Portland Public Schools unveils 2 consolidation plans to tackle declining enrollment, with up to 14 school closures on the table. Community feedback starts now, board vote in December, changes begin fall 2027. (KATU)
PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) —During a news conference on Monday, Superintendent Dr. Kimberlee Armstrong outlined how Portland Public Schools is facing a projected $65-million deficit, which could require cuts to 450 full-time equivalent positions.
She says about half would come from the schools, and about half would come from central office.
Armstrong says pension costs have played a big role, with $40 million of the deficit coming from those rising expenses. Armstrong also said fewer students enrolling means less state funding, noting families are having fewer children than in the past.
Chief of Schools Dr. Isaac Cordona spoke about what cuts could mean for schools.
“While our staffing guidelines for next year are still in draft form and being actively modeled, a reduction of this magnitude means that we are looking at situations that fund schools down to the bare legal and contractual minimums,” said Cordona. “That may mean between two to five fewer staff members per building, and in some cases that number may be higher.”
Kristina Howard, the district’s Chief of Academics, provided more specifics, saying extra staffing to help students in grades six through eight is not required by Oregon law and those supports could go.
“We provide this extra staffing because smaller middle grade programs often need additional teachers to offer courses and learning opportunities that larger middle schools can provide with their regular staffing,” said Howard. “However, we are not legally or contractually required to provide these additional staffing beyond our minimum obligations.”
And that’s not all.
“Currently, some of our schools operate two programs side by side,” said Howard, describing how English and dual language immersion have sometimes split students into very small classes. She said there is “no legal or contractual requirement that we must maintain these programs in exactly this way,” and the district might need to organize classrooms differently, potentially combining them for part of the day.
There also could be less counseling support.
“That requirement is 350 students to one counselor,” Howard explained. She shared that while every student must have access to school counseling, it does not always mean a full-time counselor will remain in every building. The district may also need to blend more classrooms, such as language immersion and middle grade groups, to make staffing work under tighter budgets.
Armstrong pointed to the ongoing challenge of rising costs, explaining, “It was $40 million for [2025], it was $56 million for [2026], and now we’re looking at $65 million for [2027.]” She said those numbers highlight a long-running structural deficit.
School officials say the process is still ongoing, but they expect families to notice leaner programming and staff levels in the years to come as the district works to stabilize its finances.
READ MORE |’Frightsizing’ rally takes aim at PPS school closuresis a developing story; updates will be posted as information comes in.
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