Portland's Board of Education is scheduled to approve a $75,000 contract tonight to look at drawing new boundaries for the city's high schools. The move, which comes before Portland Public Schools has officially announced plans to close any schools, has led some to ask whether closures are a foregone conclusion.

For months, the school district has been talking about a "High School Redesign" that would cut the district's nine existing neighborhood schools to six or seven "core" schools. The rest would be trimmed down to smaller, more focused schools or closed altogether.

Parents are expressing concern that their kids' schools could be shuttered, and they're shocked to see the redistricting contract effectively approved before any closure plan has been announced. Here's an excerpt from a letter that Grant High School parent Frank Cappuccio sent to the board last week:

I, of course, had heard the District was planning on such an analysis, but had no idea that it would cost this much. In addition to the cost, it disturbs me to see the District request approval for this contract before the Board has even determined there will be school closures.
...
In fact, I believe I heard Director [David] Wynde say, just the other night [February 4] at the Grant Cluster Neighborhood Meeting, that it was a possibility that no schools would be closed....

Portland Public Schools spokesman Matt Shelby says the contract is a "checkpoint along the way," and that "this is work we need done."

I asked Shelby whether the contract means closures will be on the table; he said he didn't know and will get back to me.

"We need enough information to reassure folks that we know what we're doing," says Shelby. "But if we do too much, they'll think it's a done deal, and there's always going to be that tension."

Here's the exact text on the budget item:

Conduct multivariate analysis of District student data and generate a set of high school boundary options, including maps and supporting materials appropriate for public use.

The meeting's tonight at 7 p.m., 501 N. Dixon Street. It should be interesting, because this story comes on the back of news last Thursday that teachers' contract negotiations have reached an impasse—heralding the slim possibility of teachers' strikes.

Update 4:40 p.m.: The school district just released a document about the contract with SEER Analytics LLC. It provides these details about the funding source:

This contract is funded through the US Department of Education, specifically through the Technical Assistance for School Assignment grant. This grant is intended to aid PPS in developing student assignment plans and strategies resulting in a less segregated High School system.