Climate committee reports progress — LED lighting, electric buses and student grants — but warns staff cuts risk backsliding

Portland Public Schools staff and the Climate Crisis Response Committee presented the district’s annual climate policy update on May 12, highlighting measurable progress and a set of near‑term risks.

Highlights included completion of a district LED retrofit, an expansion to 27 electric school buses either operating or ordered, and a substantial student‑led grants program funded by the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) that provides $10,000 grants to student teams for climate projects. Committee members noted that the district’s commitment to electrify modernized high schools is a critical driver of the district’s goal to cut building emissions 50% by 2030.

But the committee also warned of backsliding: staffing cuts reduced the climate policy team’s capacity, the external interactive dashboard used to track progress was discontinued for budget reasons, and the district’s policy liaison role is being eliminated, which the committee said will make ongoing measurement and coordination more difficult. Cat Davis, the outgoing climate policy adviser, was singled out by committee members for her role in building the policy machinery over the past four years.

Committee recommendations included restoring dashboard capacity on the PPS website, ensuring ongoing staff capacity to run the decarbonization tool and produce regular progress reports, and institutionalizing the student survey and project showcases that have expanded student engagement in climate work.

Next steps: staff said they will continue implementing the decarbonization roadmap and seek ways to preserve the tools and staffing required to measure progress. The board heard the report and thanked committee volunteers for their work.