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Portland school board approves five-year owner's-rep contract with Presidio after heated debate
Summary
After several hours of public comment and extended board debate over cost and transparency, the Portland Public Schools board approved a five-year owner's-representative contract with Presidio to manage the district's major bond projects, including three high schools and the Center for Black Student Excellence, by a 5-2 vote.
Portland Public Schools voted Dec. 2 to hire Presidio as the district's owner's representative to manage bond program delivery, approving a five-year contract that the superintendent said is intended to bring consistency and stronger oversight to projects long beset by delays and cost increases.
The 5-2 vote authorizes a contract structured as a percentage fee on remaining unspent budgets tied to the four named projects (three high schools and the Center for Black Student Excellence) and includes incentive provisions intended to encourage on-time completion, the district's senior counsel said. Superintendent Cheryl Armstrong said the decision responds to an external performance audit and a string of cost increases and schedule slippage on prior modernization projects, including a reported $55 million contingency on Jefferson High School and $25 million for Harrison Park.
"These are not abstract issues,"…
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