By : Eder Campuzano
https://muckrack.com/eder-campuzano
Portland Public Schools wants to pour millions into hiring mental health specialists, teachers and counselors next year.
>District officials on Tuesday will present how they want to spend about $39 million in new state funding, their share of a $1 billion corporate business tax passed by the Oregon Legislature last year.
The Portland district plans on spending nearly one-quarter of its share, or around $9 million, to shrink and stabilize class sizes across every grade — around $5.2 million at its elementary schools, $2.9 million in the middle grades and just under $1 million across nine high schools.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
As the state’s largest district, Portland Public Schools will get the largest single cash infusion from the Student Success Act the Oregon Legislature passed during the 2019 session. The Salem-Keizer school board is set to vote on a $35 million package this week, according to The Salem Reporter.
In Beaverton, the district has outlined how it’ll spend about $31 million.
The Student Success Act was passed largely to help districts expand learning time, reduce class sizes, expand early literacy programs, hire mental health professionals or do a combination of those things.
The legislation levies a 0.57% tax on most business transactions made in Oregon by entities with in-state profits of more than $1 million per year. As districts across Oregon plot out how they’ll use the windfall, some businesses owners are frustrated by a lack of details in how their tax bill is calculated as the first payment deadline approaches.
Half of the $1 billion the tax generates is held in a school improvement fund and doled out to the state’s roughly 200 school districts through non-competitive grants.
YOU CAN READ THE PORTLAND DISTRICT’S FULL APPLICATION HERE
Although districts have wide latitude in how to spend that new money, applications must address a handful of criteria before the state Department of Education greenlights them. They’re required to show they met with community stakeholders in shaping their application and provide a three-year roadmap for meeting their objectives.
In Portland’s case, district officials want to drastically boost third-grade reading scores for black and Latino students, as well as fifth-grade math proficiency for the same student groups.
Portland Public Schools also conducted a series of feedback sessions where district officials collected comments from parents, students and community members. During one such session, parents told The Oregonian/OregonLive they wanted the district to boost reading proficiency and invest in mental health supports, among other things.
District documents show administrators plan on addressing those concerns and then some.
>Portland Public Schools says it wants to pour millions into hiring mental health specialists for children in its elementary and middle schools. The district is proposing to spend about $4.8 million on at least 43 social workers.
A survey of 5,800 seventh and 10th graders the district showed students have a grim outlook on their sense of belonging. Each of the district’s nine high schools would have a full-time social worker while the 34 others would split their time between middle and elementary schools.
Portland Public Schools officials also propose spending up to $3.4 million on contracts for mentorship, family engagement, wraparound services and enrichment activities for students of color. Organizations like the Latino Network, the Urban League and Self Enhancement, Inc., currently offer such services.
https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2020/02/heres-how-portland-public-schools-plans-to-spend-39-million-in-new-state-funding.html