Correction appended

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler kept his promise this week to stop using city money to pay for more than 12,000 metro school students to ride public transit for free during the school year.

Wheeler's proposed budget released Monday eliminates the city's share of the TriMet Youth Pass, an estimated $2.9 million bill that's been split three ways among the city, the transit agency, and Portland Public Schools for years.

But Thursday, PPS said it planned to pick up the city's $967,000 portion of the tab, seemingly putting to rest questions about what Wheeler's budget means for the state's largest school district. It wasn't clear, however, what now happens to more than 1,000 east Multnomah County students who were receiving free transit passes this year for the first time.

"Our budget committee just approved our budget Monday night," Dan McCue, David Douglas School District's spokesman, said, "It's not anything that we would be in a position to fund ourselves." David Douglas and Parkrose students were included in the program this year.

The budget developments were the latest twist in the game of political chicken surrounding the TriMet Youth Pass that's continued through three successive Portland mayoral administrations after the state stopped subsidizing the program in 2011.

Julia Brim-Edwards, Portland Public School's board chairwoman, said it's disappointing the city appears to be pulling its support. "As a parent who has had kids in high school who used this pass," Brim-Edwards said, "it's a very valuable service, and it allows our students to get to school, get to work."

Neither the city nor the school district's final budget has been approved, but Brim-Edwards said Wheeler made it clear in 2017 Portland was out, and PPS was prepared to step up its support.

That decision would come as the district just announced plans to slash 65 positions from its central administration office.

A district spokeswoman said PPS wouldn't shoulder the entire $1.9 million price tag. The district, which has a special waiver from the state to forgo offering yellow bus services to students, will receive a state reimbursement for 70 percent of its Youth Pass costs.

Up until 2011, the state paid for the transit passes through its Business Energy Tax Credit program.

In 2012, then-Mayor Sam Adams threatened to charge TriMet a huge fee on benches and shelters over a disagreement with the transit agency after the state eliminated funding and its future was in doubt. The city and TriMet eventually compromised and shared costs. In his tenure, Mayor Charlie Hales ramped up city spending on Youth Passes from $300,000 to the current arrangement where the parties chipped in $967,000.

During the current budget year, Portland said it would be the final time the city paid for bus passes. Michael Cox, Wheeler's spokesman, said the mayor told PPS, David Douglas and Parkrose School Districts to work on a funding plan for all districts.

Cox said the city needs to work on issues like homelessness, housing, and police. "The focus on core priorities and the need for budget discipline means that we cannot continue to fund some programs that are popular, but not central to the City's mission," Cox said in an email.

Some advocates are concerned that the east county students are being overlooked.

"PPS has this benefit and east Portland doesn't," Shawn Fleek, communications manager for OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon, a nonprofit group that advocates for transportation issues. "And that's a clear environmental justice issue."

While David Douglas and Parkrose students have the option of taking a school buses, Fleek said, they are increasingly cramped and students don't then have the added benefit of having a pass to get around town, to work or to develop a familiarity with public transit.

"Our long-term vision is really for TriMet to take on the funding," Fleek said.

He pointed to the $5.3 billion transportation packaged approved in 2017, which will funnel millions to TriMet, as a potential source of Youth Pass funding.

Tia York, a TriMet spokeswoman, said the agency is required to spend "at least 1 percent" of state transportation revenue on high school students. It's not immediately clear how much money the agency will receive. TriMet will hold workshops in May to discuss how to spend the state money. York said TriMet already offers discounted fares to students ages 7-17 regardless of their district.

The transit agency said it has an "open offer" to work with any districts on a similar student pass partnership like the PPS arrangement. No other school district has been able to chip in matching funds, she said.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the percentage of youth transit costs Portland Public Schools can recoup from the state. The correct amount is 70 percent.

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen