Portland Public Schools announced two scenarios Monday evening that would result in massive changes for Portland’s elementary, middle and K-8 schools, including building closures, program consolidations and changes to school boundaries.
Scenario A lists 14 schools planned for closure: 13 primary schools and one middle school. These schools are: Maplewood, Stephenson, Irvington, Rose City Park, Buckman, Creston, Marysville, Woodmere, Lewis, Beach, James John, Peninsula, Sabin and Sellwood Middle School. Students from these schools went to different “receiving schools”. This scenario includes 38 boundary changes.
Scenario B lists 11 schools, with similar “reconfigurations” and curriculum changes, but with three fewer schools affected by the changes. The schools proposed for closure are the same as in Scenario A, except that Stephenson, Rose City Park and Lewis elementary schools would remain open. This scenario includes 34 boundary changes.
FILE – Portland Public Schools Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong hands out pens to students at Woodlawn Elementary School in northeast Portland, Oregon, Aug. 27, 2024.
Anna Lück / OPB
Under the scenarios, district officials say no dual language immersion programs would be eliminated, but that they would be “moved or combined into designated schools.” The only interesting option in these scenarios is Buckman, an arts-focused elementary school.
Changes are coming to other PPS schools in both scenarios. Sunnyside K-8 would not close, but its status as an environmentally focused optional school would be “abandoned.” Odyssey, another option school, would move buildings to the Metropolitan Learning Center. The MLC high school would close its doors. Armstrong’s proposals would also move much of the district away from the K-8 school structure, transforming seven K-8 schools into K-5 schools, including Beverly Cleary, Laurelhurst, Sunnyside, Bridger Creative Science, César Chávez, Faubion and Vernon.
Several current K-8s are not listed as changing, including Astor, Skyline, and Winterhaven.
A third scenario would be to change nothing.
Most of the scenarios’ recommendations would take effect in fall 2027. The board is expected to vote on a final plan in December.
“I think it will go in three directions,” PPS Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong said in an interview Friday before the scenarios were released.
“They will choose to accept my recommendation with no changes, they will choose to accept my recommendation with maybe some changes, or they will choose to postpone the conversation about our rightsizing work.”
In a press release Monday evening, the union representing Portland teachers called on the district to take a “more measured, community-centered approach.”
“The closure, consolidation and transformation of programs at more than 25 schools represents a sea change,” wrote Portland Association of Teachers President Alisha Chavez. “It is essential that the PPS gets the process right, which requires slowing it down and involving more stakeholders. »
School principals shared the news with families Monday. “While these proposed changes are intended to build a stable, long-term future for our district, I know this news speaks directly to all of our hearts,” wrote Buckman Superintendent Lisa Ditto.
Gary Gregoricka, principal of Irvington Elementary School, stressed in a message to families that no decision had yet been made.
“If the district moves forward with change, the Beverly Cleary administration and I will work with both communities on a transition plan that ensures we support all students, staff and families in this journey,” Gregoricka said.
What is behind the decision
Earlier this year, PPS held sessions to hear from families and community members about schools. Through these conversations, PPS officials say they heard from students and families who loved their neighborhood schools, which offer community programs, bike buses and bilingual immersion programs. PPS officials have also heard from families and students supporting concentration options, like art at Buckman and da Vinci and environmental issues at Sunnyside, which draw students from across the district.
But Armstrong said the district’s decision wasn’t about saying one version of the school is better than the other.
“Our goal has never been to find ourselves in a situation where we pit communities against each other or advocate for a specific model,” Armstrong said.
Factors considered in the district’s decisions included a school’s enrollment and capacity, as well as a school’s physical conditions. Does it comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act? Are the mechanical systems up to date?
“We also looked at schools that have the capacity to support child care programs,” Armstrong said. She said the walkability of a school is also a factor to consider.
As a district, PPS faces yet another significant budget deficit this year: a $65 million budget hole for next school year, assuming a consistent level of funding from the state. Armstrong said the decision to close schools is not about the district’s multimillion-dollar budget challenges, but the need to ensure every Portland school can provide a quality level of service to its students. So far, she says that’s not the case.
“We’re closing schools because we’re spreading our resources too thin,” Armstrong said. “We are subsidizing…we are taking from one and adding to the other with the budget we currently have.”
Parents and staff members in Portland are already opposing the plan.
“‘Rightsizing’ is not a good thing for Portland,” reads the main page of savepdxschools.org, a group of parents organizing against the district’s “rightsizing” plan. Two different petitions supported by families and teachers are calling on the district to take action before making big changes, suggesting the district first consider redrawing boundaries and downsizing the district office. A petition presents a list of questions the school board must ask before voting on any proposal.
PPS is far from the only school district closing schools. Marguerite Roza, of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University, calls him the “great shrink.” Birth rates are falling, families are choosing alternatives for their children’s education, and too few students are enrolling in public schools to manage them effectively. In July, the Washington Post reported that the number of closed schools in the United States had increased by 35% over the past four years.
FILE – Students work in a math class at McKay High School, part of the Salem-Keizer district, in Salem, Oregon, September 13, 2023.
Natalie Pate / OPB
Salem-Keizer, another of Oregon’s largest districts, announced plans to close “up to eight” elementary schools. In Southwest Washington, Evergreen is also considering closing schools. Across the country, districts from Cleveland to Austin are closing schools due to declining enrollment. In Seattle, district officials spent months talking about school closures, only to announce plans to close four schools, then abandon the plan a month later.
What’s next
Sabin Elementary School, photographed October 5, 2026, in Northeast Portland.
Rob Manning / OPB
Moving forward, Armstrong said the district’s community engagement plan will emphasize feedback and concerns, all shared on the district’s “right-sizing” web page.
She said the district will have to “wait and see” if any families will leave the district as a result of these changes. Families have that choice, she said.
“The question I’m clinging to, though, is: What happens if we don’t do anything? Some of the families who say they’re leaving are like, ‘Well, if you make this change, we’ll leave.’ Well, if we don’t make the change, how will we continue to provide the support we need? »
Armstrong said the scenarios can only project the district’s stability for the next five years, through the 2031-32 school year. After that, it’s unclear whether the district will need to close more schools to further manage declining enrollment.
PPS officials will share more information about these closures with the school board and the district community at large at its regular school board meeting Tuesday evening. Families are already planning a rally before the meeting to protest the district’s efforts and “protect our public schools.”
Board member Virginia La Forte posted a video Friday acknowledging the anxiety over this decision and conversation.
“This weighs heavily on all of us,” La Forte said. “We understand the value of our schools to our neighborhoods and to our city…stay engaged, give us your feedback and we’ll see you again on Tuesday.”
While the district has prepared proposals that will be presented to the school board Tuesday evening, it is up to the school board to vote on the final decision. It’s scheduled for December.
Related: Read: Portland Public Schools “right-sizing” scenarios
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