Portland schools board commits to seismic upgrades in 2025 bond, creates ongoing oversight

The Portland Public Schools Board of Education voted unanimously May 6 to make seismic safety a binding priority of the district’s 2025 school‑modernization bond and to require regular public reporting and committee oversight of retrofit planning.

The board adopted Resolution 7109, titled “Urgent need for seismic retrofitting of high‑risk school buildings,” and Resolution 7110, which directs the School Facilities Improvement and Operations Committee to meet regularly and report findings and engagement back to the full board. Both measures were approved 7–0. Student representative Kensevy indicated a strong yes.

Why it matters: the district’s oldest elementary and middle schools include unreinforced‑masonry construction and other seismic deficiencies that engineers say would put students and staff at disproportionate risk in a major earthquake. Directors and community speakers told the board that investing bond funds now would reduce that risk and provide public clarity about priorities for limited bond dollars.

During the board discussion, Dan Young, Portland Public Schools chief operating officer, summarized the district’s three‑phase seismic process: a districtwide facility assessment already completed last year, engineering recommendations on return‑on‑investment for seismic interventions, and a PPS prioritization that will factor in occupancy, possible school consolidations and schedule feasibility. Young said, "We expect to see the recommendations ... sometime this summer, probably in July." The resolutions ask the superintendent to present a comprehensive, equity‑focused risk‑reduction plan and regular progress reports to the board.

Parents and community members urged rapid action. Catalina Gonzalez, a Beverly Cleary parent, told the board, “Every child deserves a safe place to learn,” and said she had carried concern about her neighborhood school’s condition for years. John DiVolio, a Grant Park neighbor, noted a 2011 assessment of Beverly Cleary that flagged the prevalence of unreinforced masonry and asked that the board make funding available for those higher‑risk, multistory elementary and middle schools first.

Board members stressed that the bond package already includes dedicated capital for modernization and seismic work and that the state also has funding programs that might be combined with local bond dollars. Several directors said the resolutions balance specificity about priority (highest‑risk schools) with flexibility for staff and engineers to shape final scopes and schedules. Director Split said the resolutions “create the roadmap and an allocation” while preserving staff expertise to set technical details.

What the board directed next: staff will finish the engineer’s prioritization and present the recommended seismic risk‑reduction plan this summer. The School Facilities Improvement and Operations Committee will hold regular meetings to review findings and public engagement; the board added that the audit committee and the bond accountability body should continue to receive periodic reports. The resolutions do not obligate the board to any particular property transaction or final project until the board approves specific bond expenditures.

The vote marks the first formal, board‑level commitment to prioritizing seismic retrofits within the 2025 bond and to ongoing public oversight of progress. Community groups said they will mobilize to support the bond in the campaign phase once the board completes technical and cost analyses.

Ending: The board’s action puts seismic retrofitting among the top priorities during the bond planning and signals a timetable for staff to return with engineering analyses and an implementation plan this summer. The board and staff emphasized they will continue to evaluate state funding matches and to keep the public informed through committee reporting and community engagement.