Skip to main content
Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read on Monday referred an investigation his office began into Portland Public Schools to the Oregon Department of Justice and the Oregon Government Ethics Commission. In a referral letter to OGEC that WW obtained through a public records request, Read’s deputy, Michael Kaplan, cited potential criminal violations of two state laws that prohibit the use of one’s public official position for financial gain.
Kaplan wrote that Read’s office had launched an investigation into PPS’s dealings with Procedeo, a Texas-based construction firm overseeing the district’s bond services. In December, the Portland School Board voted 5-2 to approve a $61.5 million contract with Procedeo for five years of overseeing program management services, which include the timely delivery of three high school modernizations and the Grice Adair Center, formerly known as the Center for Black Student Excellence.
The Secretary of State launched its investigation in response to a report made to the state’s government waste hotline, Kaplan wrote. The Secretary of State has given records associated with its preliminary investigation to the Oregon Department of Justice in accordance with state law, the letter notes.
A section of the state law cited states: “If the secretary determines during the investigation that fraud or other criminal activity may be occurring or may have occurred, the secretary shall notify the appropriate law enforcement agency of the potential fraud or other criminal activity.”
The ethics commission is being alerted, Kaplan writes in the latter, because the Secretary of State suspects potential violations of state law around how public officials might stand to benefit from public contracts.
“Our initial investigation found documentation to support potential violations of ORS 244.040 and ORS 244.047, which makes clear that public officials may not use or attempt to use their official position to obtain financial gain for themselves or any business with which the public official is associated,” Kaplan’s letter reads.
The letter is vague in identifying any public officials involved, or what the particular offenses within the flagged statutes might be.
Portland Public Schools did not immediately respond to WW’s request for comment.
Last week, WW first reported that PPS’ external bond auditor had, in a draft audit, flagged the district’s Procedeo contract had heightened the district’s risk for fraud. Among many findings, the bond auditor found risks around favoritism and bias as PPS selected the firm.
Auditors cataloged several instances in which PPS, ahead of contract solicitation and awarding, communicated with Procedeo about its intentions and plans around the proposed services and how the firm could help PPS. “Although PPS asserted that it talked with other consultants on similar topics, PPS did not provide documentary evidence to support this assertion,” the audit noted.
It also found that the district’s request for proposals process was also potentially subject to bias, pointing to scoring practices by certain evaluators as one example.
This is a developing story that will be updated if more details become available.
