Prioritize Portland’s Neighborhood Schools
Rightsizing the Right Way is a campaign formed by parents from PPS neighborhood schools to draw attention to the importance of keeping as many neighborhood schools in tact and shedding light on the increased disinvestment in these communities over the past decades.
The current system funnels millions of public dollars away from neighborhood schools into specialized programs that concentrate resources and privilege where 3,200 students opted out of their neighborhood schools for Focus Option schools in the 2025–26 school year and with them ~$35 million was redirected away from neighborhood classrooms based on direct school funding (~$61 million districtwide).
Help us urge the school board to prioritize neighborhood school funding as they consider consolidation and school closing by signing this petition.
The Issue: Inequitable Funding & Segregated Off-Ramps
Portland Public Schools is preparing to make critical rightsizing and facility decisions by December 2026. Under the current system, publicly-funded Focus Option programs provide families with "off-ramps" away from neighborhood schools, concentrating wealth and privilege while siphoning critical operational dollars away from neighborhood schools:
Diluted Neighborhood Resources: 3,200 students opted out of their assigned neighborhood schools into Focus Option Schools in 2025-26 diverting an estimated $35 million in direct per-pupil funding away from neighborhood campuses.
Systemic Demographic Disparities: Across PPS, 35.1% of students are historically underserved. Yet every single focus option school serves a significantly lower percentage of historically underserved students (ranging from 7% to 26%), reinforcing segregation and privilege across our district.
The map on fig. 1 (below) is created from PPS enrollment data shows how neighborhood schools are impacted by publicly funded off-ramps.
In the rightsizing process, we respectfully request that the PPS Board:
Protects Neighborhood Schools: Close as few neighborhood schools as possible to maintain walkable, stable, and cohesive community feeder patterns.
Consolidates Resources in Neighborhood Schools: Transition focus option programs back into neighborhood schools, ensuring full art, music, PE, library, STEM, and TAG enrichment for every student, every day.
Prioritizes Equitable Funding: Adopt a consistent neighborhood school model where resources follow students based on community need, rather than funding off-ramps that pull families away from neighborhood schools.
Our Current Initiatives
Rightsizing the Right Way
Rightsizing the Right Way was formed to draw attention to the importance of keeping as many neighborhood schools in tact during the PPS Rightsizing process and shedding light on the increased disinvestment in these communities over the past decades.
Integrated Schools: Portland Chapter
We are a community of parents in Portland, Oregon, working to dismantle the racial and socioeconomic segregation in our public schools. We believe that public education is a public good—and that our neighborhood schools are stronger when they reflect the full diversity of our city. Whether you’re navigating your first kindergarten choice or looking to get involved in district-level advocacy, you’ve found a home here. We don’t have all the answers, but we are committed to showing up, listening, and learning together.
Help us advocate for our neighborhood schools.
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