The debate in recent weeks over whether Portland Public Schools should proceed with a contract with Texas-based construction firm Procedeo turned from fierce to ugly at a Tuesday night Portland School Board meeting.

Ultimately, the School Board approved the contract—which will pay Procedeo up to $61.5 million for five years of work overseeing program management services for the 2024 school construction bond. The board passed the contract by a 5–2 vote, with board members Stephanie Engelsman and Virginia La Forte voting no. (Ian Ritorto, the board’s student representative, also voted no.)

But the path to get to that vote was rocky and emotional—both a School Board member and a Procedeo employee shed tears—and exposed deepening fissures between School Board members and their philosophies

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