Portland Public Schools operations staff told the Facilities committee on Nov. 10 that maintenance performance has improved even while staffing remains below peer benchmarks.

Tom Hodges, chief of integrated operations, said PPS employs 77 full-time trades staff across the district compared with an APPA recommendation of 113 FTEs for a district of PPS’s size—"a 36, full time employee differential, which by approximately $5,400,000 of a gap." He credited staff with improving work-order completion rates and reducing open work orders about 30% since 2023.

On athletics infrastructure, Hodges said Musco LED field-lighting equipment has been ordered, permits are nearly complete, and the first-week-of-March timeline is the target for installation ahead of track season. He said the lighting project will be 100% bond-funded, with community fundraising earmarked for associated costs.

Hodges also provided a Portland Clean Energy Fund (PSEF) update: the district was awarded $19,900,000 in PSEF funds, with $16,900,000 slated for physical improvements (about $10,000,000 set aside for HVAC/thermal comfort and $3,000,000 for student projects). He said $700,000 of the physical-improvements funds have been approved and executed so far and noted the district has two years from award acceptance to submit project proposals to PSF/PSEF (mid‑2026 working deadline).

Procurement update: contracting lead Liz Large said three firms responded to the program-management RFP; scoring is nearly complete and an award decision is expected early next week, followed by contract negotiations and board approval.

Next steps: staff will continue project planning and grant application work, finalize the PSEF project package for 2026–2029 integration with the capital plan, and return quarterly progress reports to the committee.