$18 million spent upgrading Portland schools that could now close

Nearly $18 million has already been spent upgrading Portland schools facing closure, with another $50 million in voter-approved projects planned.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Public Schools is considering closing 14 schools to help address a $65 million budget deficit, but several of those buildings have recently undergone millions of dollars in improvements — while tens of millions more in taxpayer-funded projects are still planned.

The possibility is drawing anger and frustration from parents at Rose City Park Elementary School, where a major earthquake safety project is already in the works.

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“It will totally rip apart the fabric of our neighborhood,” said Annie Hopman, who has two children at Rose City Park.

Another parent, Trẻ Trâu, said families have worked to build a community around the school.

“We have been building a sense of belonging to this school and this community,” Trâu said.

$50 million in projects planned at two schools

Just last year, taxpayers approved a bond that includes about $40 million: $20 million for seismic upgrades to the Rose City Park building and $20 million for a new roof. The project is currently in the design phase, with construction anticipated to begin in summer 2028.

Another $10 million from the 2025 bond is budgeted for a targeted seismic retrofit at Beach Elementary School. That project is also in design, with construction expected to begin in summer 2028.

Both schools are now on the district’s list of 14 schools that could close.

“Yeah, this was a big surprise for us,” Hopman said.

Combined, about $50 million in voter-approved earthquake upgrades are planned for the two schools.

For Hopman, that raises another question: What happens to the buildings if the schools close?

“It will just be a giant, empty, hulking building,” she said.

Portland Public Schools stressed to KGW that the bond projects and the potential school closures were determined through two separate processes.

Millions already spent at other schools on closure list

The $50 million planned for Rose City Park and Beach does not include millions of dollars in projects that have recently been completed or are nearing completion at other schools facing possible closure.

At Woodmere Elementary School, construction that began in summer 2025 is wrapping up on a new roof. The project, funded through the 2020 bond, has a budget of about $6 million and is expected to be substantially complete by the end of October.

At Marysville Elementary School, a roughly $7 million full seismic retrofit was substantially completed in September.

Five other schools on the closure list have also undergone earthquake improvements.

Lewis Elementary: About $1.2 million for a full seismic retrofitSellwood Middle School: About $1.8 million for targeted roof-level seismic improvementsStephenson Elementary: About $1 million for targeted roof-level seismic improvementsSabin Elementary: About $500,000 for targeted roof-level seismic improvementsMaplewood Elementary: About $1.5 million for targeted roof-level seismic improvements

Altogether, nearly $18 million has been spent on those completed seismic projects at schools that could close.

“If I was a non-parent taxpayer, I would still be very upset about that,” said Jessica Clark, PTA president at Marysville. “Being a parent taxpayer, I’m very upset about that.”

Four other schools on the closure list had also undergone upgrades, including: 

Sellwood Middle School: Temperature regulation upgrades completed in September 2026; asbestos remediation completed in 2024Buckman Elementary: Temperature regulation upgrades completed in September 2026; asbestos remediation completed in September 2026James John Elementary: Temperature regulation upgrades completed in August 2026; asbestos remediation completed in 2025Creston Elementary: Temperature regulation upgrades completed in September 2026; asbestos remediation completed in 2024

What happens to the buildings if schools close?

PPS said it has not yet determined what would happen to buildings if schools ultimately close.

“If a school closes, PPS will develop a process to evaluate how the building could be used in the future,” the district said in a statement. “This work will follow school board policies for the use or sale of district property.”

For Clark, that still leaves families looking for more information about the future of their schools and the taxpayer-funded investments in them.

She wants the district to provide more detailed answers as the school board considers which buildings, if any, will ultimately close.

“Digging in and giving us the nitty gritty answers that we all need,” Clark said, “and hopefully the school board also needs.”