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Members of the Portland Association of Teachers ratified an agreement to take four furlough days as Portland Public Schools faces an unexpected $22.5 million gap in the current year’s budget.
The furloughs mean PPS students will lose three instructional days, and school will let out on June 5, instead of June 9 as the district previously planned. In a districtwide email sent Sunday afternoon, PPS’s bargaining communications team wrote the agreement will help avoid mid-year educator layoffs, which would have been in the hundreds. (The agreement specifically outlines that any potential layoffs for the 2025–26 academic year “will be eliminated as a result of the furloughs.)
Under the memorandum of understanding, which will go in front of the Portland School Board for formal approval on March 31, the furlough days will be May 1, May 25, June 9 and June 10. June 8, previously a school day, was converted to a grading day in lieu of June 10. May 25, the Memorial Day holiday, is now an unpaid no-work day.
April 22 and May 13, late arrival and early release days for younger students, will turn into full instructional days under the agreement. High schools will only have one staff meeting per month for the remainder of the academic year.
“PPS recognizes that furloughs represent a real impact for our educators and school communities,” the email reads. “At the same time, this decision reflects a collective effort to protect classroom continuity and minimize disruption for students during a challenging financial period.”
The district turned to furloughs after identifying it could save about $8.5 million by cutting back spending, still leaving a $14 million hole. Of that $14 million, about $1.2 million comes from furlough days for staff in the central office. Superintendent Dr. Kimberlee Armstrong will take six furlough days and senior-level staff, directors and managers will take five furlough days as part of the office’s first round of cuts. PAT has continued to call for upper management at PPS to shoulder more of the burden.
PAT expressed some early skepticism about the district’s portrayal of its financial picture, and noted in a statement that it would engage external financial experts ahead of moving toward an agreement. (The district estimates each furlough day would save about $3 million.) A frequently asked questions document shared with union members noted PAT leadership, staff and two financial experts reviewed PPS’s spending to date and its projections.
That review found the district could not fill its budget gap without turning toward furloughs.
“Our own independent analysis and budget documents requested by PAT and reviewed as late as Friday, March 13 show that although the district has places where they can make cuts, the whole of those savings do not amount to the $14 million needed to fill this mid-year operational gap,” the FAQ read.
Leaders with the union were not immediately available for comment.
