Under Tentative PPS Proposal for Furlough Days, School Would Let Out June 5

Portland Public Schools has floated four furlough days in May and June to the Portland Association of Teachers as it looks to patch an unexpected $14 million mid-year budget shortfall.

In a memorandum of understanding shared by the union with its members and obtained by WW, the district has proposed May 1, May 25, June 9 and June 10 as furlough days for teachers. June 8, previously a normal school day, would become a grading day, meaning the last day of school appears slated for June 5.

June 9 was originally slated to be the last day of school in the 2025–26 academic year. June 10 was previously scheduled as a grading day. May 25, the Memorial Day holiday, would under the agreement turn from a paid holiday to a non-work, unpaid furlough day.

The memorandum of understanding is still subject to the ratification of PAT’s Bargaining Unit and the Portland School Board. Candice Grose, PPS’s chief of communications, said she would caution against getting ahead of where negotiations currently stand. Conversations are ongoing, she said, and there is no final agreement yet. In other words, terms could be subject to change.

“We continue to talk with PAT, and all of the labor partners, about how to address the immediate and critical budget shortfall for this year,” Grose says. “There is no agreement finalized, although we understand PAT is talking with its members over the next few days about the furlough options. All of our discussions are focused on the critical decisions needed to preserve important instructional positions.”

PAT president Angela Bonilla tells WW the union is still having conversations with its members, but will share more details publicly when they become available.

It’s well known that the district had proposed furlough days to teachers as an alternative to layoffs in the face of a $14 million midyear budget shortfall. But this memo is the first detailed list of which days teachers could be furloughed—and how many instructional days students could miss.

Under the proposed furlough days, students would lose three instructional days.

At a press conference on May 10, Dr. Angela Freeman, the district’s chief human resources officer, said PPS had shared with all affected unions that it intends to put students first.

“We’re really trying to make sure that we come to an agreement as soon as possible so that we can give as much lead time to our families and community, if there’s going to be an interruption to student instruction,” Freeman said.

Tensions have escalated between PAT and PPS during furlough negotiations, especially after the district first presented the union with two furlough days and then upped it to four.

PPS officials had previously told School Board members the district faced a $10 million budget gap, before saying the gap had grown to $14 million. “We identified a list of things we could potentially change between now and the end of the year,” chief financial officer Michelle Morrison told reporters March 10. “And as we analyze those, we decide how practical they are, what actual savings would be…that’s why that number is shifting around a little bit.”

In a statement to media on March 9, Oregon Education Association spokeswoman Rachel Gumpert said PAT had worked with the statewide teachers union to engage external financial experts to evaluate PPS’s finances.

On March 10, Armstrong outlined what she termed “phase one” of furloughs and organizational restructuring at the district level. Armstrong will take six furlough days and senior-level staff, directors and managers will take five furlough days, resulting in about $1.2 million in savings.

In its most recent statement dated March 12, Gumpert wrote that PAT calls on Armstrong to take at least 10 furlough days. “This would be a meaningful and symbolic gesture showing PPS cognizance of the fact that their non-Management employees already struggle to survive,” she wrote. The union was also asking employees making over $130,000 as their salary to accept at least a 3% cut to their salaries for furloughs.

Grose said in her statement that the furlough days are “a shared effort.”

“District leadership is also stepping forward,” she wrote. “Dr. Armstrong is taking six furlough days and will continue to remain actively engaged in supporting district operations for four of those days during this time. Senior leaders are taking five, as part of a broader commitment to navigate this responsibly and keep impacts furthest from the classroom.”

Under the memorandum of understanding, employees would not suffer any loss of health insurance benefits due to furlough days. Employees can voluntarily take more than four furlough days with advanced approval by human resources, and employees set to retire at the end of the 2025–26 or 2026–27 school years, who submit retirement declarations by April 3, are exempt from furloughs. All four furlough days will be distributed evenly on March, April, May and June paychecks, the agreement reads.

“Employees on furlough may not perform any work-related tasks, including checking email, unless explicitly authorized in advance and in writing by their supervisor,” it reads.