Portland Public Schools' climate crisis response community oversight committee presented an annual update June 24 as the district moves to make progress on the Climate Crisis Response Policy and public dashboard.

The committee, led by Chair Barbie Alexander and advised by Kat Davis, the district’s climate justice advisor, laid out implementation work, funding sources and student‑led projects funded by the Portland Clean Energy Fund. "Our dashboard platform...is available on our climate justice website," Davis told the board, describing the interactive dashboard that maps progress across 75 policy objectives and cross‑departmental work.

Why it matters: the update described student engagement in climate education and projects across the district, new grant‑funded staff capacity and early metrics the committee says will be included in a fuller fall report once greenhouse gas and project data are finalized.

Highlights from the committee and staff presentation:

- Student engagement and projects: Committee members reported the student‑led projects program reached about 1,500 students involved in project planning and an estimated 4,000 students affected by the projects, according to proposals submitted. Alma Veil, a student representative, said the student climate survey received 276 responses from high school students.

- Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) grants: The committee said PCEF awarded participating schools $15,000 per eligible school per year for five years for student‑led climate projects; the program allows up to $5,000 for administrative support and $10,000 to be directed to student project budgets, as described by committee members.

- Dashboard and reporting timeline: Staff said the district’s biannual greenhouse gas emissions data and other project metrics will be available in July or early August, and a comprehensive 2025 staff report will follow in the fall once that data is integrated.

- Policy implementation support: Staff used grant funds to hire a climate justice student projects coordinator, Carrie Jones Bahara, to help scale student engagement. The committee recommended institutionalizing student voices (continuing the student survey and expanding the Climate Justice Youth Advisory) and creating a volunteer pathway to support climate policy implementation.

Board discussion touched on curriculum integration, depaving and native planting pilots, equity in climate education, and ways to lift up school‑level work across the district. Director Pettit Matthews praised the committee for advancing the policy's goals and for centering student leadership.

No formal board action was taken; the item was presented for review and will be followed by a fuller fall report incorporating greenhouse gas data and project metrics.