The workers who staff our schools deserve accurate and on-time pay for their work. Our schools depend on workers, and workers should be able to depend on getting paid.

We understand that some staff employed by Portland Public Schools have been paid less during fall 2022 than what they should have, or have not been paid when they should have been by law.

Mistakes with pay and delays in pay can bring stress and hardship to staff. The impacts don't stop there. During a time when many essential staff positions are vacant, and when some PPS specialized programs are closed day-to-day due to staff shortages and bus transportation has been canceled due to staff shortages, we understand that mistakes and delays in pay could lead to loss of staff and further loss of educational services for our community's children.

We call on the elected school board and district leadership to fully address the root cause of these problems with staff pay and ensure that they do not happen again--for the sake of all staff and for the sake of all children, youth, and adult students served by Portland Public Schools and Portland Adult Education.

We encourage all PPS students, staff, families, and community members--in addition to signing this petition--to please:

• Contact the school board and superintendent about solving this problem
• Wear red to school on Tuesday, December 6th, 2022
• Wear red to the school board meeting on Tuesday, December 6th, 2022 at 6pm Casco Bay High School, to show your support for accurate, on-time pay for school staff
• Talk with your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers about why solving this problem is important to you and to our schools

We, the undersigned, are students, staff, family members, or community members--some of us have more than one of these roles. Regardless of our relationship to PPS, we have a shared interest in keeping our schools and all their programs open and staffed. We stand up for accurate, on-time pay for all staff because we know that it is what is best for staff and best for students. 

[PPS Families and Staff Together, the sponsor of this petition, is an ad hoc group of families, staff, and community members who care about our public schools here in Portland, Maine, USA.]