Board approves minimum criteria to begin search for new Portland Public Schools headquarters; unions and maintenance staff press for more engagement

The Portland Public Schools Board of Education voted May 6 to approve minimum criteria that allow staff to begin a formal property search to relocate the district’s administrative and operations offices now housed at the Dr. Matthew Prophet Education Center (PEC). The board approved Resolution 7103 by a vote of 6–0 with one abstention.

Why it matters: Albina Vision Trust (AVT) is pursuing redevelopment of the PEC site in Northeast Portland; that proposal depends on PPS relocating its headquarters. The board’s approval authorizes staff to solicit property proposals that meet a set of nine minimum criteria — ownership (not leased), central access, on‑site parking, safety and the ability to meet PPS functional needs — and to advance test‑fit analysis for candidate properties.

District staff framed the approval as the start of a multi‑phase process. Dan Young, chief operating officer, said the minimum criteria are deliberately specific enough to rule out properties that obviously won’t work while remaining broad enough to allow “promising, unconventional, and unforeseen options” to surface. Young said the next step is a market…