Oregon Students and Parents Protest Proposed School Closures in Salem and Portland

Students, parents, and teachers have stepped up their pushback against sweeping school closure plans in Portland and Salem, staging rallies, sit-outs, and letter-writing campaigns that culminated in demonstrations at the Oregon State Capitol on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026.

Rallies at the Capitol and Sit-Outs in Portland Classrooms

The friction centers on how major school districts are handling declining enrollment. In Salem-Keizer Public Schools, fifth grader Liam Parkison joined a small demonstration on the Capitol steps on Wednesday, part of a two-day rally to stop school closures. Parkison attends Englewood Elementary, one of the facilities proposed for closure. Even though he will have moved on to middle school regardless of the outcome, he wants the school to remain open so he can return as a high school senior—a tradition in many Oregon schools allowing graduates to walk the halls one last time.

Nicole Wasden led chants outside the Capitol while a few dozen children, parents, and community members held signs bearing messages like “students shouldn’t pay the price” and “closed schools equals closed minds.” Organizers in Salem and Portland delivered letters this week to Gov. Tina Kotek demanding immediate state-level intervention.

In Salem, parent Laura Levin asked Kotek and state Sen. Deb Patterson, D-Salem, for a halt to the process. Levin’s kindergarten and fourth-grade children attend Candalaria Elementary, one of the schools slated to close due to physical conditions and lower enrollment in South Salem. Candalaria parents counter that their school maintains high academic achievement, outperforming state test averages. Their letter requests a decision moratorium in Portland and Salem until Feb. 15, after the start of the 2027 legislative session, alongside expanded Pre-K access and a proposed School Closure Transparency and Accountability Act.

Oregon Students and Parents Protest Proposed School Closures in Salem and Portland

Meanwhile, Portland Public Schools is weighing the closure of up to 14 schools, alongside boundary and program changes affecting more than 50 campuses. On Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, at least four Portland schools hosted sit-outs. At Sunnyside Environmental School in Southeast Portland, students walked out of class for the second Tuesday in a row.

Under the district’s current proposals, Sunnyside would lose its middle grades, its environmental focus, and its focus-option status, reverting to a strictly neighborhood program. Eighth grader Z Adams noted that the school is a 20-minute drive from his home and called the district plan irrational. Adams transferred to Sunnyside after struggling elsewhere, finding that the school’s place-based learning approach and weekly nature field trips fit his needs.

During Tuesday’s sit-out at Sunnyside, local musician Mo Phillips led the crowd in a protest song composed by middle school students, featuring the refrain: “Can you save our school, cause that’d be really cool, protesting this whole thing, so the final bell never rings.” Fourth-grade teacher Asa Gervich explained that the student-led opposition stems from classroom encouragement to speak up and engage civically when issues arise. Gervich and other community members point out that Sunnyside is performing well by district metrics, with enrollment declines less severe than elsewhere and test scores better than the district average.

Divided Parent Perspectives on District Right-Sizing

Not every family opposes the restructuring. While protests unfolded, PTA parents from César Chávez K-8 circulated an open letter supporting Portland Public Schools’ plan to rightsize the district. For more than 10 years, these North Portland families have advocated for building improvements, pointing to longstanding issues including staff turnover, limited class offerings, and programs competing for limited resources.

Our students deserve better than a model that limits their access to the resources and opportunities available to students at other schools.

parents wrote in the letter, arguing that these resource gaps contribute to a consistent gap in achievement scores between white students and students of color.

District officials in Portland have acknowledged that the proposals could change ahead of the superintendent’s final recommendation, though abandoning the process seems unlikely. As families wait for official movement, the debate over how to balance fiscal realities with community equity continues to divide neighborhoods across Portland and Salem.