Portland Public Schools Superintendent Proposes $1.87 Billion Budget

PORTLAND, OR — Portland Public Schools Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero submitted a $1.87 billion budget to the Board of Education for the coming school year.

"This proposal reflects the ways our schools will emerge from this pandemic with a commitment to the success of every student," Guerrero said.

He called it fiscally responsible, adding that it "ensures operation of our core functions, and most importantly, uses one-time and targeted resources to meet the learning, social and emotional needs of our students.

"As we emerge from the challenges amplified by the pandemic, we have placed a primary focus on expanding learning support for our students," he said.

The district said that the Board of Education will hold a "community engagement" session on Wednesday. If people want to read the budget ahead of time, the district posted it online.

Guerrero said that when he mentioned "one time and targeted resources" that the district had access to, he was referring to a federal account that will allow the district to spend $118 million on five particular areas.

• Addressing unfinished learning as a result of the pandemic by doing things such as providing the largest academic and enrichment summer program in Portland Public Schools history.
• Increasing learning opportunities for every student by doing things such as reducing class sizes and expanding electives for middle school students.
• Providing high-quality emotional and mental health support by doing thing such as hiring more social workers, school counselors and other mental health professionals.
• Creating more time for professional educators to plan, collaborate and prepare.
• Making meaningful progress on the community’s top priorities by doing things such as supporting school communities to promote Black and Native American student success and developing a diverse, high quality and thriving workforce.

"I am keenly aware of the challenges we face in transforming a large school system, under very real constraints," Guerrero said. "We continue to approach our work with optimism, creativity and the deeply held notion that we must, and we can, do our very best to meet these challenges. The students of Portland Public Schools deserve nothing less."