We laid out our concerns last week about Portland Public Schools’ proposed purchase of the One North building to house the long-promised Center for Black Student Excellence. The costs to run a building for nonprofits amid PPS layoffs, transportation hurdles and building codes that may restrict student use of the center are among the big logistical holes for which the district has no answers.

Still, the majority of the PPS board appears ready to move forward with the purchase at its Dec. 2 meeting. Even though we disagree with the decision at this point, we understand the argument for doing so and the desire to finally follow through on a commitment made five years ago to Portland’s Black community.

What we cannot understand, however, is the apathy and resistance that some PPS board members and staff showed to allowing basic scrutiny of the deal. Board members are elected to provide oversight for our school system that is struggling to fulfill its mission of offering a quality public school education to all. Regardless of support for the purchase, the full board should remember that they were elected to advocate for students, not rubberstamp whatever the district administration puts before them.

Last Tuesday’s meeting was the board’s first since PPS released its report on the deal and was the only opportunity for discussion before Dec. 2. But “discussion” often devolved into some board members dismissing colleagues’ concerns and audience members openly deriding questions.

For instance, contrast the approach by board member Stephanie Engelsman versus her fellow director, Christy Splitt. Engelsman asked how students will be transported to the center after school – a significant problem considering about 60% of the district’s Black students attend schools 3 to 9 miles away from the North Portland building. But Splitt breezed over the issue. Previous experience showed her that “families were getting themselves to anything that they felt drawn to and that was important for them to get to,” she said – minimizing the reality that working families face.

Similarly, Engelsman asked questions delving into concerns over restrictions on the building’s use and the missed opportunity to build facilities in farther-out schools with sizable Black student populations. Splitt, however, articulated her hands-off approach with a quip referencing Albina Vision Trust, a leading advocate for the deal. The nonprofit is spearheading a rebuild of the historically black neighborhood that had been demolished and developed under decades of discriminatory policies.

“This is Albina, you have a vision, and I trust you to figure out what you want to do in that space,” Splitt said. “Anything that’s under $60 million, to me, doesn’t strike me as fiscally irresponsible,” she added, referring to the amount authorized as part of a 2020 bond. Importantly, none of that money can pay for ongoing operational costs.

PPS staffers also joined the ask-no-questions act. Engelsman noted that the operating costs – about $736,000 a year – are only partially offset by rent from existing tenants. Since some tenants may leave during the two-plus years of expected renovations, she asked where the money for those ongoing costs will come from, adding that she hoped to hear a plan by December.

Dana White, PPS’ senior director of real estate and construction, sidestepped the issue and seemed to scold Engelsman in response. “I’m a little bit frustrated, I’ll be honest, by the question,” she said, “because we don’t ask that question of any of our other schools.” It did not “feel very fair” to hold this building to a “different standard,” she intoned.

But White’s sanctimony is neither justified nor based in fact. First, the Center for Black Student Excellence is not a school. This building will primarily house nonprofits and will serve students outside of the regular school day. The center will rely on PPS to cover the building’s operating costs – which don’t even include money the district may spend for the center’s programs or transportation.

Second, operating expenses have been a major factor driving building decisions over the years, from school closures in the early to mid 2000s to the consolidations that the district is now beginning to consider.

And finally, PPS, which has cut positions for three years in a row, is facing a $50 million shortfall – roughly the salaries of 500 experienced teachers – for the coming school year. Any board member who isn’t questioning a new commitment of operating dollars is simply not doing their job.

There are much tougher issues facing this school board in the months ahead. They should start proving to the public that they’re up to the challenge.

-The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board