Portland Public Schools (PPS) faces a $40 million budget deficit for the 2025-26 school year. According to the PPS budget overview presentation, the deficit stems from higher costs of goods and services, reduced revenue and declining student enrollment. With 9.5% less enrollment since 2020 and state funding not covering costs, PPS is forced to make difficult cuts. These will land directly on students, teachers and programs across the district, including those at Lincoln.
We as the Cardinal Times Editorial Board believe that it is necessary to advocate as a community for a Quality Education Model (QEM) for all schools. Programs that are destined to lose funding in the upcoming year are essential to aiding in preparation for students’ life after high school and ensuring that they are connected to the necessary resources.
A QEM would be a proposed bill in the state legislature that would standardize funding across school districts to ensure that individual districts’ budget cuts do not affect essential learning opportunities, job positions and school programs. This has been enacted in other states, such as Washington and California.
“The state of Oregon has never funded a [QEM], so all of the teachers, superintendents, principals and families have been advocating for Oregon to fund a QEM, which would put millions of dollars back into our funding. If [the state legislature] would fund a QEM, I don’t know that we’d have to cut very much at all.” said Chapman.
Lincoln principal Peyton Chapman says that funding for career coordinators across the district was drastically cut. Principals are struggling to find ways to keep career coordinators with the new budget.
Shannan Fasold is Lincoln’s career coordinator and is concerned about how the budget cuts will affect college and career centers across the district, as they are important in helping students, especially those who need it most.
“I really do feel like I make a difference in the lives of students here and I know I’m doing a good job with supporting students, especially those who are our most vulnerable,” said Fasold.
The PPS budget deficit is part of a broader struggle that has been occurring in previous years. The district has made incremental cuts for the past four years, including $30 million for the 2022-23 year, $10 million in 2023-24 and $30 million in 2024-25.
This year, the PPS budget plan includes eliminating 228 positions district-wide, and will affect teachers, classified staff and administrators.
The district will modify the high school staffing formula by raising the student-to-teacher ratio. This change is projected to save $2.8 million, but will mean fewer teachers and more students per class. With fewer teachers, students might get less one-on-one attention, which would make it more difficult to get assistance with coursework and college preparation. This negatively impacts students’ ability to be successful in the classroom.
Budget cuts will also impact the Intensive Skills Classroom (ISC), a part of special education. Kayla Fantz-Sands, the ISC teacher, discusses how these budget cuts will decrease the number of paraeducators supporting students. By eliminating paraeducators, it takes away opportunities for students in special education to take general classes as well as career technical education (CTE).
Students and parents need to advocate for a QEM. Parents, students, and teachers are encouraged to share their concerns at the school board public comment session on May 1. Important information for advocating to state legislators can be found in the PPS 2025-2027 advocacy toolkit at pps.net.