PPS proposes closing up to 14 schools as district faces $65M shortfall

PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) - Portland Public Schools is proposing two scenarios that would close up to 14 schools, as the district faces a $65 million shortfall.

Scenario A proposes 14 school closures:

Maplewood Elementary, Stephenson Elementary, Irvington Elementary, Rose City Park Elementary, Buckman Elementary, Creston Elementary, Marysville Elementary, Woodmere Elementary, Lewis Elementary, Beach Elementary, James John Elementary, Peninsula Elementary, Sabin Elementary, Sellwood Middle School

Scenario B proposes 11 school closures:

Maplewood Elementary, Irvington Elementary, Buckman Elementary, Creston Elementary, Marysville Elementary, Woodmere Elementary, Beach Elementary, James John Elementary, Peninsula Elementary, Sabin Elementary, Sellwood Middle School

Under both proposed scenarios:

• Odyssey Program would relocate to Metropolitan Learning Center. Grades 9-12 at the center would close.
• Seven K-8 schools would become K-5 schools.
• Dual language immersion programs would continue but many would move to different buildings.
• Sunnyside Environmental School would lose its environmental focus and become a neighborhood K-5 school.

The proposals will now go to the PPS School Board. The matter will be discussed during Tuesday’s highly anticipated School Board Meeting. The Board will then vote on the scenarios in December.

The Board does have the option to defer the decision and revisit school closures and other changes in a future year.

Find full details including receiving schools and other changes included in both proposals on the PPS website.

Superintendent Dr. Kimberlee Armstrong defended the proposed closures in an exclusive interview with FOX 12, as the recommendations face anger and questions over whether it can win school board approval.

Armstrong said declining enrollment is the biggest factor behind the plan.

“It’s about getting to the right size in the portfolio of schools that we have,” Armstrong said.

When asked if she has the votes to get the plan through the school board amid significant public outcry, Armstrong said she is confident board members are “ready to engage in conversation about sustainability.”

“We expect feedback, pushback comments, questions. We welcome it,” she said.

Armstrong said she does not yet have a number for how many layoffs the closures would create. She said the state school fund, set by the governor and subject to legislative approval, will shape those decisions.

The district’s financial management is also under scrutiny. Even adjusted for inflation, the district is spending about 23% more per student than 10 years ago.

Armstrong said the district has worked to address budget deficits since she started, including reducing central office staffing by 14%.

She also addressed criticism over her pay at a time when many staff members were asked to push back cost-of-living increases until January. Armstrong said her employment agreement was negotiated when she was hired in 2024 and was under market rate.

“What I did ask for, though, is that my COLA be capped,” she said. COLA stands for Cost-of-Living Adjustment, which is an increase in pay or benefits designed to match inflation.

Armstrong said the district will spend October gathering public input at school sites and in virtual and in-person listening sessions with the school board. She said she expects that input to lead to changes to the list.

She added it is also possible the board will decide to pause the plan and address it at a later date.

The Portland Association of Teachers is planning a rally for Tuesday and released the following statement addressing the school closure plans:

“Today PPS released scenarios for school closures and it is clear a more measured and community centered approach is needed. After all, we are talking about closing, consolidating, and profoundly altering over two dozen schools and programs. Decisions of that magnitude take time and care, and PPS leadership has proven inept at making decisions of that scale in a rushed timeline. Their timeline is less than a year, and the current PPS proposal is to decide by December when we should all be focused on supporting student outcomes this fall.

Closing, consolidating, and transforming programs at over 25 schools is a dramatic change. It’s critical that PPS get the process right, which requires slowing down and involving more stakeholders. Students and families deserve a plan to ensure every student has access to a well-resourced high-quality school.

Closing schools is not a plan, it’s a reaction. Our students deserve better. Families deserve better. Educators deserve better.

We ask that the district exhaust every available option it has before considering closing schools. And at PAT, we will fight hard to secure quality education funding because students and families deserve high quality, well-resourced neighborhood schools.”