Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregon’s largest school district may see major changes to two of its high school campuses.

Portland schools’ superintendent Carole Smith Monday night recommended shutting down the three small schools on the Marshall High campus. She wants to make it the site of a magnet, or so-called “focus option” program, in Fall 2011.

Smith also proposes turning the district’s four-year career-vocational program at Benson High into a two-year program, that students would attend part-time.

It’s a plan that Benson alum, John Slaughter, says will face opposition.

John Slaughter: “Very, very hesitant, very, very disgruntled with the proposal. District has a fight on its hands. Benson’s ready to speak up, our alumni are ready to speak up, our staff, our students.”

Smith’s plan calls for drastically curtailing the number of students who can transfer from one neighborhood high school to another.

The superintendent’s rationale is that the changes would allow the remaining high schools to provide a more attractive set of options.

But, district officials say the changes for the neighborhood high schools only pencil out financially, if Benson can be used in a different way.