On Tuesday, March 10, Superintendent Ryan Scallon presented the proposed budget for the 2026-2027 school year to the Portland Board of Public Education and the public. He started his presentation of the fiscal year 2027 (FY27) budget with a report of the improved outcomes for students the district has been seeing over the past two years of implementation of its five-year Strategic Plan—particularly for  economically disadvantaged students, multilingual students learning English, and students with IEPs in reading and in math. The proposed budget aims to build on that progress while confronting fiscal challenges.

Under the state school funding formula, Portland’s state funding is slated to decrease by $4.1million in FY27, due to decreasing enrollment and the City’s increasing property values. This budget strives to balance addressing reduced enrollment and funding while making strategic investments to maintain the district’s momentum for student success.
The FY27 budget of $179.9 million consists of a local budget of $167.4 million and $12.5
million in additional funds.

This budget would raise the school portion of the property tax rate by 7.3 percent
($0.46) per $1,000 of assessed value). For the owner of a median-priced $566,600
home, the budget would raise property taxes by approximately $261 per year or
$21.75 per month.

The superintendent acknowledged the responsibility inherent in this request. Portland taxpayers are partners in this work. The community's investment is producing measurable results: higher math and ELA proficiency, narrowing gaps, reduced absenteeism, fewer suspensions, and stronger early learning systems.

The community is invited to participate and share their ideas in the budget meetings over the next month to help improve on the proposed budget. There also are multiple Board engagement sessions for the PPS community to share their perspectives on the budget and other issues. Please view the Board calendar to view engagement opportunities. Please participate—your feedback is important.

The proposed FY27 Budget, the Budget Presentation, the Budget Calendar and FY27 Budget FAQ’s are all available on our website.