Voters approved the Portland Public School’s budget in a citywide referendum held on Tuesday, May 12th. The unofficial results are 653 Yes votes and 317 No Votes. The low turnout and lopsided, 2 to 1 vote are common for School Budget referendums.
Only 2% of the City’s registered voters showed up at the polls to help decide what amounts to almost half of the City Budget — $102.8 million, a 1.2 percent increase over last year.
There are 7,034 students enrolled in Portland schools.
The budget increases the portion of property tax that goes to the schools by 23 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.
The increase is partly due to policies from the State that will lead to decreased funding for Portland schools. The estimated reduction in State funding is $920,000.