Multnomah County Commissioners Shannon Singleton and Julia Brim-Edwards are calling for an external investigation of Leslee Barnes, the director of preschool and early learning at the county, after a WW report on state funding that a preschool she owns received.
The two commissioners are also asking her to resign over concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
Barnes, whose role at the county means she oversees the controversial universal preschool initiative Preschool for All, also owns her own preschool in town, Village Childcare Enterprises LLC. A WW story published Tuesday showed that the school collected $833,494 from a separate state preschool program for at-need families, Preschool Promise, while reporting chronic underenrollment. Village Childcare collected enough funds for 63 slots, but filled just nine…