Grant community urges faster installation of stadium lights; district targets Dec. 1

Community members and student athletes urged Portland Public Schools on Aug. — during the Facilities Improvement and Oversight Committee public comment period — to accelerate installation of stadium lights at Grant High School’s bowl so teams can play home evening games there.

The most detailed public comments came from Gretchen Cole, a parent of a recent Grant graduate and of a current Grant student-athlete, who said community fundraising and city approval are in hand and asked the district to “expedite this project. Prioritize our students.” Several student speakers described the same problem: long travel to off-site venues for evening games and repeated missed class time.

The issue matters to the Grant community, speakers said, because home evening games increase student attendance by peers, strengthen community ties and reduce lost instructional hours. “Only five of those games have been in the bowl,” said Lucy Capranos, a rising…