The City Council voted unanimously in May to approve the $171.8 million school budget for the 2025-2026 school year. Now it’s the public’s turn: Portland city voters will be asked to give their stamp of approval to the school budget on Tuesday, June 10. In addition to voting on the budget, Portland voters will also have the chance to vote on two candidates running for a vacant seat on the Portland Board of Public Education.

The Portland Public Schools’ fiscal year 2026 (FY26) budget balances fiscal constraints with key investments. This budget will strengthen the music program at the high schools, increase rigor and support at the middle schools, enhance reading support at the elementary schools, and provide additional staffing and programmatic support for special education district-wide. This budget also includes funding to add the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur and the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr as school district holidays, starting this fall. That ensures that students and staff at PPS, Maine’s most diverse school district, can observe those major religious holidays with their families without having to miss school. Learn more details.

In addition to voting on the school budget on June 10, Portland voters also can vote on a vacant seat on the Portland Board of Public Education.

Two candidates will be on the ballot June 10 to fill the vacant at-large seat on the Board: retired PPS music teacher Jayne Sawtelle and building contractor and PPS parent Cassidy LaCroix.

The seat was vacated by Benjamin Grant, who is now a City Councilor. Grant resigned from his Board seat after he was elected to the City Council this past November and the City Council set a special election for the Board seat at the June 10 municipal election. There will be only six months left in the unexpired term for Grant’s former at-large seat at that time, so the winner of the June election will need to run again in November to retain the seat.

Read a Portland Press Herald story about the candidates – and please don’t forget to vote! Go to the Elections & Voting page https://www.portlandmaine.gov/172/Elections-Voting on the City’s website for information on absentee voting, polling places and more!