PPS to name schools that could close Monday

UPDATE: A full list of proposed PPS school closures can be found here.

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - Portland Public Schools families are waiting to learn which schools could close as the district prepares to release the first list under its controversial downsizing plan Monday.

The district, Oregon’s largest, says closures are needed to address falling enrollment and serious budget issues.

Enrollment dropped from more than 49,000 students in 2019 to about 43,000 last year — a loss of 6,000 students in six years. Population experts expect enrollment to keep falling.

Ethan Sharygin, director of Portland State University’s Population Research Center, who has forecast enrollment trends for the district for years, said PPS does not have a choice.

He said the biggest issue is fewer kindergarteners, a consistent trend in recent years.

“That class size remains small throughout all 12 years of primary and secondary education. So, it has a really big effect over time, and it compounds over time,” Sharygin said.

Declining birth rates are a national trend, and state data show it is particularly pronounced in Oregon. Ten years ago, the fertility rate was 58 births per 1,000 women. Last year, the Oregon Health Authority says that number fell to 45 births per 1,000 women.

So while the overall population within the district boundary has increased, the number of kids has gone down.

“People are waiting longer to have kids, they’re having fewer kids overall than in the past,” Sharygin said.

That shift is also reflected in housing. In recent years, thousands of homes have been built, but they are mostly multi-family units, not single-family homes which tend to have more kids.

PPS says closing schools will not only address enrollment, but help cut costs, balance resources and improve learning for students.

Jackie Wirz, a parent of an eighth grader at Odyssey, a focus school in Southwest Portland that PPS describes as interactive and history-themed, said she understands the challenges but worries the district may cut too much, too fast.

“It is a hands on experiential team based learning environment that really allows my child to not only survive school but thrive,” Wirz said. “I am a ball of nerves.”

“It’s something that I’m very concerned about. I don’t want my son or any of his friends or my community to experience stress and anxiety over the future of their children’s education,” she said.

When asked whether PPS should focus on improving retention rates instead to help fill schools, Sharygin said that might give the district another year or two of stability, but the overall decline will ultimately force the district to act.