Portland Public Schools will not pursue an attempt to open the lower floors of Jefferson High School early in the 2028–29 school year, abandoning its brief hope that Texas-based construction firm Procedeo had devised a strategy that would allow students to access the modernized building months ahead of schedule.
In new documents made public late Friday, Procedeo admitted that the timeline it had previously proposed was not in fact realistic. A feasibility study the firm authored found the strategy it had suggested would at best shave only a few months off students’ return.
That admission revives questions about the $60 million contract PPS signed with the Texas firm to oversee the timely delivery of major bond projects, including three high school modernizations and the Center for Black Student Excellence. The district awarded that contract after Procedeo pitched its plan for a speedy Jefferson rebuild—one the district’s own staffers said was implausible…