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“Though Lewis has had some seismic work in the past, there are major plumbing and HVAC needs and the mechanical system is rated as poor at this point. Duniway does not have any major facility concerns other than some kitchen upgrades that will need to be looked at.” (watch)

Just two years ago, staff estimated $14.7 million seismic work was needed at Duniway (versus none at Lewis). And in the district’s 2021 long-term facility plan, Duniway’s facility condition index is worse than Lewis’s (.13 v. .20)

More critically, Lewis didn’t just have “some seismic work” – it had a full seismic retrofit, courtesy of Portland taxpayers through bond measures ($300,000) and the Oregon Seismic Rehabilitation Grant Program ($1.2 million). Duniway has received a new roof but continues to have unreinforced masonry.

It is unclear how they judged the plumbing, HVAC, and mechanical systems, but their assessment conflicts with Lewis staff’s. In the summer of 2026, Lewis’s boiler received an electric retrofit, an expensive improvement that allows the boiler to be operated externally. Duniway has not had this upgrade.

Lewis is also completely ADA-accessible, whereas only Duniway’s first floor is accessible. Lewis received full ADA updates through the 2012 and 2017 bonds, whereas Duniway received only partial ADA updates through the 2020 bond.

What is the real condition of the Lewis building, and of the Duniway building?

Why would you take kids out of a seismically sound building and put them into a seismically unsound building?

After taxpayers spent millions to make Lewis’s building safe, why would you propose for it to go unused?

We know that Lewis is projected to have 201 students, and Duniway without a boundary change around 340.” (watch)

In their report to the board this summer (2026), Drs. Green and Hanson found that Lewis “had exceeded the district’s 80% target utilization in recent years” before,

…[the district] made [Lewis’s] catchment smaller [in 2023]…after the boundary adjustment, Lewis’s projected 2025–26 enrollment decreased from 358 students to 281 students.

The district’s threshold for a sustainable elementary school is 360 students. In his presentation to the board, Dr. Smith neglected to mention this crucial finding, simply drawing attention to Lewis’s low enrollment without noting the cause.

Notably, our catchment zone is adding significant numbers of new single-family homes. As the City of Portland’s residential infill project has incentivized denser, family-friendly housing west of 205, the Lewis catchment is one area where permits for new du-, tri-, and quadplexes have been notably high (pg. 19-22). These zoning changes were specifically designed to “infill” more urban neighborhoods with families who have moved to suburban communities or East Portland.

What would Lewis’s enrollment be if its boundaries hadn’t been redrawn three years ago?

Why did you not distinguish between Lewis's enrollment decrease due to boundary changes from whatever decrease is due to broader trends?

How do you account for the new family-oriented construction in the Lewis catchment zone?

"When reviewing both schools together, Duniway was chosen to remain open because the building can support more students" (pg. 3)

By the district's estimates, Duniway has a functional capacity of 552.

PPS projects Duniway will have 338 students in the 27-28 school year, and 224 for Lewis (pg. 3). Combined, this would produce a school with 562 students.

Oddly, PPS also projects the combined school would have an enrollment of 544 kids (pg. 4). If true, this would be just under the functional capacity, but barely.

Why is there a discrepancy between the estimates -- even in the same document?

If the target is 80% utilization, doesn't the projected capacity far exceed that target?

According to ODE Report Cards, Lewis ELA and Math are at the highest level of achievement. The district's July 2026 analysis called Lewis “a high-functioning” school (67), where basic curriculum is enriched through a variety of supplemental programs (author visits, musicians-in-residence, and scientific partnerships with community groups). Lewis also has notably strong arts education, including:

• diverse afterschool music programs (third grade recorder club, fourth/fifth grade percussion ensemble, fifth grade band)

• an annual spring arts night that features a wide variety of media, methods, and subjects, with student docents explaining the history, context, and composition of each piece

Lewis is also one of only 30 Oregon schools identified as literacy bright spots, and one of seven in PPS. Lewis is a U.S. News & World Report Silver Award-Winning Elementary School, ranked #50 out of 1120 Oregon elementary schools.

The district's July 2026 analysis also cast Lewis as a “relationship-rich elementary school whose strengths lie in its culture and staff cohesion.” The report notes that all families strongly agreed or agreed that their family and student(s) felt a sense of belonging at Lewis.

Lewis staff depart far less often than the broader SEGC elementary comparison range, which the researchers attributed to a “strong, locally cultivated culture of collaboration, kindness, and mutual support.” 100% of teachers who’ve retired from Lewis in the last 5 years have returned to volunteer or substitute, and 58% of Lewis teachers have children who attend or attended Lewis.

We also have a strong and active PTA (82 active members) that hosts roughly 18 major events each year:

• high-frequency community building events like Popcorn Fridays and Caregiver Coffee Hours

• the district’s only major Pride celebration

• a popular winter bazaar that invites families, students, and community members to sell handcrafted items

Relationships with neighborhood businesses such as New Seasons, Otto’s, Double Mountain, and the Heist bring money back into our school to support both in-school and extracurricular activities. Reed College partners annually with fourth graders to learn about salmon spawning, raise fish from eggs, and release those fish into the Johnson Creek Watershed.