FILE — The Portland Public Schools Board of Education members are reflected in a sign during a meeting announcing the district’s 2026-2027 budget at Dr. Matthew Prophet Education Center in Portland, Ore., on April 28, 2026. This is the 3rd year of budget cuts to PPS in a row.
Eli Imadali / OPB
Over the last three years, Portland Public Schools has had to cut about $115.5 million dollars from its budget. The gap for next school year’s budget is $56 million, with schools across the district seeing staffing cuts.
But as the district has cut costs across more than 80 schools in the state’s largest district, one line item has jumped.
“Purchased services increased 61.9%, from $269.9 million to $437.0 million,” wrote district officials in the budget book for 2026-27. Total spending across all budgets for PPS is $2.77 billion.
The proposed increase for the upcoming school year continues a trend, with spending on purchased services in the current 2025-26 school year budget up over the prior year, as well.
PPS includes a range of things under the umbrella of purchased services, from outside attorneys to transportation, moving and laundry services.
A big driver of the district’s ballooning costs to third-party servicers is the district’s bond program — property tax funding that voters approved to repair and renovate school buildings. About two-thirds of the $437 million dedicated to purchased services in the 2026-27 budget comes out of the district’s capital funds coffers.
That part of the increase includes the contract with Procedeo, a Texas-based company with staff in Portland. When the board approved the five-year $61.5 million contract in December, PPS Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong said choosing the company was about “delivering results”.
But it’s not just capital spending. PPS spending on outside contracts drawn from funds intended for instruction and other student services also went up for the upcoming year, by more than $15 million. District officials said part of that increase “represents a necessary alignment of the budget with the actual cost of essential services to ensure operational stability.”
In its report on the budget, PPS’ Community Budget Review Committee called out the increase, asking the school board to “direct the district to explore opportunities to reduce this spending on third party service providers”. It pointed out million dollar increases in audit services as well as “non-instructional personal/professional services”.
The 17-member committee, which includes parents, students, and staff, shared its report at Tuesday’s school board meeting. In it, the committee calls for more transparency and communication from the district in sharing its budget documents, including more clarity in how the district tracks and publishes its per-pupil spending.
FILE — The Portland Public Schools Portland Public Schools Board of Education holds a meeting announcing the district’s 2026-2027 budget at Dr. Matthew Prophet Education Center in Portland, Ore., on April 28, 2026. This is the 3rd year of budget cuts to PPS in a row.
Eli Imadali / OPB
The committee pushed the district to look into a critique that “PPS students may be receiving meaningfully fewer instructional resources than the district’s substantial per-pupil spending would imply.”
“Students from well-resourced families may be able to compensate for instructional gaps through tutoring and enrichment,” the committee wrote. “Students without those resources depend on their public school for learning, and are the most harmed by receiving a low share of instruction.”
The school board will meet to approve the budget on May 26, but before that, they’ll be hearing from students, staff, and community members on the budget. The Portland school board will host a public comment and work session on the budget at Benson High School Wednesday.
Have questions about your school district’s budget? Email Elizabeth Miller at emiller@opb.org and your question may be answered in a future story.
