Portland Public Schools faces a crisis. But the question should not only be which schools to close, but how to build a district that families choose. Right now, only one of those questions is being asked, (“PPS families question plan to close 5-10 schools,” April 14).
PPS enrollment has fallen 12% since 2018. The causes are well-documented — housing costs that push families out of the city, a pandemic-era loss of trust and demographic shifts. A Brookings Institution report found that 12% of Oregon’s school-age children were unaccounted for — not in public school, not in private school. They are simply outside the system.
Yet at a recent community meeting, PPS families were not asked whether closing schools is the right approach or how to reverse declining enrollment…