Reform PPS Funding

Updates

May 7, 2024
Board Policy Committee Update: On Tuesday night, the PPS board voted 5-2 in favor of adopting a policy to create a district-wide foundation and advocacy entity. Directors Brim-Edwards, DePass, Wang, Vice-Chair Greene and Chair Hollands all voted yes, along with student representative Frankie Silverstein, who said that the District Student Council expressed a “deep belief in the importance of this policy change.”

You can watch discussion leading up to the vote here, including public comment from Grace Groom, PPS teacher, parent and member of the Community Budget Review Committee.

Grace noted, “I hope people realize the incredible turning point this presents for our district so that families, teachers, administrators, community-based organizations and businesses supporting schools across our district receive a clear message from the Board that we are ONE public school district.”

Director Wang: “The reason I am excited about this and I want to be positive is it’s not just fundraising, but it’s also advocacy, a central advocacy point…. We have so many parents that are unable to contribute financially, but they want to contribute somehow and this gives an avenue for that.”

Director Hollands: “I am extremely hopeful…. As an elected official that is asked to look at all of our kids. I am hopeful that the plan that is put together that is more drilled down can be more inclusive of everyone and bringing everyone together.”

Director DePass: “Maya Angelou said it best when she said, ‘You do the best that you can until you know better, and when you know better, you do better…. This is the time to change [the policy]. Not next year. Not tomorrow. Not in two years. But tonight.”

Director Brim-Edwards: “I’m looking forward to moving forward and working with parents, teachers, administrators in not only passing our local options…, but also harnessing the collective power that I know exists in this community on the behalf of public schools.”

April 2024
Policy Update: The PPS School Board is set to vote on the new fundraising policy to unify the district under a single foundation on May 7. We understand that there are concerns related to the policy change. We hope that by sharing sourced information, we can help alleviate the understandable fears that arise when facing transitions. While reasonable people can have differing opinions on this topic, our hope is that communities can hold respectful discussions that focus on a fair assessment of the merits with a shared basis in fact. Please feel free to reach out with questions or if you have other concerns you’d like help addressing.

Concern 1: This policy change will result in "the elimination of over 100 student-facing positions in the 25-26 school year."

This year, foundation dollars and Parent Fund grants combined funded a grand total of 27.23 FTE. This included:
- 7.17 certified FTE (teachers and specialists)
- 19.46 classified FTE (for example, EAs, study hall monitors, administrative assistants)
- 0.6 non-represented FTE
One FTE = Full Time Employee, and when foundations pay for a portion of a position, that is counted as a part of an FTE. In PPS, Foundations have never funded anywhere near 100 FTE in a year. It is misleading to say “100 positions” when the reality is, these dollars pay for small portions of many positions adding up to a total of 27.23 FTE.
- Out of 83 schools, only 22 received more than .5 FTE (and only 5 of those got 1.0 or more FTE).
- In the schools that supported FTE using parent fund grants, the FTE that was paid for ranged from 0.01 FTE to 0.35 FTE; see table for more detail. All of these schools are receiving smaller grants for 24/25 than they received this year.
- 35 schools had NO FTE from foundation dollars or Parent Fund grants this year.
Assuming that any position paid for in any part by Foundation or Parent Fund dollars would be eliminated is misleading. Some of the positions counted in this list have a foundation/parent fund contribution as small as .01 or .02 FTE, which comes out to a cost of less than $1,000 for a classified position—source in the document linked above. This also assumes that the district-wide foundation would raise zero dollars to replace LSF funds.

Concern 2: There are “no replacement funds in place.”

The Fund for PPS, an independent 501c3 supporting the district, will continue to be the nonprofit that stewards money raised for additional staff; if this policy passes this will happen for all schools in the district together instead of in separate accounts for each school. We don't yet know how much that fund will raise, but that is not the same as saying "there is no guaranteed replacement." For that matter, we don't know how much LSFs would raise next year either. The total has dropped by about 40% since the 2017/18 school year. We never know from year to year how much money will be fundraised, and many schools that receive grants do not get them every year under the current system.
A district-wide foundation model provides opportunities for fundraising that PPS has not yet tapped into. Examples:
- Parents with the capacity to participate but who don’t have active foundations or don't participate in LSFs in their schools can more easily engage.
- Local businesses and community members in entire sections of town where the schools do not have foundations can now be included in supporting additional staff for PPS.
- Parents with expertise raising money, planning inclusive events, creating graphics, applying for grants, developing communication, understanding legislative processes, and more can work together across school communities more readily and efficiently when we all have a shared goal.
- Rather than many individual schools planning and hosting events, paying for event spaces, marketing, etc., multiple schools can come together to lighten the burden on volunteers and resources by planning larger events together that can include multiple communities--think cluster-wide or beyond!
- Developing organizational connections between school parent communities allows for a streamlined flow of information--imagine carpools to Salem, links to letter-writing templates and relevant legislative summaries, updates about the next city-wide dine-out fundraiser or Timbers tickets supporting PPS, etc...

Concern 3: Now is not the time to make this change, “on top of the $30 million in budget cuts.”

One thing we have learned after our years of work on this issue is that there will NEVER be a “perfect time” to make changes that disrupt longstanding practices. We know that some folks will not ever be on board unless the changes are so minimal or drawn out as to be meaningless. There have been excuses and delays every single year from people on the board and at PPS who say, I agree with you but now is not the time, there’s too much uncertainty, there’s not enough money, we can’t afford to do this now even though we clearly see inequitable outcomes. The majority of school board members have voted to keep this policy moving forward. The committees are reconfigured every summer. This IS the right time to take this step and work together to create the most effective and equitable path forward.

Concern 4: "The policy committee has intentionally advanced this proposal under the radar."

For the last 6 years, the policy committee has held publicly noticed meetings to discuss this potential reform. There have been community meetings, round tables, and administrator surveys. There has been newspaper, magazine, and radio coverage. There have been dozens of public commenters on both sides of the issue and hundreds of emails sent. Nothing about this proposal has ever been “under the radar,” rather it has been the result of persistent effort, in the public eye, following PPS’s process allowing community members to bring policy forward.

As we move closer to seeing this policy passed, it is more important than ever to work to heal our communities and our trust in PPS to come together as one district to achieve the goals that we know we all share--an excellent, equitable education system in Portland and the entire state of Oregon.

April 11, 2024
Board Policy Committee Update: The Policy Committee met on Thursday, and voted unanimously to proceed with a second reading of the draft policy supporting the move to a district-wide foundation to the full Board.

Three parents testified on behalf of the creation of a district-wide foundation:

The draft policy is currently in a mandatory 21-day public comment period. Community members can provide comments through this form (select “Revision: District-Wide Fundraising and Advocacy 7.10.020-P” from the drop-down menu). The Board wants to hear from students, parents, teachers/staff and community groups as soon as possible!

March 18, 2024
Board Policy Committee Update: The Policy Committee met on Monday, and after years of discussion voted unanimously to send a draft policy supporting the move to a district-wide foundation to the full Board.

Two parents testified on behalf of the creation of a district-wide foundation:

The draft policy will be presented to the full Board in April for a first reading, followed by a 21-day comment period. The Board needs to hear from you! Please reach out to express your support for the draft policy under consideration that unites PPS under a single district-wide foundation: jbrim-edwards@pps.net, mdepass@pps.net, eddiewang@pps.net, ghollands@pps.net, anscott@pps.net, psullivan@pps.net, hermangreene@pps.net, and fsilverstein@pps.net.

March 4, 2024
Board Policy Committee Update: The Policy Committee met on Monday, and continued discussion and review of the draft policies introduced in February. Three parents testified on behalf of the creation of a district-wide foundation:

Jessica and Suzanne shared their experiences advocating in Salem, emphasizing the power of PPS parents uniting district-wide for the benefit of ALL schools. Ryan offered suggestions for the Board's approach to transitioning to a district-wide foundation based on his experience as a policy analyst.

Please reach out to the committee members to express your support for the draft policy under consideration that unites PPS under a single district-wide foundation: jbrim-edwards@pps.net, mdepass@pps.net, and eddiewang@pps.net.

February 12, 2024
Board Policy Committee Update: The Policy Committee met on Monday, where Chair Brim-Edwards brought forward two draft policies for discussion. Three parents and one student testified on behalf of the creation of a district-wide foundation:

Aili spoke powerfully to the fact that she and many of her peers didn't know of the existence of foundations. She shared this thought: "I want to be clear, all public schools are underfunded. Foundations are a stop gap measure and the money they raise for their schools makes a difference. But our communities don’t deserve less because we are more diverse."

Once again, we urge you to share your support for the draft policy under consideration that unites PPS under a single district-wide foundation. Please reach out to the committee members to express your support: jbrim-edwards@pps.net, mdepass@pps.net, and eddiewang@pps.net.

November 30, 2023
Board Policy Committee Update: The Policy Committee met, and discussion of the Foundation Policy was on the agenda. Three community members testified on behalf of the creation of a district-wide foundation:

Mike called for a shift to a district-wide foundation and greater focus on advocacy: "it feels weird that the excuse for not changing the system is that the people who currently benefit the most don't want it to be changed. If instead the Board can deliver the consistent message that public schools are where we build community and educate all our kids in ways that set them up for success and improve their long-term success and well being, then maybe people will start to connect the dots...I hope the district can continue to rally parents of all incomes from around the district to advocate for further reform of the state tax system to adequately fund our schools."

September 18, 2023
Board Policy Committee Update: The Policy Committee met, and discussion of the Foundation Policy was on the agenda. Three community members testified on behalf of the creation of a district-wide foundation:

Grace Groom ended her testimony with these words: "One pot of money, equitably distributed, no more deflecting."

Community support for the draft policy will help ensure that it gets moved to the full board for a vote. Please reach out to the committee members to express your support: jbrim-edwards@pps.net, mdepass@pps.net, and eddiewang@pps.net.

August 28, 2023

Board Policy Committee Update: The Foundation Policy is on the work plan for this year’s policy committee which is chaired by

Director Julia Brim-Edwards with Directors Michelle DePass and Eddie Wang serving as members.

Today, at Committee Chair, Julia Brim-Edwards' request, our group submitted a draft policy around a sunset of existing local school foundation policies with an end goal of a district-wide foundation policy. Here’s the testimony that was shared at that meeting:

Suzanne Clarke, parent at Roosevelt High School

We encourage you to reach out to the policy committee members and share your support for this proposed path forward. You may contact them at jbrim-edwards@pps.net, mdepass@pps.net, and eddiewang@pps.net.

May 9, 2023

CBRC Calls for Reform: The PPS Community Budget Review Committee (CBRC) released their annual budget review report for 2023-2024 and in the report called on the District to move to a collective district-wide foundation model of fundraising:

"It is important to note that individual school foundation funds should be acknowledged as inequities. Because these funds are included in the budget document, making this open for CBRC review, we want to highlight the inequities here. The foundation is highlighted in the budget on page 134. CBRC has made note that some schools have more access to foundation funds than others and this increased funding is largely available to schools serving populations of higher SES and lower percentages of Black, brown, and indigenous students. We encourage the district to develop strategies to decrease the inequities including but not limited to policy revisions that could provide for a collective foundation district-wide to distribute collected donations in a more equitable fashion.”

April 27, 2023

Board Policy Committee Update: During last week’s Board Policy Committee meeting, Director Brim-Edwards and Director Hollands agreed to meet and begin work on drafting a new policy that will bring PPS foundation policy more in line with PPS’s Core Values. It was expressed that it is unlikely that a draft policy will be presented before the full Board this session, but there was a sense of urgency among some board members to work as quickly as possible. Here’s the testimony that was shared at that meeting:

April 19, 2023

The Editorial Board for Lincoln High School's student newspaper, The Cardinal Times, published a call for foundation fundraising reform.

Here’s an excerpt:

"Our current fundraising system tricks us into believing that each school exists simply by itself. It denies our place in the district, restricts our reach and limits our perspective to just being within our own school boundaries: school boundaries which were historically drawn on the basis of race with redlining. Foundation fundraising as it exists now fundamentally polarizes the school communities of this city on the basis of class and race. This is fundamentally opposed to the ideal of public education. Public education should not be made of atomized “clubs” linked loosely together by a district, but instead be a public good we all serve to maintain.

The policy we have now is broken. It creates inequitable outcomes on the basis of race. So we must fix it. Even if it’s unpopular, and even if it’s hard, because it’s the right thing to do. Because, if not now, when? For as much as opponents to change can try to point out problems with the general fund policy, they can not dispute the necessity of fixing inequality, and they can not find a better time than Right. This. Instant."

April 3, 2023

IT'S TIME TO ADVOCATE TO INCREASE PUBLIC FUNDING FOR PPS!!! Here's what you can do...

Testify at the Joint Ways and Means Committee Roadshow on Saturday, April 8, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Ask for a minimum of $10.3 billion for the State School Fund on Saturday, April 8, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m @ Portland Community College PAC Auditorium, Sylvania Campus, 12000 SW 49th Ave, Portland, OR 97219. Sign up to testify.

E-mail your legislators asking for no less than $10.3 billion for the State School Fund. First, read more about HB 5015: The State School Fund Bill. Next, find your legislator. Then, write and send your e-mail. Here's a sample message you can send to your House representative and please add Rep. Sanchez (Rep.TawnaSanchez@oregonlegislature.gov) and Joint Ways and Means Committee Co-Chairs Frederick (Sen.LewFrederick@oregonlegislature.gov) and McLain (rep.susanmclain@oregonlegislature.gov):

"Dear legislators, I’m writing to urge you to oppose HB 5015, which does not adequately fund our schools. The Department of Administrative Services (DAS) initially proposed appropriating $9.52 Billion to the State School Fund. This amount represents only a 2.36% increase for the biennium from our current allocation of $9.3 billion to the State School Fund. A 2.36% increase is not enough to meet the needs of our students, address our workforce challenges, or even address basic inflationary cost pressures. The State School Fund needs a minimum appropriation of $10.3 billion to maintain current funding and staffing levels for our schools."

Request a hearing for HB 3221: Local Option Revenue Limits. This bill will raise the statutory limits on local option property taxes. In a nutshell, it will allow Portland to keep more of the funds it raises through property taxes and directly funds our PPS schools. If passed, it could really help PPS funding. But unless it gets a hearing, that won't happen. Here's a sample email you can send to the Committee Chair Nancy Nathanson, at Rep.NancyNathanson@oregonlegislature.gov
Share these advocacy steps with every Oregonian you know!

ADDITIONAL ADVOCACY OPPORTUNITIES

April 12th at 6 pm: Community Discussion on Local School Foundation Reform. Foundation Policy Reform is still up in the air! The policy committee agreed at its last meeting that increasing the equity contribution from 33% to 50% was not equitable. Please attend a community discussion on local school foundation reform hosted by PPS Board Director Gary Hollands on April 12th at 6pm at the Matthew Prophet Education Service Center. Make sure your school's voice is heard!

April 13th from 4:30pm to 6:30pm: Educators and Parents Uniting! an External Organizing Meeting. PAT (Portland Association of Teachers) is inviting all parents / guardians / community members to have dinner and meet with PAT members at the PAT office, located at 345 NE 8th Ave. On the agenda for the evening is - defending public education, how PTA's and PAT can work together, ways to engage and support our public schools, and FUN! Please RSVP so they know how much to order for dinner. Kids are welcome but childcare is not provided. And if you aren't able to make it but would like to be informed of future PAT events and happenings you can join the PAT Community Support email list.

February 16, 2023

Several community members spoke in favor of reform at the policy committee meeting including:

February 13, 2023

Members of the Reform PPS Funding group submitted this memo and draft policy proposing a district-wide foundation model for FTE to members of the PPS School Board Policy Committee.

January 26, 2023

Foundation policy was not on the agenda at the policy committee meeting but several community members spoke in favor of reform at the work session including:

December 6, 2022

The full PPS Board held a second work session on the foundation policy. The goal of the work session was to provide the staff and policy committee direction regarding the foundation policy.

Several community members spoke in favor of reform at the work session including:

November 14, 2022

The full PPS Board held a work session on the foundation policy. The goal of the work session was to provide Board members with historical data and materials to support giving the staff and policy committee direction regarding the foundation policy.

In response to the materials compiled for the session, our group sent a letter with outstanding questions/thoughts not addressed in the materials and additional data we feel the Board should take into consideration.

Several community members spoke in favor of reform at the work session including:

June 22, 2022

The PPS Strategic Partnerships Department recently surveyed school administrators, met with District Student Council, and hosted two targeted parent roundtable sessions about school-based fundraising in PPS. The roundtable discussions took place at Roosevelt High School and McDaniel High School – the first time the district has done concerted outreach on this effort to non-fundraising communities.

The resulting report was discussed at the Policy Committee meeting on June 22, and several participants from the McDaniel roundtable provided public comment at the meeting including:

March 30, 2022

Recently, an OPB producer reached out to us after learning about our website. A 20-minute segment on Think Out Loud aired yesterday featuring discussion with PPS Board Chair Michelle DePass and a member of this group, Beth Cavanaugh. We hope our participation in this conversation helps to inform more PPS stakeholders about the PPS foundation system and encourage additional voices to join in the policy reform discussion.

March 1, 2022
2022-2023 Parent Fund Awards Announced

As reported last month, fundraising by Local School Foundations dropped by about 50% in 2021. Last week, PPS released the Parent Fund Awards for 2022-23 resulting from the funds raised in 2021. 56 schools and programs will receive grants ranging from $5,000 to $15,000, down from last year when 61 schools received awards ranging from $10,000 to $30,000.

The following data from these two reports contrasts the top foundation spending on FTE for each school tier with the Parent Fund Award amounts for the same tiers:

ELEMENTARY

Top Foundation Spending on FTE 2020-2021: $143,830 (Bridlemile)
Parent Fund Award for 2022-2023: $10,000

K-8

Top Foundation Spending on FTE 2020-2021: $96,947 (Laurelhurst)
Parent Fund Award for 2022-2023: $12,000

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Top Foundation Spending on FTE 2020-2021: $67,722 (West Sylvan)
Parent Fund Award for 2022-2023: $12,000

HIGH SCHOOL

Top Foundation Spending on FTE 2020-2021: $192,881 (Lincoln)
Parent Fund Award for 2022-2023: $15,000

February 2022
Statement of Solidarity: PPS Staffing Cuts

We stand in solidarity against any staffing cuts across our district at a time when our schools and kids need these resources most, and instead continue to call for increased staffing and budget across the district in accordance with the Oregon Constitution.

While some schools will turn inward and focus on fundraising to help meet the needs in their own schools, these efforts will be insufficient to make up for reduced teaching staff even in PPS’ wealthiest and best-resourced communities.

Meanwhile, schools without the resources or infrastructure to raise funds will be further left behind, increasing inequity across the district.

October 2021

Important PPS Foundation Funding Policy Update (10/20/2021)

June 2021

Foundation Policy Update 6.14.21

May 2021

PPS Policy Committee places foundation policies on the committee agenda (5/10/2021)
Read more in the Foundation Policy Update 5.18.21
Letter to the PPS Board from school group leaders at 32 PPS schools (5/10/2021)
"PPS’s current foundation policy has been an obstacle to closing achievement gaps by allowing our school community members to operate in silos of concern and forgo their civic duty to demand adequate funding for all public schools. This is why the PPS Board policy committee must take immediate action to reform PPS policy 7.10.030-P District Foundation, which allows private funding of teachers and staff. We believe that parent and caregiver involvement is a valuable asset to all schools and should not be discouraged, but allowing fundraising to buy teachers is in direct opposition to PPS’s Racial Educational Equity Policy goal “to provide every student with equitable access to high quality and culturally relevant instruction, curriculum, support, facilities and other educational resources, even when this means differentiating resources to accomplish this goal.”

January 2021 - April 2021
Public Comments before PPS Policy Committee

Beth Cavanaugh, Parent at Abernethy Elementary (4/26/21)
Cara Haskey, Parent at Alameda Elementary (3/8/21)
Justin Godoy, 5th grade teacher at Rigler Elementary (2/25/21)
Megan Mermis, Parent at Laurelhurst K-8 (2/25/21)
Cara Haskey, Parent at Alameda Elementary (2/25/21)
Susan Carson, Parent at Roseway Heights Middle School (1/25/21)
Kendra Wise, Parent at Robert Gray Middle School, former fundraiser at Bridlemile Elementary (1/25/21)

2019

PPS Community Budget Review Committee (CBRC) 2019 Report: "CBRC is concerned that the district’s focus on equity may be undermined by the lack of transparency and accountability for independent school foundations. Many schools with independent school foundations are raising significant revenue to further enhance learning experiences and opportunities at their already enriched schools. The impact, unintended or not, is that opportunity and achievement gaps between students attending schools in wealthier communities and their less-affluent counterparts are exacerbated despite the district's efforts to level the playing field."

2018

PPS Community Budget Review Committee (CBRC) 2018 Report: "Independent school foundations are designed to expand resources within the District. However, the current funding model exacerbates inequities across the District. The highest fundraising schools are typically schools in higher income/higher wealth neighborhoods. Sharing one‐third of the funds, above $10,000 across the District does not ensure equity because the current redistribution is still so heavily skewed toward the fundraising school. We direct the Board to make the distribution of foundation funds more equitable and eliminate fundraising loopholes.”

May 2017

Letter to the editor from Foundation leaders at 17 PPS schools: When school foundations pay, the majority of students lose (Letter to the editor) (Oregonian, 5/15/2017)