In a tense meeting, Portland school board approves $61 million contract for Texas firm

Portland Public Schools Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong speaks at Chapman Elementary School in Northwest Portland for the first day of school on Tuesday, August 26, 2025. Vickie Connor/The Oregonian

Portland Public School Board members voted 5-2 Tuesday to award a contract worth up to $61 million to a Texas-based firm that will oversee the modernization of three high schools and the planned Center for Black Student Excellence over the next five years.

The vote capped an extraordinary flurry of debate over the proposal to bring in Grapevine, Texas-based firm Procedeo to manage the four projects, worth nearly $1.4 billion in taxpayer dollars. And it came despite the looming possibility of a legal challenge from the construction management company that lost out on the competitive