The Beaverton School District (BSD) has lost roughly 3,000 students since the 2018-19 school year. The decline mirrors a statewide trend now pushing Portland Public Schools to consider closing up to 15 elementary schools and three middle schools.

BSD closed McKay Elementary School at the end of the 2025-26 school year after the board voted to shutter the building. The closure came as the district confronted a $37 million budget gap, OPB reported in July. To fill that gap, BSD cut 159 full-time positions and drew $16.6 million from reserves.

Further cuts loom. For the current 2026-27 school year, BSD faces an additional $11.5 million shortfall likely to cost about 75 more positions, The Oregonian reported in April.

Oregon's second-largest district enrolled more than 40,000 students in 2018-19. By the 2024-25 school year, that figure had fallen to around 37,000, a 2.3% year-over-year decline as of October 2025, according to The Oregonian's analysis of state data. BSD has lost more than 1,800 students in the past four years alone and expects further drops.

The district-wide losses affect Bethany-area families whose children attend Westview, Sunset and Mountainside high schools, though BSD has not released school-level enrollment figures.

BSD does hold a financial cushion most Oregon districts lack: about $150 million in its fund balance, according to The Oregonian.

Superintendent Tony Smith, who started July 1 after leaving Denver Public Schools, has said he wants to study the district before making big moves. In a July interview with OPB, Smith said, "I don't want to make rash decisions and be reactive. I want to be thoughtful, I want to be strategic, and I want to understand where people are so that we can make collective decisions …"

Smith has not publicly addressed whether BSD will consider additional school closures beyond McKay.

BSD Board Chair Justice Rajee and Beaverton Mayor Lacey Beaty acknowledged the pressure in an Aug. 28 opinion piece in the Beaverton Valley Times, writing that districts are rethinking how to allocate resources as enrollment falls and public funding tightens.

The regional picture reinforces the scale. OPB reported Sept. 2 that Portland Public Schools has lost 6,086 students since 2018 and projects losing 3,446 more by 2031. Statewide, public school enrollment stood at 539,644 as of October 2025, down 7% from the 2019 pre-pandemic level of about 580,000.

BSD's next board meeting date has not been publicly announced. Families can check the district's website for updates on enrollment planning.