1. What Is the "Educators Living Wage Initiative"?

This bold plan ensures that every PPS teacher earns a real living wage that reflects Portland's skyrocketing cost of living. Teachers should not need second jobs or live an hour away from the schools they serve. Our policy guarantees that PPS raises teacher pay by 20% while freezing runaway administrator pay until teachers are treated with respect. It also forces corporations and vendors profiting off PPS contracts to contribute to teacher salaries through targeted surcharges.

2. Why Is This a Crisis for Portland Public Schools?

• Teachers are burned out and underpaid, making $50K-$75K annually. At the same time, median rent and housing prices continue to soar in Portland.

• Teacher turnover is rising, creating unstable classrooms and harming student learning. Recruiting and training replacements cost PPS millions.

3. What Specific Actions Will PPS Take to Raise Teacher Pay?

✅ Immediate 20% Base Salary Increase

PPS will immediately redirect $25 million annually from administrative bloat (through the "Classrooms, Not Bureaucrats" spending cuts) to boost teacher pay.

✅ Freeze High-End Administrator Salaries ("Parity Clause")

No new raises for any administrator earning over $150,000 until average teacher pay hits $85,000 or increases 25%—whichever is greater.

✅ 1% Corporate Contract Contribution

• Every contractor doing business with PPS—construction, tech, food services—pays 1% of the contract value to support teacher salaries.

✅ Automatic Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA)

• Tie teacher salaries to Portland's Consumer Price Index (CPI) so that as housing, healthcare, and groceries go up, so does teacher pay — every year, automatically.

✅ Subsidized Teacher Housing Initiative

• Partner with Portland Housing Bureau to convert unused PPS properties (e.g., wings at Jefferson High School) into affordable housing units reserved for educators.

✅ State Legislative Advocacy for CAT Revenue

• Demand that Corporate Activity Tax (CAT) revenues be earmarked statewide for teacher salaries — because corporations should pay for the schools that produce their workforce.

4. When Will PPS Do This?

📅 Immediate (2025)

• Pass board resolutions for pay increases and admin freezes.

• Launch surcharges on corporations and demand clawbacks on tax abatements.

• Start housing partnerships and identify properties for teacher homes.

📅 Short-Term (by 2026)

• Complete the full 20% pay raise.

• Launch Teacher Pay Fund with revenue from corporations and contracts.

• Implement automatic CPI indexing for future raises.

📅 Medium-Term (by 2027)

• Open the first wave of subsidized teacher housing.

• Secure dedicated CAT revenue share from the state legislature.

5. How Is This Different from Typical Union Negotiations?

This isn't about waiting for slow union contracts to adjust for inflation—it's about forcing PPS to reprioritize now and making corporations pay their share. Union negotiations alone aren't enough when admin salaries keep rising, and teachers are expected to "wait their turn." This plan locks in real raises and systemic funding sources beyond negotiations.

6. How Will This Help Kids and Classrooms Directly?

• Stable, experienced teachers stay in the classroom, reducing turnover chaos.

• No more teacher shortages = smaller class sizes and consistent instruction.

• Less burnout = teachers focused on students, not worrying about their second job.