Portland Public Schools seeks levy renewal to pay for 660 educators

After being on opposite sides during the bitter teachers strike that closed Portland Public Schools for most of November, the district’s administrators, its school board members and the union representing its teachers have found a common denominator. All parties desperately want Portland voters in May to renew a long-standing property tax levy, which they say would pay to retain 660 teachers. “If we don’t do this, it’s going to be catastrophic,” said school board chair Gary Hollands. “If we don’t do this, we’re going to have layoffs and even larger...