PORTLAND, Ore. — What was supposed to be a landmark modernization for one of Portland’s most historic schools has instead escalated into a high-stakes courtroom battle. Portland Public Schools (PPS) and Andersen Construction, the general contractor behind the extensive rebuild of Benson Polytechnic High School, have filed lawsuits against each other, each arguing the other is to blame for massive cost overruns and alleged construction defects.
The modernization of Benson High, a career and technical education magnet school serving about 1,000 students, was celebrated as a centerpiece of Portland’s school improvement bond program. The project opened in fall 2024 at a price tag of $410 million — well above the $269 million originally budgeted. The $141 million gap has since fueled disputes over accountability, delays, and execution.
While court documents outline competing narratives, the heart of the dispute comes down to whether PPS failed to properly manage scope changes and budgeting, or whether Andersen’s management and construction practices contributed to escalating costs and building flaws.
For Andersen, the lawsuits raise questions about PPS’s oversight and the sheer complexity of the Benson rebuild, which included preserving historic portions of the campus while constructing state-of-the-art facilities for vocational education, technology, and the arts.
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For PPS, the litigation underscores frustration with a flagship project that ballooned far beyond what voters approved when they supported bond funding. The district is contending with rising public scrutiny and pressure to demonstrate accountability for taxpayer dollars.
Beyond the courtroom, the case is reverberating through Portland’s education and construction communities. The district is managing multiple modernization projects across the city, and industry experts warn that the outcome of the Benson dispute could shape how future PPS projects are structured, bid, and managed.
The project itself is not without achievements: the rebuilt Benson campus now houses specialized labs, modern classrooms, and enhanced career and technical training spaces. But those gains are now overshadowed by the looming question of who should pay for the overruns.
“The modernized high school, a career and technical education magnet school that enrolls about 1,000 students, opened in fall 2024 at a cost of about $410 million, far more than the $269 million that was originally budgeted.”
The lawsuits are expected to take months — if not years — to resolve, leaving taxpayers, students, and educators waiting to see how one of Portland’s most ambitious school construction projects turned into one of its most controversial.
Originally reported by Julia Silverman in Oregon Live.
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