Curriculum and Policy Committee backs draft 2025–26 calendar adding Yom Kippur and Eid al‑Fitr, sends to full board

Portland — The Portland Public Schools Curriculum and Policy Committee voted on March 25 to send a draft 2025–26 school calendar to the full school board that would add the first day of Yom Kippur and the first day of Eid al‑Fitr as student holidays and start the school year the day after Labor Day.

The committee’s senior executive director of strategy, Sarah Warren, told members the proposal meets state minimums for student and school days and includes an alternative calendar that omits the two proposed religious holidays if the committee or board prefers not to add them this year.

Warren said the district estimated an added cost of about $65,000 per day to pay hourly, school‑year employees (ed‑techs and other hourly staff) if the two days are added. That cost does not materially affect employees already on year‑round contracts, the presentation said.

Committee members discussed logistics and equity concerns, including how the district would observe a holiday that falls on a weekend, whether the mid‑winter professional development day should remain paired with the projected Eid holiday, and whether the district should publish a supplementary observance calendar for families and community groups.

Vice Chair Micki Bondo and other committee members asked staff to consider whether adding two holidays would require opening the process to requests from other faiths and how the district might cover the additional operating cost. Warren and other staff said they would seek to identify offsets in the operating budget rather than request an additional appropriation.

The committee discussed an alternate draft that would leave out the two religious observances and move the mid‑year professional development day to March 13; under that version the last student day would be earlier in June.

After discussion a motion to forward the proposed calendar with the two added holidays carried in committee and will now be considered in a first read by the full board on April 1, with a second read and vote slated for April 8.

The committee did not adopt any amendments to convert either new holiday into a half‑day; proposed amendments to alter holiday length did not receive seconding motions and were not adopted.

The calendar proposal and the alternative will be accompanied by staff guidance and a budget memo so the full board and the public can see projected costs and scheduling implications.

Warren said the district aims to provide families and staff a predictable schedule that recognizes religious diversity while preserving required instructional time.