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Portland school closures could redirect bond-funded earthquake upgrades
A parent advocacy group is pressing Portland Public Schools to explain how it will spend seismic bond money if schools slated for upgrades are closed. The district says it will use its existing project-selection process and bring proposals to the school board.
Portland Public Schools should explain how it will redirect seismic-upgrade money if schools selected for work are closed, a parent advocacy group says, as the district weighs proposals to shutter 11 or 14 schools.
Safe Structures PPS sent a letter Tuesday to Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong raising concerns that students could remain in some of the district’s highest-risk buildings even as school closures move forward. The group also questioned the prospect of closing schools that have already received seismic improvements or are in line for them.
The district’s proposed closure scenarios, released in early October amid declining enrollment, include Lewis, Maplewood and Stephenson elementary schools, which have received recent seismic upgrades. Marysville Elementary, the most recently fully retrofitted school, is also on the list and has contractual obligations tied to state funding for the work, according to the letter.
The proposals could also affect planned projects at Rose City Park Elementary, one of two schools the district had considered for a full retrofit, and Beach Elementary, where an upgrade is expected to cost about $10 million. Safe Structures asked where money set aside for those projects would go if the schools close.
The group helped press PPS in 2025 to reserve $100 million of a $1.83 billion school bond for seismic work. Nine schools were identified for upgrades in late 2025 through a ranking process that considered earthquake risk, facility condition and enrollment. The bond money is intended to support work at roughly eight to 10 schools posing the greatest risk of injury or death.
“To assure the PPS community—not to mention the voters who supported the bond itself—PPS must do more to outline how it will reallocate any funds for planned retrofits at schools now slated to be closed,” wrote group parent Per Olstad.
A district spokesperson said PPS is continuing design and engineering work at a pace intended to prioritize seismic projects funded by the 2025 bond. If a school selected for seismic work closes, staff will apply the district’s existing project-selection strategy and present projects for a board decision, the spokesperson said.
The district said discussions about school properties will take place after the board’s final decision, scheduled for Dec. 15. The outcome will shape both which school communities remain open and how the bond’s safety upgrades are allocated.