Portland Public Schools builds its budget through months of engagement and continues to review it well after adoption. This spring’s adjustments reflect that process.

Beginning last fall and continuing through the spring, the district held listening sessions at every school and community engagement sessions throughout March. The Board of Public Education weighed public comment and revised the original proposal before adopting the FY27 budget in April. That work does not stop at adoption. We monitor enrollment and program needs throughout the spring and the school year and we adjust as the data warrants.

Our latest review of incoming enrollment shows a need for five (5) additional Educational Technician positions to support specialized programming. We also review revenue throughout the year, and we now anticipate slightly more state and federal revenue than we had budgeted. That allows us to add this staff without additional cost to taxpayers.

The district will bring these positions forward at the Finance Committee meeting on June 8.

As a result of these further refinements, we now welcome the Portland Education Association’s support of the budget and recommendation that the community vote YES on June 9th.

We continue to find efficiencies through our strategic plan. As we build the FY28 budget, we will bring recommendations to the Board to reduce central office costs as part of that ongoing work.

We are grateful to the educators, families, staff, community members, and labor partners who engaged with us this season. That input strengthens our budget, and we look forward to building on that work together in the year ahead.