PPS refers levy to voters, resolves to sell headquarters to Albina Vision Trust
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland Public Schools has decided to put it to voters whether to renew a five-year property tax levy for education and is moving forward with selling its current headquarters.
The board wants to keep in place the property taxes Portland residents are currently paying to help fund schools, pay for teachers and other school supports.
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The levy would pay for about 660 teachers, the PPS Board of Education said. However, board members made it clear renewing the levy would not erase the $30 million budget shortfall for next year but would prevent further cuts.
The tax rate would not increase, staying at about $2 per $1,000 of assessed value for the next five years.
The board also voted Tuesday night to affirm a resolution to sell their headquarters property in North Portland to the non-profit Albina Vision Trust. Vision Trust intends to redevelop the land into affordable housing and community space in the historically Black neighborhood. In return, the non-profit agreed to help the district buy a new property for its headquarters at a yet-to-be-determined location but likely in downtown Portland.
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“To do that, the resolution directs the superintendent designee to establish a timeline, create a work plan, an operating agreement and establish a criteria with Albina Vision Trust,” said Julia Brim-Edwards, a PPS board member.
The plan has critics, some of whom say the school board should offer up the property to other possible buyers. There are also concerns as to what would happen to other operations at the central office — like fleet operations, warehouse supply, and nutrition services — and where they would go.
“They don’t have to sell, they don’t have to do this, they can wait. They’ve waited for years, they’ve been talking about it,” said John Charles of Cascade Policy Institute “They should make this an open, competitive process because it’s a valuable asset.”
The finalized sale of the NE Portland PPS headquarters is still not a done deal and could still be years away from happening. As for renewing the tax levy, that will be on the ballot in May.
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When KOIN 6 News reached out to Albina Vision, they said the PPS headquarters building would be demolished after the sale, clearing the way for the redevelopment of Lower Albina. A spokesperson from the non-profit sent a statement further explaining the redevelopment plans:
We are heartened by the PPS Board’s earnest and continued effort to stand alongside the Albina Vision Trust in this generational effort to rebuild Albina. While this resolution does not represent a transaction agreement, it does bring us one step closer to building over 1,000 units of housing for working-class and under-represented families in the heart of our central city. And, most importantly, it positions all involved parties to officially transact on this catalytic 10.5-acre parcel by year’s end.
Long-term, the restorative redevelopment plan spearheaded by the Albina Vision Trust will bring over 3,000 families back to this historic area, create a large-scale waterfront park on the Eastside for all Portlanders, and produce community gardens, mixed-use commercial space and an interconnected series of accessible hubs geared towards meeting the existential needs of the Lower Albina’s residents. Yesterday’s landmark decision represents a notable leap forward in the long-standing and multi-generational effort to ensure that working-class and historically disenfranchised communities have a home in the heart of Portland.
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