Last week, WW reported that Secretary of State Tobias Read had referred an investigation of Portland Public Schools’ $61 million contract with a Texas-based construction firm to the Oregon Department of Justice, which handles criminal investigations. Read’s deputy, Michael Kaplan, wrote in a Sept. 23 letter to the Oregon Government Ethics Commission that his office had found evidence to support “potential violations” of two state statutes that prohibit elected officials from using, or attempting to use, their official position for private gain. The letter did not identify which school officials may have violated state laws. (The matter has also been referred to the ethics commission for potential civil violations.) Here’s what our readers had to say.
Ratfishtim, via wweek.com: “Don’t forget. The superintendent’s daughter got a cush job as office manager with Procedeo here. The superintendent claimed she didn’t know her daughter was applying.
“Well, Procedeo knew who they were hiring, and the superintendent never told her daughter to look elsewhere, nor Procedeo that the hire crossed ethics lines and to withdraw the offer…