Staff reductions set to hit Portland Public Schools in 2023-24

Published 11:18 am Thursday, April 27, 2023

After the Portland Public Schools superintendent’s budget was presented to the school board Tuesday night, there are now some difficult choices to make.

Although the presented budget came in at over $2 billion, the board was told by the PPS chief of staff close to 90 staff positions would be cut — representing a 3% staff reduction. The district expects to see a 1% decline in enrollment, and some of the money the state gives to schools is based on that enrollment number.

PPS has not said exactly who would be cut, but that there would be a reduction at the elementary level. It’s still unclear whether there would be layoffs depending on how much movement there is from retirements or other reasons people leave.

The district says the average class size would be just over 22 students per homeroom in elementary schools, but many would be under that number.

The head of the teachers union tells KOIN 6 News she is very concerned about what could happen at middle schools if they lose staff.

Read the full story on KOIN.com.