City told Portland faces roughly $4 million hit from new school funding formula

Keith Knox told the committee that when the state ran the new school funding formula Portland "is down $4,000,000" in reimbursement and that staff are working to reconcile the numbers.

Knox said school officials plan to update student headcount data in the state system, which could reduce the loss to "maybe to 3.5 or 3.6" million. He urged continued coordination with Representative Brennan and the school department to explore ways to make up part of the shortfall, and noted the matter remains under active review.

A member of the committee explained that student headcount is taken at several points in the year and that updating the enrollment snapshot used to calculate the EPS number can materially change the reimbursement outcome.

Why it matters: A multi‑million dollar reduction in state school reimbursement would affect the city budget and local school planning. Committee members asked the school department to verify the data and the superintendent said updates were forthcoming.

What’s next: City staff and delegation members will continue to pursue adjustments and monitor revised calculations from the department.