FY 2026 School Budget Development Timeline and Documents

Superintendent Ryan Scallon and Board of Public Education Chair Sarah Lentz  thanked City voters for their decisive approval June 10 of the Portland Public Schools’ $171.8 million budget for fiscal year 2026. “We are deeply grateful to Portland voters for validating our school budget for the 2025-2026 school year,” Scallon and Lentz said in a joint statement. “This budget is directly aligned with our Strategic Plan's five priorities: achievement, equity, whole student, people, and systems. It was put together through extensive community engagement and includes some difficult tradeoffs in order to balance both strong programming for students and fiscal restraint. The budget includes investments to 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." The budget was approved by a 2 to 1 margin. Learn more.

The City Council voted unanimously on May 19 to approve the $171.8 million 2025-2026 school year budget recommended by the Portland Board of Public Education. The vote now sends the budget to City voters on June 10. The budget balances fiscal constraints with necessary investments to increase academic rigor, foster a joyful and supportive school culture and help provide more effective instruction to students with disabilities. It would raise the school portion of the property tax rate by 5.33 percent ($0.42 per $1,000 of assessed value). For the owner of a median-priced $500,000 home, the budget would increase property taxes by $210 per year or $17.50 per month. Learn more details: https://www.portlandschools.org/calendars/news/~board/district-school-news/post/council-approves-fy26-school-budget

At its meeting on April 29, the City Council's Finance Committee voted unanimously to recommend to the full City Council the $171.8 million fiscal year 2026 (FY26) school budget that the Board of Public Education approved on April 8. The budget now goes to the City Council for a first read and public hearing on May 5. The Council, which forwards the bottom line of the school budget, is expected to hold a second read and public hearing on the budget on May 19, and vote on that date to send the school budget to Portland voters on June 10. Learn more and please stay involved: https://www.portlandschools.org/calendars/news/~board/district-school-news/post/city-finance-committee-recommends-budget