School officials in Portland are looking at potentially seeking state funding in the coming months to consolidate the city's high schools and build a new campus.
Several staff and administrators outlined their plans during a virtual community meeting this week, noting that recent assessments have shown that the city's current high schools need millions of dollars in capital improvements.
Superintendent Ryan Scallon said the district has patched together temporary fixes. But he said new state funding opportunities could be longer-term solutions.
"There is still a need, which is why we're having this conversation, or at least part of why we're having this conversation. There is still a need for a long-term solution," Scallon said.
One of the applications, for funding from the state's Major Capital School Construction program, is due August 30. The district said it is also looking to submit an application, due next summer, for state funding for an integrated, consolidated "9-16" school facility that Deering High School teacher Ryan Hutchins said would offer everything from adult education classes to partnerships with colleges, businesses, and career and technical education.
"So what we'd like you to imagine, is a student who is taking my Spanish class in their second block of the day, and is able to walk right down the hall, or right across campus, to an electrical engineering course, or they're going to carpentry," Hutchins said.
The district is currently discussing what programming could potentially look like at a future school, and officials stressed that many important components, such as a potential location, would be determined much later on.
Officials anticipated that any new school likely would not be constructed until at least 2030.
