Equity: Portland schools consider redrawing enrollment boundaries to address ‘demographic disparities’

The Portland Board of Public Education will consider a resolution next week to form a committee that would evaluate and make recommendations on changing the school district’s attendance boundaries for students in grades K-8.

Attendance boundaries are the way the district determines which schools students must attend.

(RELATED: Portland schools looking to spend $224,000 to hire English teachers for ‘newcomers’…)

According to a summary of the proposal from Portland Public Schools (PPS) Superintendent Ryan Scallon, the community advisory committee would be responsible for recommending changes “to address demographic disparities that lead to inequitable allocation of resources in the district.”

Scallon says in his summary that the proposal would support the board’s top priority in its comprehensive plan, “equity,” in which the district “strives to be an anti-racist and inclusive district by vigilantly helping every student to realizing its potential and eliminating systemic inequalities.

(RELATED: South Portland school board could restructure elementary schools to improve ‘diversity’…)

Several Maine school districts have considered similar proposals to restructure their schools or redraw enrollment boundaries in the name of “equity,” including Regional School Unit 22 (RSU 22) and South Portland.

The last time Portland Schools adjusted boundaries or added new schools to the district was in the mid-2000s, per the proposed resolution.

Since then, the district has experienced significant demographic changes that, according to the resolution, have resulted in “substantial imbalances in the enrollment and demographics of our elementary schools,” particularly regarding “economically disadvantaged, homeless, and/or students.” or multilingual learners.

(RELATED: Maine’s 2024-2025 supplemental budget includes $3.5 million for English learners in public schools…)

Demographic changes “contribute to inequities among elementary schools for our students,” the resolution states.

In her 2023 State of Schools Report, Portland School Board President Sarah Lentz said that thirty percent of the district’s students are actively learning English, eighteen percent are supported by educational services. special education and seven percent are homeless.

(RELATED: Nearly a third of Portland public school students are English learners, seven percent are homeless, while the district faces a $10 million deficit…)

The proposed committee would consist of 12 to 14 members who would be selected by the board’s nominations committee in August and would include board members, staff representatives, current students, parents and other community members.

The committee would begin its work at the start of the 2024-2025 school year and would be required to report its findings to the board regarding any proposed changes to the district’s attendance boundaries by February 2025.

The board is expected to discuss and vote on the resolution at its business meeting on Tuesday, June 18.