Construction activity at the Jefferson High School site as the district moves to accelerate the project.
Portland, Oregon, September 12, 2025
The Portland Public Schools board voted 6-1 to expand a contract with Texas-based construction manager Procedeo, approving an additional $487,500 to accelerate planning and work on a new Jefferson High School. The payment is authorized through the end of December and builds on a prior $149,500 engagement, bringing total authorized spending to $637,000. Procedeo delivered a brief page-and-a-half report reviewing past troubles and offering broad recommendations. District employees who led multi-year high school modernizations objected to outsourcing, saying the short report lacked detail. Officials must now decide how to use the contracted hours and whether further study or redesign is needed.
The Portland Public Schools board voted 6-1 to expand a contract with Texas-based construction manager Procedeo, approving an additional $487,500 to help accelerate work on a new Jefferson High School. The extra payment is authorized to be spent between now and the end of December, and comes on top of a previous $149,500 award to the same firm.
The board’s majority said the move was made to honor the superintendent’s push to move quickly on the Jefferson project. The vote passed with six in favor and one opposed. The action came despite public objections from district employees who have spent years on modernizing all nine district high schools and who raised concerns about outsourcing parts of the work.
In June, the district quietly hired the Texas firm for $149,500 to develop a quicker, less costly plan for the new Jefferson High School. After two months, Procedeo delivered a short report — roughly a page and a half — that reviewed the project’s troubled history and offered broad suggestions for improvement. The Jefferson project carries a stated value of $465 million, a figure that makes any progress or delay significant for the district budget and scheduling.
The newly approved $487,500 is tied to a set time window and must be spent by the end of December. The total cash the district has committed so far to the Texas firm now stands at $637,000 when the earlier payment is included. Board supporters framed the decision as a way to speed planning and avoid further delays on a high-cost project. Critics warned that bringing in outside managers could undercut local staff who have long worked on school modernizations.
District employees publicly questioned the move at the board meeting. Those employees have been part of multi-year efforts to modernize every high school in the district and argued the district should rely on internal expertise. Board members who voted in favor said they were responding to a call from district leadership to act quickly on Jefferson. The short report from the firm pointed to past troubles and made general recommendations rather than a detailed new plan, leaving some board members and staff wanting more detail.
With funding authorized through December, the district will need to decide how to use the additional contract hours or services. Officials will also have to weigh whether the short recommendations from the firm should lead to a deeper study, local staffing changes, or a full redesign. The tight timeline suggests an expectation of quick deliverables and decisions ahead of the next construction season.
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The board voted 6-1 to expand the contract with Procedeo and approved an additional $487,500 to accelerate planning and work on a new Jefferson High School.
Procedeo is a Texas-based construction management firm. The district has approved $149,500 previously and just added $487,500, bringing the total authorized to $637,000.
District employees who have been part of long-running modernization efforts for nine high schools objected because they feared outside contractors could replace or sideline local staff and that the short report provided so far lacked detailed plans.
The firm provided a page-and-a-half summary covering the project’s troubled history and general suggestions for improvement after two months of work following the initial June agreement.
The Jefferson project is described with a stated value of $465 million.
The additional $487,500 is authorized to be paid and used by the district between now and the end of December.
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| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Board vote | 6-1 in favor to expand the contract |
| Firm | Procedeo (Texas-based construction management firm) |
| New payment | $487,500 authorized through the end of December |
| Previous payment | $149,500 in June for a quicker, less costly plan |
| Total authorized so far | $637,000 (combined) |
| Project value | $465 million stated value for Jefferson High School |
| Staff concerns | District employees who worked on nine-school modernization efforts objected to the decision |
| Report delivered | Short, page-and-a-half summary with broad suggestions after two months |
| Site notices | Includes user agreement and privacy policy notices, purchase link compensation, copyright notice, and Ad Choices label |
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