Bond oversight committee reports programs largely on budget; questions remain on Benson, contingency and workforce parity

The Bond Accountability Committee reported that Portland Public Schools’ earlier bond programs are largely complete and underspent while the 2020 bond program is about half spent and retaining contingency funds, committee members said at a June meeting of the Board of Education’s School Facilities Improvement Oversight Committee.

The report, delivered by committee member Norman Dowdy, noted the oldest bond (referred to in committee materials as the 2012 bond) is about 99.9 percent complete with roughly $480,000 remaining; the 2017 program is 91 percent spent and the committee’s current forecast shows it about $67.8 million under the rebaselined budget. The 2020 bond is approximately 48 percent spent and has contingency and allocated project funds of about $83 million, the report said. “Projects are generally coming in on time and within budget,” Dowdy told the committee.

Why it matters: the savings and contingency positions affect whether remaining funds can be reallocated to priority health-and-safety projects, athletics, or to the new 2025 seismic program. Committee members asked for clarity about how earlier projects were reallocated and whether projected underruns had already been assigned to specific work.

Key details from the oversight report and staff answers - Benson high school: Committee members asked whether the reported underrun on the 2017 program reflected the fact Benson’s budget was split between the 2017 and 2020 bonds. Committee members and staff explained Benson now has portions of its cost counted against both bonds; the amount attributed to Benson from 2017 bond funds is shown as about $160.7 million after the split, while the original Benson allocation in 2017 was about $202 million. That rebaseline contributed to the reported under-budget position for the 2017 bond. - Unallocated health-and-safety funds: The committee noted roughly $28 million of unallocated health-and-safety funding from the 2017 program that staff said has been identified for projects such as roofing, fire alarm panel replacements, asbestos abatement and flooring work at Grant High School. The 2017 athletics program had a small unallocated balance (noted in committee remarks as about $104,000). - Contingency movements into curriculum and technology: District staff said about $9.8–$10.0 million of contingency was moved into the 2020 curriculum program to cover planned curriculum spending during a gap between bond sale dates. The committee was told those were internal reallocations of bond contingency, not new bond authorization. - Closeouts and returns to program: Lincoln High School is complete and staff estimated roughly $6.9 million will return to the program when contract closeout is finished. The 2012/older bond closeout items at Grant (fire protection) are expected to use most of the remaining small balance.

Oversight limits and committee focus Committee members described their role as high-level oversight that reports quarterly to the Board. Members said they receive program-level updates, including each major project’s current budget and estimate at completion, but that the committee’s quarterly cadence limits its ability to deep-dive into every contractor-level cost movement. Norman Dowdy and others said the committee reviews performance and financial audits annually to verify compliance with voter-approved bond measures and state requirements.

Equity and workforce questions Committee members pressed staff on workforce participation. Female participation in trades for bond-funded work was reported at roughly 6 percent while the Board goal is 14 percent. Stormy Shanks, senior director for the Office of School Modernization, said the district will include development of an action plan in the 2025 bond execution planning process and can assign the certified programs manager to develop strategies and carry them out. Committee members and the report noted minority workforce participation has trended near goals, but female participation remains well below the stated target.

Committee follow-up and next steps The committee requested clearer documentation of how the Benson budget split was handled in prior reporting and the specific projects to be funded from the $28 million unallocated health-and-safety balance. The committee also asked staff to consider an action plan to raise female trade participation and to provide comparative information about the district’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation versus similarly sized districts to assess the $62 million ERP budget line.

Ending: Committee members said they will continue quarterly oversight and await the staff closeout reports and more detailed project-level reconciliation in upcoming quarterly materials.