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 official public 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’s Office launched its investigation in response to a report made to the state’s government waste hotline, Kaplan wrote. The office has given records associated with its preliminary investigation to the Oregon Department of Justice in accordance with state law, the letter notes…