Hello Hayhurst grown-ups,
I am writing after spending an evening at the Portland Public Schools Board meeting, trying to understand the news last week that our school – like nearly every other elementary and middle school in the district – is facing budget cuts next year. We are slotted to lose talented, beloved educators. It’s been a major blow to morale for our staff and for us as families. It’s keeping me up at night – what can I do? And the answer to that is I can’t do much without YOU.
So, I want to provide an easy, concrete way to share your perspective with elected officials and others who can help find a way to fully fund our schools at current levels next year. If you click here, you will find a document with some sample email language, as well as email addresses, for you to send a message. I hope it will take as little as five minutes to send a note – though your message would be even stronger if you customized it. Please feel free to share this document with friends and families who live in Portland Public Schools. The more noise we make, the better!
I also want to take a minute to talk about declining enrollment. The news headlines have been hard to miss. This is a statewide issue. It’s a citywide issue. And it’s an issue in our neighborhood. Approximately 50 fewer kids attend our school now than did when the pandemic hit two years ago. I hope that you can join me in encouraging neighbors with young children to come to Hayhurst. Share your stories of community connections and great teachers and helpful support staff, as they consider where to send their future Kindergartners.
I will keep you posted on other ways to help fight for full staffing for Hayhurst next year. Stay tuned, and if you want to talk more about this or anything else, I am at president@hayhurstpta.org.
Here’s to doing all we can for our school, staff, and students,
-Christy Splitt, First Grade Mom, Public School Believer, PTA President
