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Centennial School District 28j

Collaborating in Community - Cultivating Equity - Inspiring Excellence

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About

School Board

CONTACT
Centennial School District
18135 SE Brooklyn ST
Portland, OR 97236

Melissa ‘Missy’ Grindle
Executive Assistant to the Superintedent & Board Secretary
melissa_grindle@csd28j.org
503-762-3601

ABOUT
We are always pleased when you take the time to join us! Your interest in the Centennial School District and your presence at a board meeting are appreciated. Our board, as elected school board members, is interested in your concerns and opinions. Your participation is a vital part of our school system’s success.

We hope that attending a school board meeting will give you a better understanding of just how the school district operates. We encourage public participation in our meetings and welcome your comments. Time is set aside during the “Public Forum” portion of each regular board meeting to hear the views of the community, staff, and students. If you are interested in addressing the board, please use the “Submit A Public Comment” button below. If you attend a board meeting just to listen and learn, that is great! Just sit back and get a feel for “democracy in action." 

PUBLIC COMMENT: During hybrid meetings, those wishing to make public comments must submit information via an on-line form which can be found here.

Submit A Public Comment

Copies of the board meeting agenda, as well as minutes from previous meetings, are available on our district website. The board tries to have a brief recess break at approximately 8:00 pm, though, you are free to leave whenever you wish.

We encourage you to submit your comments and questions to the superintendent’s office. All items on the agenda originate through the superintendent’s office. If there is a particular item that you feel should be addressed by the board, please contact the superintendent’s office. You may also write or call to request a personal conference with the superintendent by contacting:

If you wish to reach out directly to the board, please email your comments or concerns to board@csd28j.org. 

The board is responsible for setting up the district’s mission, vision and priorities.

OUR MISSION
Collaborating in Community – Cultivating Equity – Inspiring Excellence

OUR VISION
Centennial School District builds authentic relationships with our diverse community that equitably engages and honors all voices. We intentionally implement rigorous, culturally relevant and evidence-based practices to cultivate academic excellence for each student.

David Linn, Board Member
Position 1 – Zone 1
Term Expiration: June 2025
 
Ronald ‘Jess’ Hardin, Board Member
Position 2 – Zone 2
Term Expiration: June 2027
 
Claudia Andrews, Board Member
Position 3 – Zone 3
Term Expiration: June 2025
 
Melissa Standley, Board Member
Position 4 – At-Large
Term Expiration: June 2027
 
Rose Solowski, Chair
Position 5 – At-Large
Term Expiration: June 2027
 
William Mohring, Board Member
Position 6 – At-Large
Term Expiration: June 2025
 
Pam Shields, Vice Chair
Position 7 – At-Large
Term Expiration: June 2025
 
 
For more information regarding elections, please see Multnomah County Special Elections

Our School Board Policies are housed on a seperate site. To views these policies, visit: https://policy.osba.org/centennial/index.asp.

Board Policies

Please Note: There is a delay between the time the board makes policy changes and the time those changes are available on this site. The policies on this site are for information only and do not reflect any updating activities in progress. For official policies, administrative regulations, and further information about our policies, contact:

Melissa ‘Missy’ Grindle
Executive Assistant to the Superintendent & Board Secretary
melissa_grindle@csd28j.org
503-762-3601

All Policies © Copyright 2020 Oregon School Boards Association
OSBA does not assume and disclaims any and all responsibility for the accuracy, legality and content of the Centennial School District's policies provided on this site.

To view PDF versions of our Boarding Operating Agreements, please use the following links:

2024 Board Operating Agreement

2024 Board & Superintendent Operating Agreement

At the September 9, 2020 the Centennial School District Governing Board read this proclamation affirming its commitment elimination of institutional racism within the district.

Commitment to Eliminating Institutional Racism

Across the country, as well as locally, we have witnessed the outcry and outrage over the tragic killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. The ongoing protests and the Covid-19 pandemic have combined to bring into even sharper focus the deeply entrenched systematic racism that impacts our students of color, particularly our Black/African-American students.

We the Centennial School District Governing Board, acknowledge the trauma our students have experienced as a result of this tragedy. We stand with the message that “Black Lives Matter” and sincerely believe racial discrimination and injustice are intolerable in any form.

We recognize that our communities of color continue to experience violence and trauma caused by oppressive and systemic structural and institutional racism in our country, community and schools. We are committed to identifying and eliminating any trace of racism in our district to ensure a safe environment for all of our students.

Regardless of color or identity, every student is a fully valued member of the Centennial community. Any blatant racial incident or act, subtle micro-aggression(s), willful ignorance, or a casual disregard for any of our students have no place within the Centennial School District or any activity associated with our educational system.

In order for our schools, community, state and nation to live up to its principles, a collective effort is necessary to insist our system actively engages in eliminating racism. Claiming to be non-racist is not enough. We must all commit to becoming anti-racist. Everyone must act courageously, to call out behaviors - large or small - that diminish or dehumanize others. We encourage all who care deeply about the academic and emotional wellbeing of our students to participate in creating and upholding practices that protect, enhance, and encourage their abilities to not just succeed, but to thrive.

We will continue to review school board policies and make the modifications necessary to ensure they do not perpetuate racial inequities, as we continue to provide every student the opportunity to learn and thrive in our ever-changing community. We will continue to review discipline procedures and school district goals using an equity lens. We will bring awareness to inequitable practices and challenge the status quo. We will monitor demographic changes and celebrate successes as they occur. We will reach out to our community and seek their input and support. In addition, each school board member is committed to looking inward and embracing their own equity journey

  • The board is responsible for setting up the district’s mission, vision and priorities.

    OUR MISSION
    Collaborating in Community – Cultivating Equity – Inspiring Excellence

    OUR VISION
    Centennial School District builds authentic relationships with our diverse community that equitably engages and honors all voices. We intentionally implement rigorous, culturally relevant and evidence-based practices to cultivate academic excellence for each student.

  • At the September 9, 2020 the Centennial School District Governing Board read this proclamation affirming its commitment elimination of institutional racism within the district.

    Commitment to Eliminating Institutional Racism

    Across the country, as well as locally, we have witnessed the outcry and outrage over the tragic killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. The ongoing protests and the Covid-19 pandemic have combined to bring into even sharper focus the deeply entrenched systematic racism that impacts our students of color, particularly our Black/African-American students.

    We the Centennial School District Governing Board, acknowledge the trauma our students have experienced as a result of this tragedy. We stand with the message that “Black Lives Matter” and sincerely believe racial discrimination and injustice are intolerable in any form.

    We recognize that our communities of color continue to experience violence and trauma caused by oppressive and systemic structural and institutional racism in our country, community and schools. We are committed to identifying and eliminating any trace of racism in our district to ensure a safe environment for all of our students.

    Regardless of color or identity, every student is a fully valued member of the Centennial community. Any blatant racial incident or act, subtle micro-aggression(s), willful ignorance, or a casual disregard for any of our students have no place within the Centennial School District or any activity associated with our educational system.

    In order for our schools, community, state and nation to live up to its principles, a collective effort is necessary to insist our system actively engages in eliminating racism. Claiming to be non-racist is not enough. We must all commit to becoming anti-racist. Everyone must act courageously, to call out behaviors - large or small - that diminish or dehumanize others. We encourage all who care deeply about the academic and emotional wellbeing of our students to participate in creating and upholding practices that protect, enhance, and encourage their abilities to not just succeed, but to thrive.

    We will continue to review school board policies and make the modifications necessary to ensure they do not perpetuate racial inequities, as we continue to provide every student the opportunity to learn and thrive in our ever-changing community. We will continue to review discipline procedures and school district goals using an equity lens. We will bring awareness to inequitable practices and challenge the status quo. We will monitor demographic changes and celebrate successes as they occur. We will reach out to our community and seek their input and support. In addition, each school board member is committed to looking inward and embracing their own equity journey

School Board FAQs

  • The board is comprised of seven publicly elected community members who serve four-year terms and are non-paid. Three board members reside in the zone they represent and four serve at-large representing the district as a whole (Board Zone Map).

  • Board meetings are not public meetings, but are meetings held in public for the purpose of conducting the business of the school district. All business is conducted in public with the exception of items discussed in confidential executive sessions as allowed by state statute.

  • The Centennial School District Governing Board generally meets at 6:30 pm twice monthly. The board meeting schedule for the upcoming school year is adopted at a spring board meeting and posted to the district website for reference. The superintendent and board officers may choose to change any of the regular board meeting dates to a board work session as needed. As required by law, any changes to the board meeting schedule will be posted at this link.

    Please see above for information about the Public Comment process. Please note:  This would not, however, include any issue pertaining to a personnel matter.

  • Currently, due to the pandemic, the Board is meeting in a hybrid format. Board members and key staff meet in person in the Centennial School District main office board room. The public may join the meeting via a Zoom app link which is published on CSD's website. For board meeting location information, please visit the Board meeting schedule page here. 

    The board is responsible for providing an educational program for the district’s roughly 6,000 students. They do not have offices in school district buildings.

    The board’s main responsibility is to set up the district’s mission, vision and priorities. The board is further responsible for setting district policy and budget priorities upon which all administrative actions are based.

    The board is further responsible for hiring the superintendent. The superintendent, in turn, is responsible for carrying out board decisions, providing educational leadership, and managing the district’s budget and staff.