The Student News Site of Grant High School

Grant Magazine
Pep Band Returns After Board Updates Contract
Thrift City
In My Opinion: Finding a Place for Transgender Women in Gendered Sports (and in Feminism)
In My Opinion: Finding a Place for Transgender Women in Gendered Sports (and in Feminism)
Letting Go
Letting Go
How Yondr Saved My Life
How Yondr Saved My Life
Grant Women's Soccer huddled with matching “Save the Bread” bracelets.
From Rituals to Results: Grant Athletes’ Paths to Success
Concrete to Diamond
Concrete to Diamond
Fair Play?
Fair Play?
An Outlet in the Air
An Outlet in the Air
A Swimmer's Setback
A New School of Thought
A New School of Thought
All in The Acting
All in The Acting
Taking care of Batts proved difficult for her family as her illness progressed. Elizabeth and Alan Batts say that in the months before her death, she cut off communication and isolated herself.
A Life Derailed
Playing the Part
Playing the Part
Even though Olivia Bee's work largely centers around working for commercial companies, she's stayed true to the artistic style she's developed over the years, something she describes as "documentary with a romantic eye."
Capturing the Light
Grant High School Vice Principal Luis Jara.
Piecing Grant Together
"An Intellectual Turn of Mind”
"An Intellectual Turn of Mind”
Striking a Chord
Striking a Chord
A Sunny Disposition
A Sunny Disposition
Staying in the Game
Staying in the Game
Grant Theater Goes Together
Grant Theater Goes Together
The one with her Grant jersey “Ratenaproeksa demonstrates her control of the ball as she looks to advance, gripping her stick with only one hand.”
Kate CATZenaproeksa
Mari Baker playing her bass clarinet.
Student Stars
From Pitch to Print: Behind the Scenes of Grant Magazine
From Pitch to Print: Behind the Scenes of Grant Magazine
Meet the Staff: Grant Magazine 2024-2025
Meet the Staff: Grant Magazine 2024-2025
Senior Video 2023
Senior Video 2023
Grant's new Digital Photography and Printmaking teacher spends his free time making various pieces of art.
The Media Man
Critiques on the Coastal East
Critiques on the Coastal East
Mental Hell
Mental Hell
Grant senior Max SB.
More Than a Sport: A Lifestyle
A forest of trees is lit up by a sunset, making the bark glow a warm orange color.
Along the Pacific Northwest's Winding Trails
Middletown's poster.
A Review of “Middletown”
Creating Sanctuary in a Divided Nation
Podcast: A Choice of Words, a Matter of Conscience
Podcast: A Choice of Words, a Matter of Conscience
The Student News Site of Grant High School

Grant Magazine
The Student News Site of Grant High School

Grant Magazine
Categories:

Pep Band Returns After Board Updates Contract

Portland Public Schools band directors now receive overtime pay for work on pep band performances.
Irma Anderson and Eliot Logan
September 19, 2025

Pep band performances will be coming back to football games after a short break from performances due to a contract dispute between the band directors and Portland Public Schools (PPS).

This September, Portland Public Schools (PPS) band directors pushed for a change in their contract. In the past, they were only paid for teaching their classes and for three out-of-school concerts a year; all other work, including managing pep bands and maintaining band equipment, they did without receiving any pay.

On Thursday night, the Portland Public Schools Board of Education updated the band directors’ contract, allowing them to be paid for extracurricular work, including pep band performances.

The resolution comes just in time for Grant High School’s pep band to perform at the school’s annual homecoming game Friday.

Check for Updates
Live Coverage
Sharing Link
Updated
Sep 19, 2025, 9:37 pm

McGee Thanks Band Supporters

In a reel posted on Grant High School’s Instagram account Friday night, Grant Principal James McGee stood in front of the pep band, thanking “all those out there who had a hand in making this happen.”

McGee has been an ardent supporter of increasing overtime pay for band directors across the district. However, he says he was told that he would “get in trouble” after offering additional compensation for Grant Band Director Christopher McCurdy.

Print this Story
More to Discover
More in Breaking News
A PAT-sponsored billboard on Broadway that says “Can’t put students first if you put teachers last".
In My Opinion: PPS to Blame and State to Shame
BREAKING: PPS’s First Teachers Strike
Students stand behind a massive yellow banner saying "The GOP hates Gen Z"
BREAKING: Arrested at the Capitol: Portland climate activist Adah Crandall shares testimony after protesting at the Capitol Building in Washington D.C.
Youth activists march holding a large poster with the words "Green New Deal for Schools."
BREAKING: Two hundred student activists gather in Washington, D.C., to promote the Green New Deal for Schools
Grant Bowl Closes for Permitted Use
Grant Bowl Closes for Permitted Use
A Dog Clicker in the Classroom
About the Contributors
Irma Anderson, Reporter
Eliot Logan, Reporter, Story Editor