In just over a week, Portland voters will decide whether to keep supporting property taxes to pay for building improvements in Oregon’s largest school district.

If the proposed bond measure passes on May 20, it would authorize a continuation of property taxes, paying for building construction, health and safety efforts, and new technology for the district’s more than 43,500 students.

The measure comes at a precarious time for the district.

PPS is bracing for more than $40 million in budget cuts for next school year. But that’s a problem in the general fund, which pays for teachers and programs. Bond money can only be used on buildings and materials.

Meanwhile, community groups have critiqued the district’s handling of money from its 2020 bond, partly regarding delays on projects that serve Black students. Others have voiced concerns that the district hasn’t been clear enough about how it will use money in the 2025 bond.

PPS school board members have addressed some of these concerns as they’ve come up. This past Tuesday night, after concerns were raised, the board passed a resolution committing to prioritize seismic upgrades in the district’s capital improvement strategy if the 2025 bond passes.

And while the Portland community often supports school bonds, there’s been a dip in public and political support for the bond in recent weeks. Willamette Week released a “no” vote endorsement at the end of April, saying the bond process has “lacked the transparency and community engagement necessary for success.” The Oregonian gave a reluctant “yes” endorsement on the bond, comparing the feeling to being backed into a corner.

As voters prepare to mark their ballots in the coming days, here’s an overview of what to know about the bond, the context around it, and why some are not as enthused this time around.

How much would the bond cost? And who would pay for it?

If Portland’s 2025 bond measure passes, and because the tax rate on the district’s existing bonds is scheduled to decline, the tax rate wouldn’t increase. Property owners within district boundaries would continue to pay approximately $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed value.

The total principal amount of bonds authorized by this measure can’t go above $1.83 billion.

If the proposed measure does not pass, these projects would not be completed as proposed, officials explained, and the property tax rate would gradually decrease.

What would that money pay for?

District officials have grouped the bond projects into four categories: rebuilds and modernizations; educational materials, technology, physical education and extracurricular activities; updates and repairs to aging elementary and middle schools; and administration and contingency funds.

The first — rebuilds and modernizations — is the biggest chunk, totaling $974 million, according to the district’s bond website. That money would go toward renovating or replacing Cleveland and Ida B. Wells high schools and completing the planned reconstruction of Jefferson High School.

District officials have stressed that these numbers could change. Schedule delays and tariff fluctuations are among many factors that could influence final costs.

Additionally, district officials said teams are “actively reviewing project details to identify further cost-saving opportunities.” Leaders have said they intentionally avoided being too specific throughout the process to allow for some flexibility. However, this has led to criticism that the district hasn’t been clear or specific enough for voters.

For the second bucket — materials, technology, physical ed and extracurriculars — the district is budgeting $321 million. The bulk of that, $176 million, is for technology. Curriculum would be allotted $56 million, according to the district website, and athletics would get $79 million. The remaining $10 million is set aside for physical education.

The district said it would use money from this funding bucket to provide comprehensive, culturally relevant and up-to-date textbooks and curriculum materials; replace or provide student tablets and laptops; and update classroom and district technology. Officials say they intend to upgrade athletic facilities, including at Roosevelt, Franklin and Grant high schools and West Sylvan Middle School. Plans to improve extracurricular facilities include updates to high school performance and theater spaces.

The third group priority — updates for aging buildings — would get an estimated $366 million. This includes a $100 million unplanned projects reserve fund, as well as money for seismic improvements and retrofits. Officials said any additional high school project savings would go toward elementary and middle school projects.

How does the bond address schools at risk of collapse in an earthquake?

Listed among the safety and security projects is the district’s plan to strengthen buildings to withstand earthquakes. Most PPS buildings were built more than 75 years ago, before Oregon’s earthquake risks were widely known. The issue of school seismic risks is near and dear to many families’ hearts as they send their children to class in these buildings every day.

A group of concerned Portland parents created the group “Safe Structures PPS” to raise awareness around the issue, calling the unreinforced masonry buildings “ticking time bombs.” The group collected just over 400 signatures on a petition calling for the school board to prioritize seismic upgrades if the bond passes.

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At the May 6 meeting, the board unanimously approved a resolution outlining the steps the district has taken in recent years and the steps they promise to take if the bond measure passes this month.

Why aren’t some people happy about the bond?

To start, the school board had lengthy discussions this winter and spring about paring down the high school’s designs to contain costs. Many affected families voiced concerns that the schools being renovated last will lack some of the strongest features of the schools that have already been updated.

The goal to trim down the high school designs didn’t go as planned. Cost estimates remain high — in some cases, much higher than originally anticipated — dimming hopes that more of the repair money could go to elementary and middle schools in need.

District officials insist they are still seeking cost-saving options but that they won’t be able to provide specifics until after the election, as reported by the Oregonian.

Meanwhile, several of the high school rebuilds — such as Grant — have been criticized for being undersized and immediately overcrowded. Yet, PPS faces enrollment declines almost twice the statewide rate.

Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong said in a recent Think Out Loud interview that school closures aren’t out of the realm of possibility for PPS in the near future. These combined factors raise questions about what size the school buildings should be and how uneven enrollment numbers across the city will be balanced.

Some people are upset that the 2020 projects aren’t done. What accountability measures are in place for the new bond?

In addition to the critiques posed earlier this month on Portland’s Center for Black Student Excellence, there are concerns about the delays in school updates, too.

For example, the district has been slow to modernize Jefferson High School. Project managers were forced to regroup after the district couldn’t convince the Jefferson High community to relocate students several miles away to the Marshall campus during construction. Last month, the district terminated its contract with the construction firm it had tapped to lead the Jefferson modernization, as reported by the Oregonian.

According to the 2025 bond website, the district’s Bond Accountability Committee — an independent group of appointed community members — would review quarterly reports and audits of how the bond dollars are spent to provide accountability to the public until construction is complete.

How would the new bond address deferred maintenance concerns across the district?

The district plans to use remaining funds from the aging schools bucket to update or replace several things, including leaking or deteriorating school roofs, heating and cooling infrastructure, electrical and plumbing systems, fire alarms and sprinklers.

PPS Chief Operating Officer Dan Jung said PPS is currently facing a significant backlog of deferred maintenance needs. As a result, all projects are prioritized based on their urgency and potential impact.

Will tariffs play a role?

Likely, yes. Jung told OPB earlier this year that increased construction costs will impact PPS construction projects.

That’s something that district officials have to consider every time there’s a delay in construction. The rise in the cost of goods during the time it takes to plan, design, get permits and start construction can change a district’s ability to finish any project.

As previously reported by OPB, economists and companies warn that Oregon consumers have yet to feel the full effect of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, but that prices are likely to spike this summer. Construction materials are on the list of impacted products.

Speaking of buildings, what’s happening with the PPS headquarters?

The PPS headquarters relocation and its 2025 bond measure are separate initiatives and do not have any direct correlation, Jung told OPB.

That said, the PPS headquarters is a large, aging building that the district owns and has to maintain. It’s also a prime piece of real estate that could be critical to growth in the Albina neighborhood.

Last year, Albina Vision Trust, a nonprofit focused on improving the historically Black neighborhood in North Portland, secured its plans to buy the district building, with the agreement that PPS headquarters would move downtown.

Since then, the school board passed an operating agreement with AVT, which Jung in January described as a significant milestone in the headquarters relocation project.

Last week, the school board approved the property criteria, which will guide the next phase — the search and evaluation of potential sites. Officials expect this to happen this summer.

Are there other bond measures on the May ballot?

Portland’s bond isn’t the only education debate Oregon voters will weigh in on this month. Several districts — including Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro and Salem-Keizer — are in the thick of local school board races, and others will vote on bonds of their own.

The Tigard-Tualatin School District has a $421.3 million bond proposal on the ballot, following their last bond measure back in 2016. Key projects in the new proposal include replacing 50-year-old Fowler Middle School and making significant renovations at four of the district’s oldest elementaries: Bridgeport, Byrom, Durham and Mary Woodward.

If passed, the bond is estimated to cost property owners an additional 99 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, for about 20 years. The median homeowner would pay about $25 more per month in property taxes, according to district estimates.

The suburban Tigard-Tualatin district has a recent history of success at the ballot. Its levy renewal to “retain TTSD teachers and preserve classroom programs” passed easily this past November. But just as bond money can’t be used for teachers, the levy money can’t be used for capital construction projects. (A simple phrase often repeated in education circles to remember this: “Bonds are for buildings. Levies are for learning.”)

Cost-conscious voters in Tigard-Tualatin might want to know there is money on the table if their bond passes: the state of Oregon has committed to awarding Tigard-Tualatin a grant of $8.28 million to fund additional projects, but only if the bond passes this month.

“We think it’s important that voters know that this measure, if passed, would only be used to pay for local projects,” Superintendent Iton Udosenata said in a recent statement.

“It’s also worth noting that although these are primarily learning spaces,” he said, “our schools are community assets that thousands of people enjoy every month for meetings, sporting events, plays, concerts and green spaces.”

The Oregon City School District also has a bond measure on the May ballot — the third phase of the district’s long-range capital projects plan. They’re proposing a $163 million bond, which would bump up costs for property owners in the district.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/05/11/oregon-education-portland-public-schools-2025-bond-budget-building-improvements/