PORTLAND, Maine — Most people choose to move to Maine for a quieter and slower pace of life. Ryan Scallon is no different. He's the new superintendent of Portland Public Schools and hails from a much larger city.
"I’m coming from the school district of Philadelphia, which has about 120,000 students," Scallon said, noting he worked across 40 schools or so back then. "I wanted to go someplace where you could be more part of the community.”
Scallon has experience as a teacher, principal, and assistant superintendent. He began his role in Portland in July of 2023 and joked that he has some exclusive insight into the district's schools, with three children currently enrolled.
"Having two kids in elementary school here, I get feedback all of the time about what they love about their teachers and where we could improve," Scallon said. "The middle school kid? Well, he’s in middle school, so I don’t get a ton of feedback from him."
Scallon is in Portland after a challenging time for the district. In the fall of 2022, payroll problems made headlines around the state and pushed out several faculty members — including Scallon's predecessor, Xavier Botana.
Scallon said the district is still in the process of switching over payroll systems. He said with between 1,600 and 1,700 employees to consider, it's an ordeal.
"We are certainly not to a spot yet where we would hold up, ‘Mission accomplished!’ or anything like that, but we’re definitely going in the right direction," Scallon said. "When I think about the beginning of this year to now, it’s certainly less choppy. But I would say we still have several payroll runs to really work out the kinks," he added.
He said the progress has been technical and personal.
"I think a lot of trust got broken over the last year. I think we’re continuing to rebuild that. I would say we often take two steps forward, and then a small step back, and then two steps forward," Scallon said.
Another real challenge encroaching on this district — and others around the state — is that pandemic-era funding is running out, come the end of this school year. Scallon said that's going to pose problems for the district's budget.
"The budget’s going to be tough," Scallon said matter-of-factly.
He said he's expecting the district will see $9 to $ 10 million less in its budget for the next school year, compared to this one. That accounts for about 6 to 7 percent of the overall budget. Scallon said he can't say for sure exactly what areas will take the ax, but he said it's not going to be an easy decision.
"It’s really not possible to get to the level of financial cuts that we may need to make without it impacting people," Scallon said.
In the past, there have been instances of discrimination reported in Portland schools, a problem highlighted by an influx of asylum seekers and immigrants to the district last year. Scallon said his team is continuing work through the "Portland Promise" strategic plan: to make sure all students graduate from Portland Public Schools and are prepared for success.
"We have a multilingual team, and our multilingual team here really serves as a cultural navigator between families, students, and the schools to help new arrivals navigate the system and to know how to connect with their teacher, how to know what’s happening at their school, how to get involved," Scallon offered as an example.
He said one of his favorite aspects about the Portland district is its diversity.
"I think one of the things that is really important to remember is that the new arrivals, the new students add to our community and add to the richness of the community," Scallon said.
He said mental health is another priority at the forefront, a concern made clear by a survey of community members when he initially took office. To address this need, there are guidance counselors and social workers located throughout the schools to help students feel safe and supported.
"Somebody may say, ‘Look, I want to have some more assistance, some more help with this.’ That’s where the mental health clinicians and providers come in to be able to provide additional support; as well as to also just help problem-solve and to think through with a teacher like, ‘What are you seeing in your third-grade class, and how can we help put in place structures and support for those students?’” Scallon said.
In the past two years, the Portland school district has been home to the Maine Teacher of the Year (Matthew Bernstein for 2023 and Joshua Chard for 2024). Scallon said those teachers, along with other educators in the district, give him hope.
"I feel confident that we’ll get on the other side stronger because of the people we have here," he said.
Scallon said he's expecting there will be a more solid plan for the budget come the March 5 board meeting.