What does a K-8 student really cost?
PPS says K-8 middle grades cost about $1,750 more per student than regular middle schools (~$8,750 vs. ~$7,000), but that figure is an average that hides a wide range. Using PPS’s own staffing numbers, this extra cost is concentrated in a few small programs, yet PPS’s plans convert the lowest-cost K-8s while keeping or expanding three of the five most expensive.
PPS’s numbers count only teachers,1 which makes a K-8’s middle grades look far more expensive than they are. Count the whole school and the K-8 premium mostly disappears.
| Cost per student | Whole school PPS budget | Teachers only PPS’s method | Full middle-grades cost my estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laurelhurst | $10,022 | $8,496 | ~$11,004 |
| Vernon | $10,276 | $7,779 | ~$10,894 |
| Sunnyside | $10,462 | $7,226 | ~$10,228 |
| Middle school average | $10,776 | $6,964 | $10,776 |
| Highest-cost middle school, not Title I2 | $10,903 | $6,818 | $10,903 |
| K-8 average | $11,357 | $8,750 | $11,923 |
| K-8 premium | $581 | ~$1,750 | ~$1,150 |
- Whole school: each school’s full 2026-27 budget ÷ all its students, from PPS’s own budget book. This is the number on my busing page.
- Teachers only: grades 6–8 teacher positions × $160,000 ÷ grades 6–8 students. This is the number PPS presented. Note that it puts these schools in nearly the opposite order.
- Full middle-grades cost: my estimate of the whole-school cost of just grades 6–8 at each K-8, so it compares directly with a middle school. Method below.
- Averages are weighted by enrollment, so a 600-student school counts more than a 200-student one.
1 PPS priced every teacher at a flat $160,000, but its presentation never states that number. It’s what every row of PPS’s own staffing subsidy table works out to (Vernon: 1.0 teacher = $160,000), and PPS doesn’t say where it comes from. In PPS’s own 2026-27 budget, the average cost of a school-funded position (salary plus payroll costs) ranges from about $145,000 at Faubion to about $173,000 at Kellogg. ↑
2 This is Beaumont Middle School, the most expensive PPS middle school per student that is not a Title I school (PPS 2026-27 Budget Vol. 2, p. 5). PPS’s seven Title I middle schools all cost more per student on a whole-school basis, because Title I and other equity funding follow students’ needs; I left them out so this row compares schools funded the same way. On the teachers-only measure, Beaumont costs less than the middle school average, which shows how much that measure leaves out. ↑
Counting everything a school spends, Laurelhurst costs less per student than any other K-8 and less than 11 of PPS’s 15 middle schools.
Where the K-8 “subsidy” actually is
Using PPS’s own teacher-only numbers, the extra cost of K-8 middle grades sits mostly in a few small programs. The five largest K-8 programs carry 28% of it; the eight smaller ones carry 72%.
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1. Highest cost $9,807avg. per student
Bridger ($10,260), César Chávez ($10,014), MLC ($9,882), Skyline ($9,644), Astor ($9,205)
- Grades 6–8 students
- 633 (31%)
- Share of $3.4M extra cost
- $1.66M (49%)
The plan: converts Bridger and Chávez. Keeps Astor and Skyline as K-8s and makes MLC a K-8. $928K of this tier’s extra cost is untouched.
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2. Mid-range $8,543avg. per student
Winterhaven ($9,020), ACCESS ($8,845), Odyssey ($8,691), Laurelhurst ($8,496), Faubion ($8,268), Beverly Cleary ($8,209)
- Grades 6–8 students
- 1,017 (50%)
- Share of $3.4M extra cost
- $1.49M (44%)
The plan: converts Laurelhurst, Faubion, and Beverly Cleary. Keeps Winterhaven, ACCESS, and Odyssey.
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3. Most cost-effective $7,499avg. per student
Vernon ($7,779), Sunnyside ($7,226)
- Grades 6–8 students
- 367 (18%)
- Share of $3.4M extra cost
- $224K (7%)
The plan: converts both.
-
For reference: 15 regular 6–8 middle schools $6,964avg. per student
- Grades 6–8 students
- 7,283
All told, the plan’s conversions cover $1.70M of the $3.38M. The other $1.68M stays in programs that remain K-8.
This is how PPS presented it: by counting only teaching costs, with every teacher priced at a flat $160,000. Even by that measure, Sunnyside’s middle grades cost $7,226 per student, the lowest of any K-8 and in the same range as PPS’s regular middle schools. PPS would convert it anyway.
Where the K-8 “subsidy” actually is
Using PPS’s own teacher-only numbers, the extra cost of K-8 middle grades sits mostly in a few small programs. The five largest K-8 programs carry 28% of it; the eight smaller ones carry 72%.
-
1. Highest cost $9,807avg. per student
Bridger ($10,260), César Chávez ($10,014), MLC ($9,882), Skyline ($9,644), Astor ($9,205)
- Grades 6–8 students
- 633 (31%)
- Share of $3.4M extra cost
- $1.66M (49%)
The plan: converts Bridger and Chávez. Keeps Astor and Skyline as K-8s and makes MLC a K-8. $928K of this tier’s extra cost is untouched.
-
2. Mid-range $8,543avg. per student
Winterhaven ($9,020), ACCESS ($8,845), Odyssey ($8,691), Laurelhurst ($8,496), Faubion ($8,268), Beverly Cleary ($8,209)
- Grades 6–8 students
- 1,017 (50%)
- Share of $3.4M extra cost
- $1.49M (44%)
The plan: converts Laurelhurst, Faubion, and Beverly Cleary. Keeps Winterhaven, ACCESS, and Odyssey.
-
3. Most cost-effective $7,499avg. per student
Vernon ($7,779), Sunnyside ($7,226)
- Grades 6–8 students
- 367 (18%)
- Share of $3.4M extra cost
- $224K (7%)
The plan: converts both.
-
For reference: 15 regular 6–8 middle schools $6,964avg. per student
- Grades 6–8 students
- 7,283
All told, the plan’s conversions cover $1.70M of the $3.38M. The other $1.68M stays in programs that remain K-8.
PPS’s projected savings are unlikely to hold up for Laurelhurst: once new busing is paid for, the balance is wiped out if 25 to 28 students leave PPS instead of moving to Mt Tabor.
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$160,000
PPS’s cost per teacher: one flat amount for every teacher, whatever their experience or education Implied by PPS’s staffing subsidy table (see the Three ways to count tab)
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×
2.2
Teaching positions PPS says it saves by converting Laurelhurst to a K-51 PPS TLE Committee, “Middle Grades,” Oct. 13, 2026 ↗
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=
$352,000
PPS’s projected savings, per year $160,000 × 2.2
PPS’s figure leaves out two things. Busing Laurelhurst’s middle schoolers to Mt Tabor would take one or two new bus routes, at about $38,000 a year each after state reimbursement.2 And every student who leaves PPS takes at least $11,127 a year in state funding with them.3
| $352,000 | PPS’s projected savings | |
| − | $38,000 | One new bus route, PPS’s share |
| = | $314,000 | Savings left |
| ÷ | $11,127 | State funding per student |
| = | 28 | Students leaving PPS would cancel out the savings |
| $352,000 | PPS’s projected savings | |
| − | $77,000 | Two new bus routes, PPS’s share |
| = | $275,000 | Savings left |
| ÷ | $11,127 | State funding per student |
| = | 25 | Students leaving PPS would cancel out the savings |
PPS’s savings disappear if Laurelhurst families leave PPS instead of moving to Mt Tabor.
25–28 students Leaving PPS would wipe out what PPS saves by converting Laurelhurst That’s 11–12% of Laurelhurst’s 226 middle graders. Fewer families would need to leave if younger brothers and sisters go with them.Affluent neighborhoods tend to send 22% of their kids to private schools. At Laurelhurst, it’s only 18%.
If Laurelhurst’s neighborhood sent their kids to private schools at the average for its income, 11 to 28 fewer students would be in PPS. That’s $122,000–$311,000 a year in state funding lost.4
Learn more on the Neighborhood page, Keeping families tab →At the low end, PPS keeps a little over half of what it expects to save. At the high end, converting Laurelhurst costs PPS money. And because Oregon funds districts on the higher of this or last year’s enrollment numbers, a loss wouldn’t show up in PPS’s budget until a year after families leave.
K-5 conversions don’t save on overhead
Teachers’ salaries aren’t a school’s only staffing cost. PPS also pays for principals, office staff, counselors, and librarians. Converting a K-8 to a K-5 moves students between two campuses that both stay open, so PPS still pays to run both.
- Laurelhurst keeps its staffing overhead. As a K-5 it still needs a principal, an office, and the rest of a school’s staff.
- Mt Tabor adds to its own teaching costs. It would grow from about 415 students to about 641, and its staff grows with enrollment.
- Overhead follows the number of students, not the number of grades. In PPS’s budget, K-5s, K-8s, and middle schools of similar size require about the same amount of non-teaching staff. Moving the students between the two campuses doesn’t shrink this overhead.
- Laurelhurst would get less efficient. Today it has the leanest non-teaching staffing of any PPS K-8, at about $2,100 per student. As a K-5 of 348 students, I estimate it’s closer to $3,000 per student.
Regardless of how you count the costs, PPS’s projected savings are too small and too uncertain to justify converting strong neighborhood K-8s.
1 PPS’s staffing subsidy table lists 2.2 more grades 6–8 teaching positions at Laurelhurst than PPS’s middle school staffing formula would assign the same students, priced at $160,000 each. PPS presents this as the K-8 “subsidy” that converting would remove. It is an estimate of teacher cost only; PPS hasn’t published what it expects to save at Laurelhurst on any other line. ↑
2 One or two new routes at about $38,000 each, PPS’s average share of a bus route after Oregon reimburses 70% of approved costs. About 29% of Laurelhurst’s attendance area is more than 1.5 miles from Mt Tabor, the distance at which PPS buses middle schoolers. The estimate doesn’t count students who would qualify under PPS’s hazard rules. Details on the Busing costs page. ↑
3 PPS’s 2025-26 State School Fund grant per weighted student (Oregon Department of Education). Students with extra needs carry extra weight, so this is a floor: with PPS’s mix of students, the average student brings in about $13,500, and at that rate 20 to 23 students would cancel out the savings. State funding follows enrolled students (ORS 327.013). This is revenue, not spending. The Oregon Department of Education’s School Level Expenditure Report shows $21,918 spent per Laurelhurst student in 2024-25 (and $22,306 per Mt Tabor student), because it counts every fund source plus district-wide and education service district costs. Only about $9,700 of Laurelhurst’s figure is spent at the school itself, close to the $10,022 per student in PPS’s own 2026-27 budget that this site uses for whole-school comparisons. ↑
4 This is a “what if,” not a prediction: about 11 of Laurelhurst’s 226 middle graders, or about 28 students if younger brothers and sisters in grades K–5 leave, too, at $11,127 each. The method and margins of error are on the Neighborhood page, Keeping families tab. ↑
5 Non-teaching staff are each school’s budgeted positions minus its teachers: administration, office, counseling, library, coaches, educational assistants, and other staff. They exclude custodial, nutrition, special education, and ESL positions, which are budgeted separately (PPS 2026-27 Budget Vol. 2, school pages). Across PPS’s K-5s, K-8s, and middle schools (that are not Title I schools), non-teaching staff run about 3.9 positions per school plus about 0.76 for every 100 students, with little difference for the different grade ranges. This estimate applies this formula to Laurelhurst as a K-5 with 348 students, and Mt Tabor with 641 students (415 today plus 226 students from Laurelhurst): about 6.5 and 8.8 positions. Because the same number of students stay in the two different schools, the formula should yield the same total before and after the move. In reality, Laurelhurst and Mt Tabor run a little leaner than the formula predicts (at only 14.4 positions in the 2026-27 budget). Cost per student uses each school’s average cost per position. This is an estimate, not a staffing plan; PPS hasn’t published one. ↑
Sources and method
Sources
- PPS, “Middle School Student Experience: K-8 & 6-8 Schools.” Presentation to the PPS Board Teaching, Learning, and Enrollment Committee, October 13, 2026 (BoardBook agenda). Tables “K-8 Middle Grades Staffing Subsidy” (grades 6–8 enrollment, actual and formula teacher FTE, dollar subsidy for 13 K-8 programs) and “6-8 Middle School Staffing and Cost Per Pupil” (enrollment, teacher FTE, and cost per student for 15 middle schools).
- PPS, 2026-27 Proposed Budget, Volume 2 (updated May 6, 2026). School summary table, p. 5 (dollars per student and students per FTE by school), and individual school pages (staffing by position type, salaries, and payroll costs).
- PPS, “Rightsizing: Comparing three scenarios,” updated October 4, 2026. List of grade-level changes, identical in Scenarios A and B: Beverly Cleary, Laurelhurst, Bridger, Sunnyside, Faubion, Vernon, and César Chávez grades 6–8 move to middle schools; MLC becomes a K-8.
How the numbers were calculated
- Cost per student = grades 6–8 teacher FTE × $160,000 ÷ grades 6–8 enrollment, using PPS’s figures. For the 15 middle schools this reproduces PPS’s published numbers exactly (for example, Mt Tabor: 17.6 × $160,000 ÷ 415 = $6,785.54). For K-8s I applied the same formula to PPS’s “Actual 6-8 Teacher FTE in a K-8” column.
- Where $160,000 comes from: PPS does not say. It is the cost per FTE implied by PPS’s own subsidy table (for example, ACCESS: 1.9 FTE = $304,000). PPS notes the comparison covers “General 6-12 Instructor FTE, not all funds nor positions.”
- Whole-school cost per student is PPS’s own “2026-27 $ per student” from the budget’s school summary table (Vol. 2, p. 5): each school’s General Fund, Title I, and grant dollars divided by its enrollment, excluding special education, ESL, and nutrition. Averages are weighted by 2026-27 enrollment from each school’s budget page. The 12 K-8s exclude MLC, a K-12 alternative program. Lane Middle School in the budget appears as Brentwood in PPS’s October presentation. Another Laurelhurst parent first ran this enrollment-weighted comparison; I re-ran it from the budget book and got the same results.
- Full middle-grades cost (my estimate) starts from each K-8’s whole-school budget. Grades 6–8 get their own teachers (PPS’s grades 6–8 teacher count × the school’s own average cost per position) plus a share of everything else (administration, counselors, office, library, other staff, and supplies) in proportion to enrollment. The result is divided by grades 6–8 enrollment. It assumes teachers and other staff cost the school’s average. For Laurelhurst the estimate is about $11,004; at a flat $160,000 per teacher it is about $10,600, and splitting overhead by teacher count instead of enrollment gives about $11,300. A middle school’s whole-school cost is already its middle-grades cost.
- Extra cost (“subsidy”) = (actual FTE − formula FTE) × $160,000, as published by PPS; total 21.1 FTE = $3,376,000.
- Tiers are the natural breaks in cost per student: no K-8 falls between $7,779 and $8,209, or between $9,020 and $9,205. Tier averages are weighted by enrollment (tier teacher FTE × $160,000 ÷ tier enrollment). PPS’s $8,750 K-8 average = 110.3 FTE × $160,000 ÷ 2,017 students.
- “The plan” compares each tier’s programs against the scenario grade-level changes. Dollar amounts “untouched” are the PPS subsidy figures for programs that remain K-8 (Astor $320K, Skyline $192K, MLC $416K).
Limitations and context
- One average cost for every teacher. Actual costs vary with experience and education. In the 2026-27 budget, the average cost (salaries + payroll costs) per school-funded position ranges from about $145,000 (Faubion) to $173,000 (Kellogg). Using each school’s own average instead of $160,000: Laurelhurst $8,803, Mt Tabor $7,113. PPS doesn’t publish position-level costs.
- Teachers only. PPS’s comparison leaves out principals, counselors, office, and library staff. Standalone middle schools fund these themselves; K-8s share them across nine grades. Counting the whole school, the 2026-27 budget shows Laurelhurst at $10,022 per student (the lowest of any K-8) vs. a middle school average of $10,776, and Laurelhurst has the most students per staff member of any K-8 or middle school (13.7).
- Different missions. ACCESS is a talented-and-gifted program, Odyssey and Winterhaven admit by lottery, MLC is an alternative school, and Bridger and Sunnyside are focus-option schools. César Chávez and Astor serve higher-poverty communities. Higher cost may be justified for some programs; the point is that PPS has not shown why it converts lower-cost K-8s while keeping higher-cost ones.
- Cost is not outcomes. This page does not measure results. For reference, 2024-25 state test results (Oregon Department of Education) show Laurelhurst grades 6–8 at 78.2% proficient in English and 65.6% in math, vs. 56.4% and 46.9% for all PPS students in those grades. See test scores →
- Enrollment and FTE figures are as published by PPS in October 2026; small differences from other PPS reports reflect different snapshot dates.