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Portland Public Schools enrollment counts from Oct. 1 indicate that enrollment is down again, but it’s seeing some progress attracting some of its earliest learners.
The district reported 753 less students in 2025–26 than it did in 2024–25, at 42,622. That’s a 1.7% decrease, but is a higher number than the Portland State University Population Research Center projected. That enrollment model forecast 42,471 students in the current academic year.
At first glance, the numbers appear to be a continuation of a disheartening trend that PPS officials are all too familiar with: declining enrollment, which directly affects the revenue the district brings in. (Across Oregon, districts are paid per student.)
But one data point signals potential good news for the district: kindergarten enrollment has grown for the first time since the 2012–13 school year. PPS reported 2,919 kindergarteners this academic year, up 82 students from 2024–25. (Last year, the district reported 158 less kindergarteners than it had in 2023–24.) That’s higher than the latest PSU projections, which forecast 2,782 kindergarteners in a medium growth scenario.
“Great things are happening at PPS and we hope that these data show and continue to show that parents are identifying PPS as a district of choice,” PPS spokeswoman Sydney Kelly tells WW. “We are seeing signs that families are trusting PPS with their most precious commodity—their children.”
Kindergarten enrollment has been a point of concern for the district, which has lost students due to declining birth rates, families leaving Multnomah County, and other school options. (“Big Kid on Campus”, WW, April 12, 2023). The district’s capture rate (as in, how many students in the area choose PPS), has recently been a point of discussion on the Portland School Board because it has been lower than historically reported.
Kelly flagged that the district’s enrollment exceeds PSU projections in transition years. Alongside kindergarten gains, the district reported both more sixth graders and more ninth graders than in previous years. But the district has reported losses in other grades. For example, it saw 207 less third graders than the year before and 171 less fifth graders.
That’s why district leaders are still taking the enrollment forecast’s bigger picture decline into consideration. At a Tuesday night Portland School Board meeting, PPS chief financial officer Michelle Morrison flagged declining enrollment as one factor to consider as the district continues to face projected budget shortfalls. She reported that the district would face a $50 million deficit in the upcoming 2026–27 fiscal year.
“Although enrollment is slightly higher than projected, especially in kindergarten, we’re celebrating that, it’s still an overall decline,” Morrison said. “That impacts our financial picture of course this year and as we look to the future.”
