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Three returning Board of Public Education members and four student representatives were sworn in at the Board’s Inauguration Ceremony on Dec. 9. The Board also voted formally to elect current Board Chair Sarah Lentz and current Board Vice Chair Abusana "Micky" Bondo to continue on in those roles for 2025-2026. At a caucus on Nov. 25, the Board had informally indicated they would again support Lentz and Bondo as Board chair and vice chair for the coming year.

Three returning members and four student representatives will be sworn in at the Portland Board of Public Education Inauguration on Dec. 9. The Board also will vote to elect a new chair and vice chair for the coming year. At its Nov. 25 meeting, the Board informally decided to support having current Board Chair Sarah Lentz and current Board Vice Chair Abusana "Micky" Bondo continue on in those roles for 2025-2026.

The 113th Thanksgiving Day football game between Portland and Deering high schools will take place at Memorial Field at Deering High School on Thursday, Nov. 27, with a 10 a.m. kickoff. The community is encouraged to come out to support our students and — new this year — to also bring a food donation for the Preble Street Food Pantry. Not only will that help local hungry families, but ticket prices will be reduced to $1 for each fan donating a food item.

Three current Board of Public Education members whose seats were up for election Nov. 4 have each won new three-year terms. They faced no opposition on the ballot.Board members Sarah Lentz and Jayne Sawtelle were returned to their at-large seats, and Board member Julianne Opperman was re-elected to her District 3 seat.

Three Board of Public Education members whose seats are up for election Nov. 4 are running unopposed for re-election to their seats.

Here's a summer letter to the PPS community with a brief preview of what you can expect to see at PPS in the coming year related to the school calendar, special education services, and the district’s new policy on cell phone and device-free schools.

The Portland Public Schools accepts funding through the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA) of 1965. As part of ESEA, the district is required to provide reasonable opportunity for public comment on the consolidated application and consider such comment prior to the submission of the application.

The City Council voted unanimously in May to approve the $171.8 million school budget for the 2025-2026 school year. Now it’s the public’s turn: Portland city voters will be asked to give their stamp of approval to the school budget on Tuesday, June 10. In addition to voting on the budget, Portland voters will also have the chance to vote on two candidates running for a vacant seat on the Portland Board of Public Education.

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 Foundation for Portland Public Schools (FPPS) invites the community to Spring for Teachers, a celebration of Portland teachers. Spring for Teachers will take place on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, from 5 p.m. to7 p.m. at Bunker Brewing Co. The event will include the presentation of the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Awards.

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.