A question looms after a searing report on how Portland Public Schools mishandles sexual misconduct: Now what?

The outside investigation that came back in May was done in response to an Oregonian/OregonLive story published last August that revealed how the district helped educator Mitch Whitehurst dodge allegations of sexual abuse for three decades. The dangerous conditions that allowed Whitehurst to thrive persist to this day, the outside investigators hired by the school board found.

Tuesday's school board meeting provided a first look at how the district will act on the results of that 320-page report, which put forth dozens of solutions. School board members showed visible sorrow in May when presented with the report, but whether that outrage will manifest into change is still to be determined.

The work is a "high priority," Chief of Staff Stephanie Soden stressed in her update to the board Tuesday night.

Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero formed an eight-person implementation team that will meet twice monthly. Those meetings will be closed to the public, spokesman Harry Esteve said. The board will get progress updates from the team on a quarterly basis and a board committee has already started work on a boundaries policy.

The linchpin for many of the district's plans is the hiring of a fulltime Title IX coordinator. Portland has never had a person for whom preventing and investigating sexual misconduct complaints is a full-time assignment. Officials said last year they were late to post the job because of leadership changes. Roughly eight months after the job did finally post district officials still haven't filled the position. Soden told the board the district hopes to announce such a hire soon.

A key area for improvement is training. Investigators found the prior training to be so weak it might have implied that sexual misconduct is not a serious matter. The district has secured a contract with Wilson Kenney, who has worked with the Salem-Keizer district, to help roll out new training, said district lawyer Mary Kane. Some of the new training will be in place in time for back to school.

The district can't implement all of the recommendations alone. Investigators were clear that provisions in the district's contract with the teachers union, such as a practice of purging files to remove complaints, put students at risk. Nothing will change on that front without the cooperation of the powerful union. Talks between the union and the district are planned for the fall, board documents say, but whether or not those conversations will go anywhere remains to be seen.

Investigators also recommended that the district lobby the Legislature to rewrite laws to better protect students. Another proposed change is for district designate a liaison to work with Portland Police. Preliminary steps are underway on both those fronts.

— Bethany Barnes

Got a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email Bethany: bbarnes@oregonian.com