not the first high school student in Portland to run for a spot on a school board. Danny Cage, who ran for office in the Multnomah Education Service District (MESD) in 2023, secured a four-year term serving as an elected board member. At the time of his campaign, he was only 18, still wrapping up his senior year of high school. He is the youngest official on the MESD board. In 2021, then-19-year-old Brooklyn Sherman ran for an open seat representing Zone 4 on the PPS School Board, but did not win. If Bautista wins enough votes before May 20, he will be the first student to earn a spot on the PPS School Board.
Bautista repeatedly emphasized the importance of including student voices in educational spheres.The PPS school board is elected by eligible voters in the district, with each board member serving a four-year term. Once the seven board members are elected by the community, they vote among themselves to elect which two board members of the seven will serve as chair and vice chair. The student representative, selected by the high school student body, serves as an unofficial voting member for one year to represent the students and report on various activities within the school district. Although the student representative’s vote is recorded in the minutes, it is only symbolic, and cannot sway the board’s votes throughout the year. All board members are community volunteers and do not receive compensation for their work.
“Currently, the board has seven voting members, and then there’s a student representative — a non-voting member. He’s still considered officially and legally a board member, just not having an official vote on matters,” he said. “If there’s no students, there’s no district, no any of this … teachers, staff are definitely focused on giving students a say in their education, because it affects them the most. In Portland Public Schools, it’s like seven slash eight people who decide how things go and run for 44,000 students.”
Although there are no indications of legislation changing that would allow the student representative to vote on board matters, as of mid-March, plans are underway to put proposed House Bill 3012 up to a vote — which, if passed, would allow 16 and 17-year-olds in Oregon to vote in school board elections.
According to Bautista, only two of the current PPS board members have children. He explained that the great majority of board members have little to no direct engagement or experience with contemporary issues most impacting students, such as advancements in technology, mental health struggles among adolescents, lack of motivation, cell phone policies and low attendance rates. He believes that in bringing a fresh perspective to the school board, PPS will better be able to address and work with modern educational issues.
“Looking at the abolishment of the Department of Education and state funding and everything like that made me realize, ‘Okay, the current school board members don’t have much experience when it comes to present students and 21st century issues,’” Bautista said. “I don’t know if I fully had confidence in them being the strong leaders that we need to go against all these issues.”
He described how his work over the past several years has afforded him the opportunity to connect with several perspectives and members of the PPS community, particularly during the historic 2023 teacher strike.
“This is something I really have a lot of experience with, because being a student in PPS, and having a relationship with the union, with educators, administrators and then my peers,” Bautista said.
During the teacher strike, he helped communicate among teachers and students, organize events and rallies, advise the president and vice president during bargaining sessions and encourage his community to support the union.
“I was the main student leader, or liaison, between the union (and the students),” Bautista said. “Communicating to students everything that was going on regarding the strike, like ‘Hey, this is what teachers are fighting for. This is what’s going on. This is what could happen when we come back regarding makeup times.’ Communicating information and encouraging them to get involved.”
He said that, although the strike in 2023 opened his eyes to the issues PPS was facing, his own personal experiences having attended K-12 within PPS also encouraged him to get involved with educational advocacy.
“All these schools are still facing the same issues … Still tiles falling, mold and lead pipes,” Bautista said. “I’m in high school now, and still the same issues, nothing has really changed.”
Bautista expressed a desire for the school board to incorporate younger candidates in decision-making processes, particularly on issues related to declining attendance and test scores, budget cuts, low community morale and declined trust in the district in recent years.
“I think those things are the big things that are really going to decide whether folks want a new voice or a new perspective on matters,” he said.
At the time of the interview on March 11, Bautista was the only person who had filed for office for the upcoming district election.
“So far, the only person that has filed for office is me, but the current incumbent, Gary Hollins, has announced his run, but hasn’t officially filed yet,” Bautista said.
Bautista is juggling several commitments, while simultaneously making time to advance his campaign — which involves filling out endorsement applications, attending board meetings and forums, staying up-to-date with current developments on the school board and connecting with public officials and community members alike.
“Campaigning is difficult, and it’s always going to be difficult, no matter if it’s a small position or big position, and especially for an 18-year-old such as myself, who is working, has other commitments and is also in school … It is more complicated and more intense, for sure, having to juggle all that work, and really doing a 9-9 shift,” Bautista said. “But it sends a message that I’m committed, and I care.”
With two more months to campaign, Bautista has already earned key endorsements from several city council members, union members and faculty — including Portland City Council Vice President Tiffany Koyama-Lane and State Representative Tawna Sanchez.
“I’m feeling pretty confident,” Bautista said. “If I win, it gives me an opportunity to serve Portlanders and students, and if I lose, it gives me a lot of connections, so when I decide to go for office in the future, all that knowledge will help me out.”
Post-grad, Bautista plans to stay engaged in community organizing around Portland, and to pursue college, likely at Portland State University.
“I still will continue my advocacy for educational (matters), among climate change, transportation, housing, police accountability, gun violence prevention work, all that,” Bautista said. “I’ll still be continuing my advocacy probably up until I’m dead, honestly.”
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