The district has officially announced that schools will be closed on Thursday due to the ongoing strike. Additionally, it’s important to note that Friday had already been designated as a day without classes for students.
Portland schools will remain closed through at least the weekend as a historic first-ever teachers strike unfolds, Portland Public Schools confirmed Wednesday afternoon. The closure will delay report cards, officials said.
Amid strained eleventh-hour contract negotiations with the district, the Portland Association of Teachers announced Tuesday night that teachers would go on strike the next day, shutting down the district’s 81 schools and impacting about 45,000 students.
Teachers hit the picket lines around schools across Portland on Wednesday morning, calling for the district to meet their demands on pay, class sizes and prep time, among other major sticking points.
PPS (Portland Public Schools) has informed families that they will receive text and email updates from the district at 7 p.m. each night to keep them informed about whether classes will resume the following day. However, as of Wednesday, no bargaining sessions were scheduled, leading the district to confirm early that schools would remain closed through Thursday. The district has officially
Friday was already designated as a planning day for teachers, meaning that schools had preplanned no classes for that day. This effectively extends the school closures through at least the end of the week.
In a letter sent to the union on Wednesday, PPS referenced statements from Gov. Tina Kotek and the Portland Metro Chamber of Commerce, both urging both parties to remain at the bargaining table and work towards avoiding a strike. The letter emphasized the importance of dialogue, cooperation, and compromise during negotiations, stating, “We understand that we have significant disagreements on critical issues. We can only bridge these and reach agreement through dialogue, cooperation, and compromise at the table, not on the sidewalk,” as expressed by Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero and the district’s bargaining team.