Portland Public Schools staff on Nov. 10 presented a revised seismic-prioritization framework and scoring model intended to guide projects funded by the district’s 2025 school-modernization bond. The district described a hybrid approach that emphasizes seismic risk while preserving capacity for targeted retrofits to reduce the highest local vulnerabilities.

John Franco, senior chief of operations, introduced the topic and said staff had refined prioritization criteria after committee feedback. Jennifer Eggers, a principal at Holmes Structures, described the weighted scoring model and said the team placed a large share of emphasis on seismic risk: "90% was placed on seismic risk," she said, adding that 5% was allotted for facility improvements and 5% for enrollment.

Eggers said two full-campus retrofits for unreinforced-masonry (URM) campuses are feasible within the bond envelope and that targeted retrofits—such as bracing URM gymnasiums and shoring high-risk load-bearing walls—could materially reduce districtwide risk while stretching dollars across more campuses. She said the scoring and recommendations use Hazus/FEMA principles and local assessments.

Committee members and public commenters pressed staff for transparency on calculations and equity. Per Olstead (Safe Structures PBS Coalition) asked staff to "show its work" and to explain how the district incorporated the equity requirement in resolution 7109. Staff responded that Title I designation and cross-referencing with prior retrofit work were used to account for equity considerations and that rightsizing/consolidation decisions could shift priorities in future rounds.

Budget and schedule: staff cited a $100,000,000 bond allocation for these seismic priorities; rough-order-of-magnitude estimates for immediate priority campuses total roughly $75 million, leaving contingency for unforeseen costs and the possibility of additional campuses after design and bidding. Staff also noted state SRGP grants (approximately $2M range per award) as potential supplemental funding and will pursue grant applications and design procurement.

Next steps: staff will finalize the prioritization list and scopes for the first round of projects, continue grant applications and procurement for design services, and provide opportunities for community feedback as the rightsizing/consolidation conversation proceeds.