By Daniel Perez-Crouse
On June 12, standing in front of the aging and historic Grover Cleveland High School with current and past faculty and families watching and cheering, Portland Public Schools (PPS) leaders and affiliated parties dug shovels into a trough of bright-blue sand to symbolically kick off construction for a new, modernized campus. Student bands played to the occasion, Cleveland decorated cupcakes were handed out and people were excited about a project that has been in the works for about 16 years.
Cleveland is one of Portland’s oldest and most historic schools, dating back to 1929. Despite architectural charm and deep ties to old Portland, its aging infrastructure and small size relative to the number of students it serves have been the ire of faculty and families. It is also in danger of collapsing should an earthquake hit.
On Facebook, State Senator Kathleen Taylor said after attending the groundbreaking, “My kids both went to Cleveland and had to deal with falling ceiling tiles, sewage leaks and dangerously high and low temperatures in a crumbling, seismically unsound building.”
Jan Watt, a former staff member at Cleveland who spoke at the groundbreaking, lamented “improvements that were desperately needed” in the past and showed excitement at its future build.
Cleveland was optimistically slated for renovation as part of PPS’s 2010 bond to renovate 85 of its schools. It ultimately failed and was left off the table of a future bond that also failed. Despite this, modernization talks and a master plan for Cleveland took place in 2019 and have maintained traction since then. At one point, PPS even debated using the Fred Meyer corporate offices on SE Powell Blvd. as a new location for Cleveland.
In 2022, the Cleveland Comprehensive Planning Committee was a group of school and community stakeholder representatives who worked together to provide feedback for the Cleveland Comprehensive Plan. In 2024, PPS surveyed for the Cleveland modernization project to either build an all-new Cleveland, or build new structures around the 1929 building. 81 percent were in support of building an all-new Cleveland High School.
This project was recently made possible with voters passing the $1.83 billion bond measure in 2025 to refurbish Cleveland and the Ida B. Wells school. The budget for Cleveland’s rebuilding alone is around $450 million (currently).
The new Cleveland campus aims to be an expanded, state-of-the-art facility for students that will stand the test of time. The project plan details extensive additions and upgrades, like two four-story primary wings linked by a skybridge, a student health center, dance and wrestling studios, a secure outdoor courtyard and much more. There will also be street improvements between the school and Cleveland High School stadium.
While it is a new facility, PPS says it will take care to re-use and preserve what they can. For example, the project will use salvaged materials from the current structure on the Franklin St.-facing side of a wall that will “honor Cleveland’s historical significance.”
At a June 11 neighborhood engagement meeting, residents were informed on how the construction would impact the area. Some of what they can expect is construction traffic and intermittent delays around the site; sidewalks adjacent to the site will be closed and have pedestrian detours; street parking surrounding the site will be limited during working hours; the Cleveland High School track and field will be used for contractor parking and staging; and more. The projected completion window is fall of 2029.
Cleveland students and staff will attend school on the Marshall campus from fall 2026 to spring 2029 while the modernized Cleveland High School is under construction. PPS says the Marshall campus is “an instant upgrade for Cleveland students, staff and families.” However, it is almost four miles away from Cleveland, making it a longer commute for some.
To learn more about the project and for updates, visit bond.pps.net/current-modernizations/cleveland-modernization.
Rendering of the new Cleveland school entrance and courtyard. Image by SKANSKA.
