Most of the seats in the Grant High School auditorium were empty when the Portland School Board met Sept. 1. But the first two rows of seats were blue.
That color glowed from the union T-shirts worn by members of the Portland Association of Teachers, solemn as they looked up at the seven-member board. Several clutched signs reading “Protect our students, protect our public schools.” And one thing was abundantly clear: PAT’s leadership was furious.
In the immediate, their anger was directed at a contract extension for Portland Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Kimberlee Armstrong, whose updated compensation package includes a pay increase largely in the form of a retention bonus that kicks in if Armstrong completes four years with the district…