PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Portland Public Schools board has allowed the purchase of a property that could serve as its Center for Black Student Excellence, marking a major update in the five-year-long effort to bring the new space to the district.

On Tuesday evening, the Board of Education unanimously authorized a pending agreement to secure the One North building along North Vancouver Avenue. About 75% of Portland voters approved the district’s plan to allocate bond dollars toward the facility in 2020.

If plans continue to advance, the center will be “more than a building,” according to PPS Senior Director of Family and Community Engagement Nichole Watson.

“It is a systems-level redesign,” Watson told the board. “It's an approach and a reflection of our commitment to Black students a

See Full Page