Portland Public Schools is considering closing its central office as part of its ongoing budget process.

If that happens, it might not be vacant for long because the city also is looking for a new space for its family shelter, and the school administration building, located between Cumberland Avenue and Portland Street, is among its options.

School board member Jayne Sawtelle introduced the idea to close the office at a finance committee meeting last month. She said she was motivated by an interest in reducing the district’s physical footprint because of declining enrollment, and by concerns about the building being an “unhealthy” workspace. The building has had problems with water intrusion, although district staff said it was tested and found not to be toxic.

Her proposal comes as the district is contending with a $4 million reduction in state funding, and is working to develop a balanced budget that will likely cut several positions from both the central office and schools.

The building is owned by the city, so the district would only save money on operational costs like utilities. The closure was added to the budget as a potential $250,000 savings, but Superintendent Ryan Scallon said that estimate is dependent on the city taking over the building and its debt service. He said the district would also incur costs from the relocation process.

The city’s lease on its current shelter building — located on Chestnut Street a few blocks from the school district office — ends in June, and the council has discussed relocating the facility, which it has described as in “pretty rough” shape.

Councilor Anna Bullett, who chairs the Health & Human Services and Public Safety Committee, said staff is putting together a collection of possible space scenarios for councilors to consider.

City spokesperson Jessica Grondin confirmed that the central office building is one of the spaces. She said the council will likely take up the topic during a workshop in May.

Scallon told the board it was unlikely the district would get a definitive answer from the city during its budget process, but said including the closure in the budget was a way to show the city that it’s interested in being a partner.

Many questions remain, he said, about where exactly central office employees would go if the building closed. In addition to administrative offices, the space is also home to the district’s Multilingual & Multicultural Center, which provides translation and support services for parents with limited English proficiency and multilingual students, who make up more than 40% of Portland’s enrollment. Scallon said the district’s director of strategy is working on a relocation plan, but the timeline will depend on the city’s level of interest.

“If the city said, ‘Look, we really need this for a family shelter,’ we’re going to move fast so that there’s a family shelter,” he said. “And if they’re not, then I think there is space for us to be deliberate and intentional about the planning of this to make sure that it happens in a thoughtful way.”

The school board will take its final vote on the budget next Tuesday, after which it will move to the City Council for approval. The council is scheduled to take its final vote on May 18, and the budget will go out to voters as a referendum on June 9.

Staff Writer Andrew Rice contributed reporting.