PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Parents packed the auditorium at Ockley Green Middle School in North Portland’s Arbor Lodge neighborhood Thursday night, looking for answers about what their children’s schools could lose and whether state lawmakers could help prevent cuts.
Portland Public Schools is asking the state for help with a projected $65 million budget gap for the 2027–28 school year. The district says it could cut the equivalent of up to 450 full-time positions. PPS has cited rising retirement costs and declining enrollment as pressures on its budget.
Two Democrats who spoke with KATU at the forum, state Rep. Zach Hudson and Rep.-elect Tammy Carpenter, said Oregon should give public schools more money. Neither gave a dollar amount for how much more PPS might receive or a date when the money could reach the district.
Where would the money come from?
Hudson, who chairs the House Education Committee and teaches in east Multnomah County, pointed to the Gresham-Barlow School District. He said the district cut its elementary music program because it lacked the money to keep it…