Oregon Public Broadcasting

Portland school board members moved forward Monday night on a controversial plan to redesign high schools in Oregon’s largest district.

The plan still doesn’t specify which of the district’s nine neighborhood high schools would close. But as Rob Manning reports, board members felt the tension between what parents and students want – and what the district can afford.

School district staffers say that each Portland high school needs at least 1350 students to offer everything the schools should have. That’s because school funding is based on student enrollment.

So it takes a minimum number of students to offer a variety of advanced placement, remedial classes, and art and music electives.

PPS says it takes 1350. But superintendent chief of staff, Zeke Smith, told board members that demographic projections indicate reaching that enrollment number means some high schools will have to close.

Zeke Smith: “It’s difficult to do at eight, based on the different scenarios of enrollment in 2015 and 2020. It’s difficult to do even to do with seven, it may not be possible with nine.”

Seven high school campuses would mean closing two schools. And that still doesn’t account for the fact that a number of students that might be attracted to new magnet programs.

Recent survey results show nearly half of parents would prefer to send their children to magnet programs, instead of a large neighborhood school of 1350 students.

But board member Bobbie Regan noted the population forecasts indicate that interest in magnet, or focus schools would make reaching that magic number 1350 even harder.

Bobbie Regan: “If we have modest growth in focus schools, we wouldn’t hit 1350 under the medium or the high forecast? So that – is alarming.”

Later, other board members expressed reservations about creating focus programs for high schoolers at all.

Parents and community members, on the other hand, spoke out against closing high schools. Maggie Masia defended Jefferson High, for instance.

Maggie Mashia: “It’s commendable of the Portland Public schools to address these issues, and finally offer the same quality of education for all students in the district. We welcome the re-design of the high schools, but not at our expense.”

School officials have not indicated which schools might close. But seven of the district’s nine neighborhood high schools are on Portland’s east side.  

Leaders of Parent-Teacher associations from those seven schools submitted a joint statement arguing against closing schools – and in favor of finding other ways to offer an equitable education.

In the end, board members split on the resolution, voting 5-2 in favor, though even the board members in support gave lengthy conditions for their continued support.

Dilafruz Williams was a “no” vote. She was on the board four years ago, when the district merged elementary and middle schools into kindergarten-through-8th grade programs.

She says the enrollment projections that the district made then were flawed – and are probably flawed now, as well.

But more fundamentally, Williams expressed doubts that the district could pull off a system-wide change like the high school redesign.

Dilafruz Williams: “Does this district given its fiscal scenario and constant turnover of personnel, have the capacity to undertake massive reform? Reform one more time, that will impact 100 percent of the district’s schools and communities.”

The board’s approval means that Portland superintendent, Carole Smith, has a green light to move ahead with the high school redesign over the next month and a half.

Board members expect to see a more specific plan in April – a plan that could include the the names of schools slated to close.