UPDATE: PPS District-Wide Foundation Fundraising Policy APPROVED!

On Tuesday, May 7, 2024, the PPS school board voted 5-2 in favor of adopting a policy to create a district-wide foundation and advocacy entity. Directors Brim-Edwards, DePass, Wang, Vice-Chair Greene and Chair Hollands all voted yes, along with student representative Frankie Silverstein, who said that the District Student Council expressed a “deep belief in the importance of this policy change.” 

Thank you to the board members who voted in support of this important change and all of the community members who showed up, spoke out, and added their voice to the call that it is time for a new vision of collaborative, community-focused, equitable advocacy and fundraising in support of PPS. 

Take a look at the Champion PPS Schools page to get involved in district-wide support for our schools--currently looking for school liaisons to help build understanding and support for the next steps!

----------------------

Portland Public Schools policy allows parents to buy staff for their children's schools through individual school foundations. The few schools that can raise enough to add more teachers and staff are schools serving wealthier, predominantly white populations.

Fundraising for public schools might seem like a worthy endeavor, but foundation fundraising is causing harm to our community by:

• Disproportionately directing more resources to white students than to students of historically underserved races and ethnicities.
• Giving the false impression of addressing inequities by allocating one-third of all funds raised to need-based grants.
• Directing parent resources of time, money, and connections into individual schools instead of shared priorities that benefit ALL students.
• Distracting many from advocating for appropriate public funding.
• Oregon schools should be fully funded per the Oregon Constitution. As parents and community members we will take responsibility for how we show up for public schools.

The foundation fundraising policy will be under review with the PPS School Board in the 2020/2021 school year. By signing today, we state our support for reforming the foundation fundraising system that preserves injustice in our public school system. Until this policy is reformed, we PLEDGE to avoid contributions that include paying for teachers or staff in individual schools.

For more information and an in-depth look at the supporting data, please visit Reform PPS Foundation Fundraising.