Superintendent says proposed EPS funding formula would directionally benefit Portland schools by about $3–4 million

Ryan Scallon, superintendent of Portland Public Schools, told the City of Portland’s legislative nominating committee that revisions to the state’s EPS (Essential Programs and Services) funding formula would "directionally" benefit Portland and might yield about "$3 to $4,000,000 directional impact on Portland in the positive." Scallon spoke after a lobbying update during the committee’s meeting.

Scallon said the proposed draft would positively affect about 130 districts and have negative effects on roughly 30, and described two main changes: adjustments to the salary assumptions used in the formula and increased reimbursement for educating low-income students. He said those changes would make the state’s estimate of education costs closer to reality for districts like Portland, which has been constrained by an older formula source year.

The superintendent highlighted the current imbalance between state and local contributions. "When I talk about 55% state contribution, 45% local, right now we are 84% local, 16% state," Scallon said, using the committee’s terminology to illustrate Portland’s higher-than-typical local share. He added that the draft would not equalize funding for all districts but would move the needle in Portland’s favor.

Scallon also warned that the formula’s treatment of the state mill rate introduces volatility: a 10-cent change in the mill rate can alter Portland’s state revenue by about $2 million, and a recent 50-cent swing translated to roughly a $10 million revenue difference. He said the district has discussed proposing a cap on how much a district’s revenue can swing in a single year so budgets are more predictable.

Council members and the mayor reacted that the 55/45 ratio is a useful framing for local conversations about school budgets. Councilor Ben Grant and others urged monitoring the DPS bill’s progress and protecting elements of the proposal that help Portland, while the lobbying team said it would continue to track the bill and related appropriations action.

Next steps: the lobbying team will continue monitoring the EPS bill and related budget work; committee members asked Bernstein (the city’s contract lobbyists) to follow discussion in committee and on the floor and to report back to the council as details firm up.