Portland voting on $790 million school bond

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Voters in Portland, Oregon, are poised to vote on the largest school bond in state history after a scandal last year over high levels of lead in the drinking water at almost every school.

The $790 million spending package on Tuesday’s ballot would raise taxes to address the lead crisis, as well as deal with lead paint, radon and asbestos at some facilities and rebuild or renovate four aging schools.

The crisis that bubbled up at the end of the last school year made national headlines and forced the resignation of the superintendent and two other top officials.

The average school in the district of 49,000 children is 77 years old, with some constructed before World War I.