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The last day of school for students for the 2024-2025 school year will be Tuesday, June 17, and the last teacher day will be Wednesday, June 18. On the last student day, schools will dismiss students three hours before their usual release time.

The City of Portland will be holding a public meeting on May 22 regarding a proposed cleanup project of some contaminated soil that was unearthed at Fitzpatrick Stadium during renovations there. The meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. at the parking lot of the stadium, located at 165 Park Avenue.

The City Council voted unanimously on May 19 to approve the $171.8 million 2025-2026 school year budget recommended by the Portland Board of Public Education. The vote now sends the budget to City voters on June 10. The budget balances fiscal constraints with necessary investments to increase academic rigor, foster a joyful and supportive school culture and help provide more effective instruction to students with disabilities. It would raise the school portion of the property tax rate by 5.33 percent ($0.42 per $1,000 of assessed value). For the owner of a median-priced $500,000 home, the budget would increase property taxes by $210 per year or $17.50 per month.

The New England Environmental Finance Center (NEEFC) at the University of Southern Maine is working with the Portland Public Schools (PPS) on a comprehensive environmental audit and action plan to reduce waste and improve sustainability in 17 of the district’s elementary, middle and high schools. The audit, which began in January, has focused on the district’s school kitchens, cafeterias and Food Service program. Its recommendations so far have the potential to save about $4,000 per year in trash pickup costs at each school. They can also help save time, energy and the environment.

Initial public engagement sessions regarding the work of the Attendance Boundaries Advisory Committee are set for early June. Here are the dates, times and locations of the meetings: 

• Monday, June 2, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m, in person at Ocean Avenue Elementary School
• Tuesday, June 3, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m, in person at King Middle School
• Wednesday, June 4, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m, VIRTUAL. Here's the link to join. 

Portland Community: You're invited to Lyman Moore Middle School's annual musical, which opens Friday, May 9, at 7 p.m. Come see our students showcase their talents in Beauty and the Beast, a classic tale about love, transformation, and finding beauty in unexpected places. There also are shows on Saturday, May 10, at 2 p.m. and at 7 p.m. Tickets $5 at the door.

An inaccurate May 1 story by News Center Maine (WCSH6) about the meeting that night of the district's Attendance Boundaries Advisory Committee has generated confusion regarding Lincoln Middle School. At the district's request, WCSH6 has retracted the news report. Please view the following communication from the Portland Public Schools that addresses the inaccuracies and clarifies the role of the Advisory Committee:

The annual Portland Public Schools district-wide student art show at City Hall is kicking off with a celebratory reception on Friday, May 2, in conjunction with the May First Friday Art Walk.  The event will take place from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The exhibit will be on display until May 16, enabling the public to enjoy student artwork from all schools in the district on display.

Sips, Sweets, and Stories, the spring fundraiser put on by the Portland Public Schools’ Multilingual and Multicultural Center, was a great success. The April 16 event raised nearly $5,000 to benefit the district’s award-winning Make It Happen program, a college-readiness and academic success initiative that equips multilingual students with the skills, confidence, and tools they need to prosper in school and beyond.

A series of stakeholder engagement meetings will take place this month on a proposed policy that would ban students from having cell phones or other personal electronic devices on their person during regular school hours. The stakeholder engagement meetings are designed to get feedback from parents/guardians and staff on the policy before the Board of Public Education votes on it. Separate stakeholder meetings for high school students also are being scheduled by their individual schools.

The proposed $171.8 million FY26 school budget is headed to the City Council for a first read and public hearing on Monday, May 5, following approval by the Council's Finance Committee. This Council public hearing and another one on May 19 are opportunities for the PPS community to make their voices heard regarding this fair and responsible budget, which benefits students and supports educators.

At its April 8 meeting, the Board of Public Education unanimously approved a 2025-2026 district calendar that includes Yom Kippur and Eid al-Fitr as new district holidays. Starting in the fall, students and staff at the Portland Public Schools, Maine’s most diverse school district, can observe those major religious holidays with their families without having to miss school. 

The Portland Board of Public Education voted on April 8 to approve a $171.8 million school budget for the 2025-2026 school year to recommend to the City Council. The Board’s fiscal year 2026 budget focuses on strengthening student experiences and outcomes and is directly aligned to the new Strategic Plan. The Board’s recommended FY26 budget now goes to the City Council, which moves forward its bottom line. A final Council vote on the school budget is anticipated on May 19 and it will go to voters on June 10.

As of April 1, the PPS Food Service team has been serving halal meals as a daily lunch option. Halal refers to foods that are permissible for Muslims to consume. Halal foods are free of ingredients like pork or alcohol, and comply with rules and standards around preparation and cleanliness. PPS halal meals are healthy, more inclusive menu items that all students can enjoy – not just students who follow a halal way of eating. 

Join us for Sips, Sweets, and Stories, the Portland Public Schools’ Make It Happen spring fundraiser! This unforgettable cultural tasting experience will take place on April 16 at Ocean Gateway Pier from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. All funds will go to support of Make It Happen, a program that provides multilingual students with a pathway to academic success and college readiness.

This is the 11th year of this yearly event that showcases and expands PPS students’ STEM knowledge and exposes them to exciting career opportunities in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.

You're invited to join the conversation on the proposed FY26 school budget! Portland families, staff, students, and community members—the Portland Board of Public Education's Conversations with the Community events are your chance to meet with Board members and Superintendent Ryan Scallon to ask questions, share your thoughts, and discuss the budget and the future of our schools. Attend one of the in-person events in March (check out the schedule in the graphic above) or join us virtually on April 2! Virtual link: tinyurl.com/PPS4225

Two candidates have qualified to be on the ballot June 10 to fill a vacant seat on the Portland Board of Public Education: retired PPS music teacher Jayne Sawtelle and building contractor and PPS parent Cassidy LaCroix. They are vying for an at-large seat vacated by Benjamin Grant, who was elected to the City Council this past November.

It's Youth Art Month and in collaboration with the Maine Art Education Association, the PMA is hosting its yearly exhibit of artwork from students from around Maine in kindergarten through grade 12. This year, the Portland Public Schools has the largest showing of young artists of any district!

Superintendent Ryan Scallon on March 4 presented the Portland Board of Public Education with a recommended $171.7 million budget for the 2025-2026 school year. The FY26 budget was developed after extensive engagement with the community, staff and school leadership, and proposes strengthening the music program at the high schools, increased rigor and support at the middle schools, adding reading support at the elementary schools, and additional staffing and programmatic support for special education district-wide. The proposed budget would raise the school portion of property taxes by 5.3%, resulting in an increase of $210 per year or $17.5 per month for the owner of a median-priced home.

The Ed Feeney Athletics Fund was created last year to allow any interested PPS students to participate in school sports – even if their family is unable to purchase the necessary athletic equipment. So far, more than 180 high school and middle school students have benefited.

The fifth monthly meeting of the district’s new Community Advisory Committee on Attendance Boundaries for PreK-8 Schools ("Attendance Boundaries Advisory Committee") took place on Dec. 19. The agenda included a review of crossing guard data and also a review of capacity per building. If you missed the meeting, you can catch up on YouTube: https://youtu.be/7mhiM8PbbIE

On Monday, December 9, 2024, high school leaders came together and drafted an organizational structure for the high school community that honors our district's Portrait of a Graduate and Portrait of a School Community. This structure also addresses key areas outlined in the Integrated Consolidated 9-16 Educational Facility application. Read on to view the drafted organizational structure of the school community. While we will make space for feedback and revisions, this framework provides the foundation to build out and refine the rest of the design.

Board of Public Education Chair Sarah Lentz presented the annual State of the Schools address to the City Council at its 5 p.m. meeting on Monday, Dec. 16, in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The City Charter requires that the Board chair deliver an annual address to the Council on the state of Portland’s public education system.

One returning Board member, two new members and five student representatives were sworn in at the Portland Board of Public Education’s Dec. 3 Inauguration Ceremony. The Board also voted for Sarah Lentz to serve for the third consecutive time as Board chair for the coming year and for Abusana “Micky” Bondo to be vice chair for a third year.