The Portland Public Schools (PPS) Board of Education will convene this Tuesday, September 15, 2026, for one of the most consequential meetings of the school year. As district leaders prepare to announce radical consolidation plans that could permanently shutter up to 20 neighborhood elementary and middle schools, the message to Portland families is unmistakably clear: the board is counting on you to stay quiet.
We cannot afford to stay silent.
Over the past three years, thousands of families have withdrawn their children from Portland Public Schools. They have left not because they do not value public education, but because district leadership has systematically dismantled academic standards, ignored parental rights, and prioritized political activism over basic instruction. Now, rather than reforming the radical policies driving enrollment into the ground, the school board is planning to punish neighborhood communities by closing their schools.
At the very same time, the board recently voted 5-2 to reward Superintendent Dr. Kimberlee Armstrong with a lucrative compensation package worth roughly $345,000 annually.
On Tuesday night at 6:00 PM, Portland parents, taxpayers, and community members have an opportunity to confront the board directly. Whether you attend in person at district headquarters or submit written testimony from your kitchen table, here is your complete guide to making your voice heard.
Key Meeting Details and How to Testify
Public testimony is the single most visible way for parents to force accountability into the official public record. School board members often sit through hours of scripted administrative presentations; direct testimony from parents cuts through the bureaucratic filter.
* Date & Time: Tuesday, September 15, 2026 at 6:00 PM * Location: PPS District Headquarters, 501 N Dixon St, Portland, OR 97227 * Sign-Up Deadline: Tuesday, September 15 at 12:00 PM (Noon) sharp * Public Comment Format: 3 minutes per speaker (in-person or virtual) * How to Register: Send an email to [email protected] or call 503-916-3741 before the noon deadline. * Email Subject Line: Public comment: September 15, 2026 PPS Board meeting * What to Include in Your Email: Your full name, your neighborhood or school community, your phone number, and a brief statement requesting 3 minutes of public comment regarding proposed school closures, administrative spending, and parental notification.
*(Note: If you cannot attend the meeting in person or speak virtually, you can submit written testimony to the same email address by noon on Tuesday, and it will be distributed to all seven board members and included in the public record.)*
Four Crucial Demands Parents Must Put to the Board
When addressing the board, precision is your best weapon. Here are the four critical issues that every parent and taxpayer should challenge the board on this Tuesday:
#### 1. Stop the Chopping Block on 20 Neighborhood Schools District administrators have floated closing up to 20 neighborhood schools under the banner of "right-sizing" following catastrophic enrollment drops. But neighborhood schools are the bedrock of local communities. When a neighborhood school closes, property values suffer, walking routes disappear, and families are scattered into overcrowded mega-facilities.
Ask the Board: Why are neighborhood schools being forced to bear the brunt of district mismanagement? Why has PPS refused to publish an objective, data-driven rubric for how closure candidates are being selected? Most importantly, why is the board ignoring the root cause of enrollment loss: parents fleeing ideological curriculum and plummeting safety standards?
#### 2. Justify Executive Pay Increases During Budget Austerity Only days ago, the board approved a generous contract extension for Superintendent Armstrong, locking her in through June 2029 with total earnings approaching $345,000 per year. In the private sector, sustained declines in core performance, customer satisfaction, and fiscal stability do not result in substantial compensation bumps.
Ask the Board: How can the school board look parents, teachers, and classroom aides in the eye and claim there is no money to keep neighborhood schools open, while simultaneously handing out hundreds of thousands of dollars in executive pay packages? If PPS is facing a genuine fiscal emergency, why is central administration not leading by example through executive salary reductions?
#### 3. Demand Transparency on Federal Civil Rights Scrutiny and Ideological Spending While neighborhood schools face the axe, the district continues to funnel millions of taxpayer dollars into specialized ideological programs, such as the Center for Black Student Excellence, which is now the subject of a federal civil rights complaint alleging unlawful racial segregation under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Ask the Board: How much taxpayer money is currently being spent defending against federal civil rights inquiries, OCR investigations, and lawsuits? How can PPS legally justify spending millions on race-exclusive centers and DEI administrative staffing while threatening to shutter diverse, integrated neighborhood schools serving families across the city?
#### 4. Protect Parental Rights and Restore Academic Focus The ongoing federal civil rights lawsuit filed by parent Allison Roberts and the Liberty Justice Center has exposed how far district administrators will go to silence mothers and fathers who question classroom gender ideology and unannounced political displays. From unannounced "identity flower" lessons to policies that conceal student gender transitions from parents, PPS has treated parental engagement as a threat rather than a partnership.
Ask the Board: Will the district immediately institute an enforceable, transparent parental notification policy and guarantee genuine curriculum opt-outs? When will PPS abandon political indoctrination and refocus 100 percent of classroom time on core academic skills, especially after Oregon suspended reading and math graduation standards through 2028?
How to Mobilize for Tuesday
Do not assume someone else will speak up. School boards count on community fatigue and low public turnout to push through painful closures and controversial policies.
Here is what you can do right now:
- Sign Up Before Noon on Tuesday: Register to testify by emailing [email protected].
- Bring Neighbors and Fellow Parents: Fill the boardroom seats at 501 N Dixon St. Even if you do not speak, a crowded chamber sends an unmistakable signal to the board and local media.
- Share Your Story: If your child has been affected by classroom bias, safety issues, or potential school closures, submit your story through our portal at [antiwokeschools.com/share-your-story](/share-your-story).
- Sign the Petition: Join over 260 local parents demanding the removal of partisan flags and political displays from K-12 classrooms across PPS.
Tuesday night is our opportunity to show the school board that Portland parents are organized, informed, and determined to defend our neighborhood schools and children. See you at 501 N Dixon St on Tuesday at 6:00 PM.