Parents advocate for overdue school upgrades with proposed $1.5 billion bond

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Parents of Cleveland, Jefferson and Ida B. Wells High Schools are advocating a proposed $1.5 billion bond measure with Portland Public Schools be used for what they say are long overdue upgrades.

The bond measure won't go before Portland voters until May 2025. However, there are already deliberations about how the money might be spent and to which schools.

Ida B. Wells parent and Booster Club President Kristen Carr said deteriorating conditions have gone on long enough.

"It's certainly not up to expectations, it doesn't create an environment for our kids to have safe learning and isn't equitable at the end of the day across the district," Carr said.

The Portland Public Schools Board of Education's School Facilities Improvement Oversight Committee is deciding whether to focus funding solely on the three remaining high schools or spreading the funds district-wide.

Distributing the money district-wide could help schools like Markham Elementary which is still closed for hazardous material cleanup after ice storms severely damaged the building in January 2024.

"We know if we don't take care of our buildings, they will fail at some point and that's what we saw in that situation and that community is justifiably angry," said PPS Board Member and SFIOC Chair Andrew Scott.

Scott said deferred maintenance funds come from the classroom.

Meanwhile, the board is balancing modernization, sustainability and long-term plans. But there aren't enough resources to tackle everything.

Parents from Cleveland, Jefferson and Ida B. Wells argue it's finally time to update the last schools slated for renovations, especially after years of community support for others.

"I hate to think of it as competition, because they're all our kids across the district, but it does mean someone is going to have to make some tough decisions about who gets to go first," Carr said.

The committee is nowhere near reaching a done deal. There's another meeting set for Nov. 18. The goal is to finalize details of how the proposed bond would be spent by the beginning of next year before eventually going before voters in May.