Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Facilities topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves preconstruction contracts for high‑school modernizations, orders regular bond cost‑reduction updates
Summary
Portland Public Schools approved preconstruction contracts for planned high‑school modernizations and adopted a board-requested reporting schedule for cost‑reduction work as the district and public weigh enrollment projections and program priorities ahead of a May bond vote.
Portland Public Schools’ Board of Education voted to approve preconstruction contracts for upcoming high‑school modernization projects and asked district staff for multiple public updates on cost‑reduction work ahead of the May 2025 ballot.
The board voted 6‑0 to authorize time‑and‑materials preconstruction agreements with selected construction managers; the items appeared in board materials as contract approvals with Skanska and a second firm (agenda resolutions 7067 and 7068). The contracts authorize preconstruction services to support design, cost estimating and constructability reviews for the modernization effort, the board heard.
Why it matters: The contracts formally bring construction managers on to help translate design options into firm price estimates. Board members and public commenters said the work must show how the district will lower the planned high‑school scope and costs so funds are available for other buildings and programs, while project teams press ahead to keep schedules on track for May ballot materials.
District staff said the preconstruction services will be invoiced on a time‑and‑materials basis and added that major construction expenditures will be negotiated later as guaranteed maximum price (GMP) amendments. “These contracts will approve the maximum value of the contract for preconstruction services and those preconstruction services are invoiced to us on a time‑and‑materials basis,” Stormy Shank, senior director, Office of School Modernization, told the board.
Chief Operating Officer Dan Young said fee percentages for the contractor work were set through the procurement process. “The fee percentage is established via the procurement. Proposers submit a fee percentage, and they are scored on points based on that,” Young said.
Public concern about scale and cost was a recurring theme. Former board member and long‑time facilities advocate Scott Bailey told the board the proposed plan would produce high‑school capacity for about 17,000 students when, he said, the district’s projection is closer to 11,000 in a decade; Bailey said he would oppose the bond if that capacity remains unchanged. Student speaker Evan Juneman, a Cleveland High School senior, urged the board to preserve programs such as a teen‑parent center and health center in the Cleveland design.
The board also adopted a motion from Director Bridal Edwards that sets a public reporting cadence for the bond cost‑reduction work. The amended schedule asks staff to present project‑level updates and the results of cost‑reduction negotiations at board meetings on March 18, April 8 and April 15, with a further summary update to the board by May 30. The amendment passed on a divided vote (4‑2) and was incorporated into the board’s direction to staff.
District staff explained the rationale for approving preconstruction work before the May ballot: the preconstruction work is funded from the district’s existing 2020 bond allocation for preconstruction and design, and staff said the technical work will yield options the board can review whether or not the new bond passes. Staff also told the board the preconstruction products are transferable to future bond work if voters do not approve the May measure.
What’s next: Project teams will refine design options and cost estimates during preconstruction, and the board scheduled the cost‑reduction updates to be presented publicly in March and April. The board’s final authorization of construction budgets will come later as GMP amendments for particular projects.
