Portland Public Schools Chief of Staff Will Resign Early Next Year

Deborah Kafoury, the chief of staff for Portland Public Schools, will resign from her position at the district early next year.

Kafoury wrote in an Oct. 27 resignation letter to PPS Superintendent Dr. Kimberlee Armstrong that her last day as the district’s chief of staff would be Jan. 4.

“I am writing to formally submit my resignation as Chief of Staff for Portland Public Schools, effective January 4, 2027,” Kafoury wrote in her letter, obtained by WW through a public records request. “While I originally planned to step down later in the year, I have advanced my timeline to early January and will ensure several key projects are completed prior to my departure.”

Kafoury added that she is “deeply grateful for the opportunity to have worked alongside such dedicated colleagues, and I wish the district, its leadership, and our entire community the very best moving forward.”

Kafoury has served as the district’s chief of staff since the summer of 2024. She previously served on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners for 12 years, eight of those as chair. She did not respond to a voicemail requesting comment on Monday morning, nor did she respond to a Monday afternoon text requesting comment.

Kafoury’s impending resignation comes at a precarious time for the district. Parents and teachers alike remain up in arms about the district’s recently announced proposal to close about a dozen schools amid declining student enrollment, a process that elected officials and parents alike have called sloppy and opaque.

And the district’s controversial $61.5 million contract with the Texas-based management firm Procedeo, which is overseeing many of the district’s bond-funded capital projects across schools, has garnered even more scrutiny after the Oregon Secretary of State referred potential violations of state law by district officials to the Oregon Department of Justice, which handles criminal investigations.