As the proud mom of two children who have benefited from Youth and Family Outreach’s public pre-K classroom, I am thrilled to rank Sarah Lentz and Ben Grant as my sole choices for the two open at-large school board seats in the June 14th primary. I have been lucky enough to know Sarah for nearly 10 years, and her intelligence, warmth and competence know no bounds. I have long admired Ben as an outstanding advocate for vulnerable folks in Portland, and I’m sure he will be very effective on the school board.

Crucially, both candidates plan to expand Portland’s public pre-K program to more sites, and to include much-needed wraparound care and transportation. This essential programming will give many more local families access to quality early education. In these dark times, Sarah and Ben are beacons of hope for our city.

Elizabeth Pope
Portland