Portland Public Schools is postponing roughly $11 million worth of seismic safety upgrades and other construction work planned for this summer as part of its 2012 bond.

That may come as a surprise to people who voted in May to pass a $790 million Portland Public Schools bond on the basis that the district could be trusted with the money because the previous bond has been managed so well.

Chief Operating Officer Jerry Vincent said the district has heard those concerns and this shouldn't be viewed as a bad omen.

Everything else is still on track, he said, and the scope of delayed work is relatively minor.

The pause, he says, is a cautionary one. Portland's hot market has driven up construction costs and because of that, he says, it's financially responsible to hold off on some work to ensure there is enough money for the highest priority projects in that bond: full rebuilds of Franklin, Roosevelt and Grant high schools and a brand-new Faubion K-8.

Work at Franklin, Roosevelt and Faubion is in the home stretch. The district is in the bidding process for Grant right now, which is proving pricey.

"It's nothing nefarious or complicated or political," Vincent said. "It's just being fiscally prudent."

Vincent, who has been in command of the district's large-scale construction efforts as the chief of modernization, recently got a new title and expanded responsibilities as chief operating officer.

What's being put on pause is important seismic strengthening and bracing at four schools estimated to be at high risk of collapse in an earthquake plus work at 12 other schools, some of it as minor as restoring historic window or adding a ledge along the top of the roof to keep workers from falling off.

Vincent estimates about $5 million to $6 million of the now postponed work would have been devoted to seismic safety improvements.

Beaumont Middle School, Duniway Elementary, the Fernwood campus of Beverly Cleary School and Jackson Middle School all were to get seismic upgrades, with the last two schools also slated to get new roofs. King K-8 School and Rigler Elementary were to get accessibility upgrades, including elevators to allow wheelchair users to reach the second floor.Six middle and K-8 schools were to get updated science labs to give them equitable equipment with other schools serving middle schoolers.

At least three of the schools where improvements are being deferred — King, Rigler and Vestal K-8 — serve a concentration of low-income and minority students.

It's entirely possible this work will happen next summer, said Dan Jung, senior director of school modernization for the district. It's also possible the district could use 2017 bond money to pay for these projects.

At the moment, everything with the 2012 bond can be covered by planned budgets plus the money set aside to address cost overruns, Jung said. But, he said, it will be a tight squeeze.

Part of the reason that contingency money is nearly all used up is that the school board, after the bond passed, added about 150,000 square feet of space, he said. This was done to ensure the schools could handle Portland's expected growth. Overall funding remained fixed at the $482 million approved by voters.

"About $52 million was added in scope to this and still we are landing this thing with some pennies in the pocket," Vincent said. "That means we have made adjustments; we are watching it tightly."

Just because the district is pumping the brakes on some work doesn't mean Portland Public Schools won't still be busy this summer. Plans made as part of the 2017 bond to tackle health and safety needs while children are away are still in the works.

— Bethany Barnes

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