News & Events

The Foundation for Portland Public Schools is thrilled to announce an anonymous donation of $250,000 to enrich music, visual, and performing arts experiences for students in the Portland Public Schools.

The $141.3 million Portland Public Schools superintendents’ recommended school budget for the 2023-2024 school year has three key priorities: It maintains the district’s commitment to its Portland Promise goals of Achievement, Whole Student and People – all centered on the fourth goal of Equity; is responsive to the needs of all students, especially students newly learning English; and improves operational effectiveness in such areas as finance and human resources. The FY24 budget balances challenging fiscal constraints, including a significant reduction in state aid and inflation, with increased costs to support staff and students, while being cognizant of taxpayers. It would increase the school portion of the tax rate by 7 percent, adding about $15.60 per month to the tax bill of the average homeowner.

At the beginning of February, the Portland Public Schools celebrated the inauguration of the Make It Happen! (MIH) middle school program with a field trip to the University of Southern Maine. MIH is a college readiness program that helps PPS multilingual students aspire to and prepare for higher education. It was established in 2008 for multilingual students in grades 7-12, supported by grant funds. Due to budget limitations, the MIH middle school program was dropped six years ago, but has been relaunched in the 2022-2023 school year with new grant funding resources. The program is already having an impact at the district’s three middle schools

The Spinglass Management Group has completed its audit of the Portland Public Schools’ payroll practices and issued a report. The report reflects many of the payroll problems – with systems, staffing and processing – that the district has already shared since the beginning of its payroll issues this fall. The report also details significant strides the district has made to stabilize systems, enter into an agreement to outsource payroll functions, and increase payroll staffing. Additionally, it outlines the work the district continues to do to resolve outstanding concerns.

Portland Public Schools educators at the high school, middle school and elementary level recently shared some examples of awesome science and math learning happening at their schools this year. Read on to learn more details:

Alma Advisory Group, the professional search firm that the Portland Board of Public Education hired last month to aid in the search for a new superintendent, met with the Board and the Superintendent Search Committee earlier this week. Alma made a presentation as it worked with the Board and the Search Committee to define the scope of the work, the search timeline and community engagement in the search process.

Following the Dec. 16 resignation of Superintendent Xavier Botana, effective this month, the Portland Board of Public Education at its Jan. 3 meeting appointed assistant superintendents Melea Nalli and Aaron Townsend to be interim co-superintendents until a new superintendent is selected by June. Dr. Abdullahi Ahmed, currently co-principal at Deering High School, will take on the role of interim assistant superintendent for the transition. The team will move fully into leadership after Jan. 13.