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Multnomah County is looking for the next director of preschool and early learning to oversee its Preschool for All program.
The job posting, which officially launched on Wednesday, comes after the resignation of the program’s inaugural director in late July. Leslee Barnes, who had held the role since April 2021, came under fire after WW reported that the preschool she owns was one of four flagged in a secretary of state report of “wasteful” spending by Preschool Promise, a separate program funded by the state to give low-income families access to child care.
Barnes is currently at odds with the county, however, regarding what its leadership knew about her ownership of the preschool to begin with. Since WW’s initial story, county commissioners have flagged ownership of a preschool as a flagrant conflict of interest for the county’s early learning director. Although Barnes disclosed her ownership during the application process, her hiring letter was vague as to whether the county required that she sever her ties to the school before taking the directorship.
While top county officials, including County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, have said they had no knowledge of Barnes’ continued stake in her school, Barnes has told WW she thinks it would have been difficult to miss, and that she disclosed it appropriately. (County records show that Barnes did not, however, continue to disclose her conflict of interest in annual forms after her hiring.)
The county commissioned an external investigation of its code of ethics and conflict-of-interest policies in August.
The new director will take up a program that is trying to create 11,000 publicly funded child care slots by 2030. The pandemic complicated the program’s early rollout, which has also faced criticism from some providers and is sitting on reserves well beyond anticipated underspending.
Meanwhile, the tax on high earners that funds the program is highly unpopular in corporate boardrooms—and that complaint landed on Gov. Tina Kotek’s desk this summer, sparking a last-minute debate on indexing the tax that did not result in any changes. Supporters of the program have said free preschool is a life-changing service for working families across the county, and have advocated incessantly to prevent cuts to it.
To manage the program will be no easy task. The county plans to pay its director between $118,948.83 and $190,317.60 annually, and asks for at least six years of “relevant experience in increasingly responsible professional leadership or technical program experience with early education/human services.” Three of those years should be in a “complex and diverse” organization related to early education and human services.
The position will remain open until filled, and the county will conduct a first review of applicants Oct. 6. Qualified candidates will progress to interviews and be required to complete background screenings. The posting makes no explicit note of conflict-of-interest declarations, though public records the county shared with WW indicate those were part of Barnes’ hiring process.
