By David Mayne
After a temporary pause, Portland Public Schools (PPS) is moving ahead with modernization plans for Cleveland, Jefferson and Ida B. Wells High Schools—taking a more cost-efficient approach to delivering these high-quality learning environments for students.
In response to rising construction costs, PPS Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong tasked the Office of School Modernization (OSM) to refine the modernization plans, ensuring that every dollar is spent wisely without compromising the academic experience. On February 11 the PPS Board of Education unanimously approved a plan to restart the design process, focusing on right-sizing each school to maximize resources while maintaining strong programming.
Planning for a new Cleveland High School (CHS) began in September 2024. A Comprehensive Planning Committee of CHS community and school stakeholders was convened to provide input and feedback on the design process. The recommended plan is an all-new construction approach on the main building site with improvements to the parking lot, stadium site and potential field improvements at Powell Park for athletics.
The new CHS will feature all-new facilities with modernized teaching spaces including Career Technical Education classrooms, a larger main gym, adding an auxiliary gym and modern performing arts spaces. The main campus will have an outdoor plaza and gathering spaces for students and staff. Improvements at the Cleveland Stadium include expanded grandstands and a new practice field.
The plan was developed through extensive community engagement, including six Comprehensive Planning Committee meetings, three Community Design Workshops, regular meetings with CHS teachers, staff and students, presentations to nearby Neighborhood Associations and outreach to those groups and individuals that have been historically underserved and/or underrepresented. It also included a community-wide survey that affirmed that a large majority of students, staff and community members preferred a new school to renovating the old one. On May 7th, 2024, the PPS School Board approved the Comprehensive Plan for a new multi-story 315,000 sq ft CHS to be built on the existing four-acre site.
However, as part of the cost reduction effort, the revised modernization plans at the three high school buildings will now target a maximum building size of approximately 295,000 square feet, which is aligned with the size of previous school modernizations such as at Lincoln High School. Teen Parent Centers will be provided only if there is a demonstrated need at the high school, and Health Clinics will be provided only where there is a commitment from a provider to operate the clinic.
During this cost reduction planning phase, the Office of School Modernization project teams from all three schools are working together to share lessons learned so that cost reductions in one project are evaluated for the other projects. The Cleveland project team is working to realize savings while keeping the same design features that were prioritized by the Cleveland community through the extensive public engagement work done so far. PPS is committed to maintaining the quality and programming that was initially envisioned to meet the needs of students, staff and the community.
Regular updates to modernization plans for these schools have been presented to the school board over the last several weeks and millions of dollars in savings have been identified so far.
Planning and design work for Cleveland and Ida B. Wells was funded through the 2020 School Bond. Funding for future construction of both new schools would need to come from the School Improvement Bond that is on the May 20, 2025 Special District Election ballot. During construction, Cleveland students and staff would relocate to the Marshall Campus on SE 92nd Ave. and Powell Blvd.
A final schedule for construction of a new Cleveland will be developed pending the outcome of the May 20 election. Upcoming meeting dates and project details are available at pps.net/ClevelandBond.
Rendering courtesy of PPS and Mahlum Architects.
