Executive Summary: On September 9th, the Portland Public School (PPS) board met to approve the purchase and sale agreement for the 72,000 square foot “One North Building” in the Albina neighborhood, slated to house the new “Center for Black Student Excellence,” (CBSE). Cascade President and CEO John Charles submitted his testimony in opposition to the purchase and posed some important questions.
September 8, 2025
Mr. Eddie Wang
Chair, PPS Board
501 N. Dixon Street
Portland, OR 97227
Re: Agenda Item 8, Resolution 7165 – Purchase and Sale agreement for the CBSE building
Dear Chair Wang,
I am writing in opposition to the proposed purchase of the One North building.
Although there are many reasons why the Board should not purchase a building, at this time I will limit my comments to the following issues:
The Board has no way of determining how much space is required because staff cannot explain what the CBSE is.
According to the staff presentation, the CBSE is “not just a building. It is a systems-level redesign and a living resource designed to advance student success and strengthen community connection.”
This tells us nothing about space needs or preferred location.
Elsewhere in the presentation we are told: “Because CBSE is not a traditional school site, but a programmatic and event-based hub, student use is limited…”
If the CBSE is not a school site and student use is limited, why does the district need another 72,000 SF of space?
Before the Board agrees to spend more money on this nebulous concept, it still needs to answer basic questions:
- What is the goal?
- Who will be served?
- How much will it cost to operate?
- What will be the financial and staffing impacts on existing PPS schools?
- How will results be measured?
Since Black students are dispersed throughout the 152 square mile district, how will the purchase of one building affect academic achievement?
In the months leading up to the Board’s January 2025 decision to refer a construction bond to voters, there was a lengthy discussion of adding a proposed Center for Native Student Excellence. Ultimately this proposal failed by a 5-2 vote of the board.
One of the concerns raised by the Superintendent was access. In her words, “We have Native American students at many schools across the district. If the proposal is for one center of academic excellence and we’d have to transport students to a central location, I don’t see how that works.”
The same analysis applies to the CBSE. Learning takes place everywhere within the district. Spending $16 million or even $60 million on a building will have no measurable effects on academic achievement for most PPS students.
Proponents cannot decide if the intended beneficiaries are Black students or all students
The 2020 ballot measure authorizing expenditures of $60 million for a Center for Black Student Excellence was clear that the center was to be a race-specific program. As stated in the 2023 Vision document:
The opportunity ahead is to redefine the future by advancing a culture of Black excellence while meaningfully integrating joy and healing, unifying
and elevating the Black educational experience, and improving outcomes for Black students.
But in the staff report for the September 9th meeting, management now claims that the CBSE will be “open to all students…”
If that is correct, then it should be called the Center for Student Excellence (CSE). If that’s not correct and the goal is to build a Center for Black Student Excellence – as promised to voters in 2020 – then the very idea is illegal under both federal and state law.
Continued pursuit of this concept would likely lead to the loss of all federal funding at PPS. Is the Board prepared for that outcome?
The Board already has an equity funding program designed to promote academic excellence for “historically underserved students” at all school buildings. In what way will the CBSE be different from these efforts?
The Board has been implementing an Equity Funding strategy for over a decade. The explicit goal is to allocate extra financial resources to schools serving low-income families and “historically underserved students”, defined as students from four specific racial groups including Black students.
The specific funding allocations are noted in every annual budget document, rank-ordered by school, along with summaries of relevant test scores. At face value there is no obvious correlation between dollars spent and test scores. While deeper analysis might show something different, the Board has refused to authorize or demand such a review despite multiple requests from the district’s own Citizen Budget Review Committee.
It seems evident that the equity funding program has failed to make a meaningful difference in academic performance. Is there a new strategy being proposed with the CBSE?
During the due diligence period we will submit a more detailed critique of both the CBSE concept and the proposed purchase of a building.
Sincerely,
John A. Charles, Jr.
President & CEO
