PPS board member, parents react to controversial school closure plan

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - For Sam Ellingson, James John Elementary in North Portland is not just where his daughter goes to school, he said it is the centerpiece of his community.

“This is right across the street from newly-remodeled library. Our community center is right behind us. There’s an arts organization across the street, and it’s right on the corner of our business district,” he said.

Now, the place that means so much Ellingson and his family might close, along with more than a dozen other schools in Portland.

“I walk my kid to school every day. On the weekends we play on this playground,” he said. “This is part of our lives, and it’s a really, really hard thing to process.”

Ellingson, along with hundreds of other Portland Public Schools parents, employees and children, attended Tuesday night’s school board meeting. It was the first opportunity for community members to comment on Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong’s proposal, which was released Monday.

The teachers’ union also organized a rally beforehand, where people listened to various remarks by community members and held up signs saying Save Our Schools and other similar sentiments.

Armstrong said the closures are necessary, with enrollment down thousands of students and a looming $65 million budget deficit.

Under one scenario announced Monday, PPS would close 14 schools. Those include Maplewood, Stephenson, Irvington, Rose City Park, Buckman, Creston, Marysville, Woodmere, Lewis, Beach, James John, Peninsula, Sabin, as well as Sellwood Middle School.

Armstrong proposed another scenario that would take three elementary schools off the list. It is also possible the school board could decide not to close anything.

Many other schools could also be affected. Armstrong proposed relocating Odyssey to the Metropolitan Learning Center. Grades 9-12 at the MLC would also close. In addition, seven K-8 schools would become K-5 schools.

Dual language immersion programs could continue, but many would be moved to different buildings. Meanwhile, the environmental focus would be eliminated at Sunnyside Environmental School, turning it into a neighborhood K-5.

“There are so many moving parts with this proposal. This isn’t just school closures. It’s conversions from K-8 to K-5 in middle schools, it’s boundaries, it’s all of the things that make us anxious, and it’s going to take some time to sort through it all,” board member Virginia La Forte said.

La Forte shares some parents’ concerns the closures will create school deserts.

“I want to be really careful not to create large swaths of the city where we don’t have any school at the center of a community,” she said.

La Forte agrees some schools need to close. However, she said she is still figuring out where she stands on the proposal and what is best for students and families. 

“We have to remain really engaged, realize this is a dialogue and listen,” she said. “We have a lot of listening to do over the next couple of months.”

PPS will gather community feedback through November. The superintendent will then deliver a final recommendation to the board, which will vote in December. Any approved changes would take effect in Fall 2027.