Before a decision
PPS is rushing one of this city’s most consequential decisions in decades. Here are three key areas to understand.
Scroll through the three concerns, or use the arrows.
The integrity of the data and analysis used to justify the District’s proposed school closure scenarios.
Explore the dataThe lack of clarity around existing infrastructure and logistics planning for a major move affecting more than one-quarter of the district’s students, teachers and staff in less than 12 months.
Understand planning concernsThe lack of specific, outcome-bound metrics for PPS to measure the ongoing success of this massive transition.
Understand accountabilityBased on collective feedback from more than 800 PPS families
Portland Public Schools released two “rightsizing” proposals on October 5, 2026. Proposal A lists 14 school closures and Proposal B lists 11. Both propose boundary changes. These are proposals; the School Board makes the final decision.
As of , PPS lists a superintendent’s recommendation in November and a Board vote in December. Check the PPS timeline for updates.
Compare the PPS school closure proposalsThe challenge ahead for PPS and districts nationwide facing declining enrollment is real, and action must be taken. This could include school closures and redistricting for a district now at nearly half its peak capacity.
To date, Portland Public Schools’ process has raised more questions than answers. As a community, we have one chance to get this right. We cannot afford to overlook the real and persistent questions around the current school closure proposals—both Proposal A and Proposal B.
As PPS parents, we’re calling on the District to work with us in developing a more comprehensive solution that better addresses the many unanswered questions that remain.
Released proposals, not final decisions.
Explore enrollment and capacity data, compare schools, and visualize Proposals A and B.
Open the interactive explorer
Example: Proposal A · Map data © OpenStreetMap
Find ways to take action, explore our questions, and read and share the research.
Seven resources to read and share.
Community action · Hit Pause PPS
A community petition asking the PPS Board to pause school closure decisions for a year and develop alternatives with families and teachers.
Read and sign the petition
Before a decision
Our vision for a more comprehensive solution, with questions about alternatives, accountability, data, and transition planning.
Read our open letter
Questions from Save PDX Schools
Read our questions about proposal costs, student support, staffing, and the evidence needed before a Board vote.
Read the questions
Family guide · Google Doc
A family guide to peaceful, student-led sit-outs, including the purpose, format, caregiver support, and frequently asked questions.
Read the sit-out guide
Presentation · September 2026
Learn more about how “rightsizing” campaigns have negatively impacted other communities across the U.S. – as well as how communities have successfully rallied against similar proposals.
PDF · 14 slides · 675 KB
Read the presentation
Background & research
Read the campaign’s original eight arguments, the research behind them, and the questions that still need answers.
Read the eight key points
Download “Save PDX Schools” postcard templates. In addition to directly emailing your representatives, consider hosting a letter-writing party that involves your neighbors and other community members. Here, you can find several ready-to-download templates; all you need are stamps!
Download the vertical postcard (PDF, 612 KB)Presentation source: “Rightsizing” Response for PTAs, provided by the campaign. PDF snapshot exported September 27, 2026; the presentation’s wording and source links are preserved. Download the presentation PDF.
Earlier campaign arguments are collected here with their original source notes and evidence limits.
The data is clear: “rightsizing” means fewer schools, larger classes and lower student performance.
If “rightsizing” is passed, it will have disastrous impacts on not only the affected schools but also the entire Portland community.
Now is the time to make your voice heard to help ensure we avoid a decision that will set all of Portland back for years to come.
According to the district, “rightsizing” is our only choice to address declining enrollment issues and ensure PPS’ sustainability in the long term. While the challenges they cite are very real, we firmly reject the premise that “rightsizing” is the “best” or “only” option.
In the spirit of grounding the “rightsizing” discussion in the facts, here are some key truths to understand:
In spite of the optimistic name, “rightsizing” is an emerging trend among education policymakers that seeks to consolidate schools and increase class sizes, in the name of sustainability. It flouts decades of conventional wisdom and academic research that clearly demonstrate the merits of smaller class sizes and greater choice among schools.
Related source: PPS “rightsizing” FAQ. The proposed closure count and class-size outcome need a specific scenario citation.
Once a school closure starts, students suffer a well-documented learning loss process that slows their rate of learning and can often have long-term ramifications for their academic development.
Source supplied: UChicago, When Schools Close (2009), executive summary. The study found an announcement-year learning loss and average recovery afterward. It does not establish inevitable lasting harm or Portland’s future outcomes.
Time and again, closing schools, which typically serve as an anchor of a given neighborhood, creates additional hardships for communities – especially if they’re already struggling.
Source supplied: NEA, Closing Schools: Privatization Disguised as “Accountability”. Advocacy reporting on other communities, not a Portland impact estimate.
Throughout the process, PPS has cited Oregon’s Quality Education Model (QEM) as a guiding principle for “rightsizing” schools. However, the QEM’s prototypes recommend average class sizes of 20 students for elementary schools and 17.7 students for middle schools—a stark contrast to the 30+ student average class sizes that even the most conservative “rightsizing” process will yield.
Model reference: Oregon QEM 2026, printed p. 92. The prototypes use average class sizes of 20 (elementary) and 17.7 (middle), as recommendations rather than mandates. The projected PPS 30+ class size still needs a specific scenario citation.
In recent months, both PPS and the School Board have cited the Southeast Guiding Coalition (SEGC), a process which saw the district redraw boundaries and feeder patterns, and relocate schools in Southeast Portland in 2023. Since that time, the following is true:
Source needed: the SEGC evaluation, comparison periods, and tables supporting these enrollment, student-support, and staff-retention figures.
In 2025, Jefferson County proposed almost the exact same playbook, framed around “fewer but more robustly-resourced schools.” In a similarly sized district to PPS that was also dealing with an almost $60 million annual budget deficit, this process has only exacerbated their issues: the district has seen its budget gap increase even after selling vacant buildings, and announced 139 position reductions in December 2025 for the following school year (with 50 employees notified). The district has already dipped into reserve funds; critically, enrollment kept falling, even after the “rightsizing” process was put in place.
Reporting: Colorado Public Radio, December 19, 2025. Supports the announced job reductions and budget gap; it does not establish that school closures caused the gap to grow.
According to the School Board during its September 1, 2026 open meeting, even in a post-“rightsizing” world, PPS won’t be in a place to consider “well-resourced” schools until at least the 2031-32 academic year. The goal in the interim is to get to “stability” – a marked contrast from its previous assurances that the “rightsizing” process would mean students would have better access to arts, gym and other extracurricular activities.
Source needed: the September 1, 2026 recording timestamp and presentation page for the quoted commitments and 2031–32 date.
The district’s central office has repeatedly referred to “rightsizing” as the “only option” for charting a more sustainable path forward for PPS, which couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s a playbook that numerous districts across the U.S. have tried in recent years, usually with disastrous results.
While there’s no obvious “silver bullet” solution, a litany of options exist that can address PPS’ sustainability problem in a far less damaging way, among them:
These are proposed alternatives. Their costs, capacity, and feasibility need separate assessment.
→ The bottom line: This “rightsizing” proposal is being framed as the best and only option for PPS, when neither is true.
This entire process has been rushed, opaque and has consistently cherry-picked facts while ignoring the clear-cut data that shows we’re setting ourselves up for disaster.
It’s time to call on not only the school board, but also the Governor’s office to step in and ensure we stop this process before it’s too late to explore other, more truly sustainable alternative solutions.
Hear from the decision-makers, in their own words. Access transcripts from recent public PPS meetings here to monitor what the school board and PPS officials are saying about “rightsizing”, in their own words.
Automated transcripts may contain errors. Check the recording before quoting.
Browse meeting transcriptsSee the district’s planned milestones and find opportunities to take part.
Event times use Portland time. Open the full calendar if the agenda does not load.
The district plans community outreach and feedback on the two “rightsizing” proposals during October and November.
PPS plans for the Superintendent to present a formal recommendation to the School Board on November 17.
A School Board vote is planned for December 15, with implementation beginning in the 2027–28 school year if approved.
Sources: October 6 Board memo and Board presentation. Dates are planned milestones; this page does not report an outcome of the October 6 meeting. Official PPS timeline. Compare the released proposals.
Election Day in Portland. While this doesn’t directly impact the “rightsizing” process, it is when Portland and the rest of Oregon will cast their votes for our next governor. To date, neither of the two major candidates has weighed in on the “rightsizing” campaign.
PPS released two “rightsizing” proposals on October 5 for presentation to the School Board on October 6. Proposal A identifies 14 school closures; Proposal B identifies 11. The presentation does not request a Board decision.
Board memo · Presentation · Compare the proposals
Organizers invited parents, PPS school staff, and other community allies to gather in person for the October 6 meeting.
501 N Dixon Street
Portland, Oregon
Organizers announced a 5 p.m. gathering in front of the district office and 6 p.m. doors. These are the announced logistics, not a report of attendance or meeting outcomes.
Take part
Write to your representatives using the message tool. Review and edit your message before sending it from your own email account.
For the latest, be sure to join our group on WhatsApp.
Add a calendar subscription using this public iCal link.
Event times use Portland time. Open the full calendar
