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Donyall Dickey, photographed in Atlanta, during a Portland school board scouting trip, won't become Portland's next superintendent after all.

(Phil Skinner / Special to The Oregonian/OregonLive)

The lone finalist to become superintendent of Oregon's largest school district, Atlanta's Donyall Dickey, will not assume the job, putting the district in the difficult position of potentially lacking a leader for next school year.

Portland Public Schools chairman Tom Koehler said Thursday that the search fell apart because the board and Dickey reached "a mutual understanding that our expectations for the job were not in complete alignment."

"Our job as a board is to make the right call for the kids and the district," Koehler said. "And this clearly is the right call."

Portland superintendent timeline

July 18, 2016: Superintendent Carole Smith resigns, effective immediately. Her announcement comes minutes after the school board releases a scathing report showing how Portland Public Schools dropped the ball on testing water for lead, fixing problems that were found and notifying the public of test results.

August 16: School board names Bob McKean, former superintendent of Centennial schools, interim superintendent.

December: Chicago-based Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, the firm assisting in the superintendent search, presents a report on morale issues and other challenges still bedeviling the district including poor management, strained relations with parents, years of neglected maintenance and a bickering board. Whoever becomes superintendent next year, the report says, will need to address a “great deal of hurt and pain.”

February 2017: The school board winnows candidate pool to three finalists as the search process draws complaints about secrecy.

March 3: The board announces Atlanta Public Schools’ chief academic and schools officer Donyall Dickey is the lone finalist for superintendent, but vetting continues.

March 16: School board members and PPS officials travel to Atlanta on a visit intended as the final check for flaws in their candidate.

April 25: Portland school board chair Tom Koehler, who is handling negotiations, says he expects to finalize a contract in mid- to late May and won’t rush to meet an “arbitrary deadline” like the upcoming school board election and $790 million bond vote.

May 4: The district announces Dickey won't step into the job after coming “to a mutual understanding that our expectations for the job were not in complete alignment.”

The unsettling news came two months almost to the day after the school board proudly announced that Dickey, the chief of schools and academics for Atlanta Public Schools, was the board's choice for lone finalist.

The board clearly learned something that was a deal-breaker since then, with members saying Thursday that they were highly confident they had made the right choice not to hire him.

Koehler specifically cited a report the board received Monday. He would not disclose its contents but described it as the culmination of the vetting process.

Interim Superintendent Bob McKean said Thursday that he will not stay on after his contract runs out at the beginning of July. But he said he will be available to be consulted with.

Deputy chief executive officer Yousef Awwad will take charge after McKean leaves, Koehler said. The board has not decided whether it will try to hire another interim superintendent, he said.

As recently as April 21, Koehler said of Dickey's hire, "I am not concerned and fully expect Donyall to be our next superintendent."

At that point, the background check process was still ongoing, Koehler said, noting the district had been criticized in the past for not doing thorough enough vetting. Koehler refused to answer repeated questions from The Oregonian/OregonLive about whether or not anything had surfaced in the background check.

Dickey did not respond to questions from The Oregonian/OregonLive about the delay in his hiring in late April or again this week.

Questions about Dickey's fitness for the job first arose during a March 16 vetting trip to Atlanta by three Portland Public Schools leaders. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that Dickey showed the Portland team a highly skewed version of his work in Atlanta.

His job application also shined significant light on his side work publishing curriculum guides and providing training to districts other than his employer.

In 12 days, Portland voters will be asked to weigh in on whether to trust the school district to oversee a $790 million school construction bond. During the superintendent search, Portland board members had hoped to find strong candidates with proven experience overseeing similar projects.

"The timing is not exactly as we would prefer it," Koehler said, "but the most important thing is to make the right decision."

"We now must turn our attention forward," Koehler said in a statement. "PPS has a remarkable team. We have an active parent community, an inspiring student body, a creative force of teachers and a dedicated administrative staff led by Interim Superintendent Bob McKean and deputy chief operating officer Yousef Awwad."

Thursday was a painful day for Portland Public Schools. Human resources director Sean Murray stepped down after many embarrassing personnel developments. And a Multnomah County jury awarded two employees a $1 million verdict in their racial harassment lawsuit against their employer.

In his statement about the failure of the superintendent search to produce a new leader, Koehler said, "We are very confident we will hire a permanent superintendent who will help lead our district in our next phase because of what we have to offer - a vibrant, caring city with a passion for public education."

The new Portland school board, three members of which will take office in July, will face a steep challenge if they try to quickly hire a permanent superintendent. Seeking and vetting candidates for such a high profile job takes months, and most strong candidates who are willing to apply for superintendent positions usually line up their departures with the end of the school year so as not to leave their current school district in the lurch.

In a letter sent to the school board Thursday, Dickey said he had "mixed feelings" about not stepping into the job.

"After deep reflection, I have decided to pursue other preK-12 opportunities and to continue my consulting work, supporting other school districts in their effort to implement reforms that improve achievement for all students," he wrote.

Koehler and board vice chair Amy Kohnstamm emphasized that, even without a superintendent, the district has strong and stable leadership, but does need to fill some vacancies.

With the resignation of the human resources director Thursday, the district now has or will have beginning in June vacancies that include its top lawyer, a permanent chief of staff, equity officer and assistant superintendent for teaching and learning.

-- Bethany Barnes

@betsbarnes

Got a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email Bethany.