Portland Public Schools is still paying two top facilities administrators placed on leave amid a lead scandal that ousted the district's longtime superintendent.

Portland Public Schools spokeswoman Courtney Westling said Wednesday the district will decide on their employment status in the next two weeks. Tony Magliano, the district's chief operating officer, and Andy Fridley, senior manager for environmental health and safety, have been out since June 2.

Both employees are "at-will," meaning they can be fired at any time without being given a reason.

Fridley's salary is $86,600.Magliano's salary is $138,913.

Westling attributed the 10 weeks of uncertainty over their employment to the district's immediate focus on addressing health and safety concerns.

Both men faced criticism from then-Superintendent Carole Smith after controversy erupted over the district's response to tests showing lead in schools' drinking water. Smith excoriated Magliano and Fridley for dropping the ball on lead hazards, keeping her out of the loop and hamstringing the district's ability to communicate with the public.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported in June that emails showed Fridley had resisted testing school water quality and spread false information about the safety of drinking water in schools. He told concerned parents who wanted him to run water quality tests that it was impossible lead would be found in drinking fountains, an assertion that proved wildly false. And he refused for six weeks to tell employees and parents about tests showing high lead levels at two schools this spring, despite parents imploring him to do so.

Magliano was the highest-ranking official who was provided those results without insisting they be shared with parents. He also was shown to have directed that an Alameda Elementary playcourt known to have a massive lead paint problem be left out of a repair project at the school.

But that

-- which isn't a personnel investigation -- also notes that "lead in water

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issues" was "a small portion of the overall job duties of the responsible personnel" and because of that "it may not be fair to evaluate these personnel based solely on their performance in this area."

Attempts to reach Fridley and Magliano were unsuccessful. The district refused to contact either employee to let them know a reporter was trying to speak with them.

In large part, the report blamed the water crisis on longstanding neglect of school maintenance and a deep dearth of protocols.

Fridley was acting as his own direct manager for more than a year after the previous manager quit and no replacement could be found, despite multiple searches. Meanwhile Fridley was asked to handle the responsibilities of a departed co-worker who had not been replaced. Fridley was promoted to his current position in 2014, and many problems Stoll Berne turned up were attributed to his predecessor, Patrick Wolfe. Wolfe died after leaving the district.

Stoll Berne investigators interviewed both Magliano and Fridley and found the two don't see eye to eye about the controversy.

Fridley told investigators that he'd argued for district-wide water testing before samples at Rose City Park and Creston schools revealed high lead levels, citing the scandal in Flint, Michigan.

Magliano denied this, arguing Fridley not only didn't suggest testing but that he also actively resisted it.

Investigators did, however, find documents showing Fridley had requested a meeting on March 15, 2016, with his direct boss and Magliano "to discuss past water testing and plans for the future."

Magliano was director of facilities from 2010 to 2012, having been assistant director of facilities and maintenance before that.

The Stoll Berne report wasn't the first outside look at the district to note systemic problems with management.

A recent risk assessment audit faulted the district for a culture where employees don't know their responsibilities, lack training, are under-informed, aren't accountable and end up quitting. The high turnover is compounded by the district's failure to cross-train staff and plan for departures, the report found.

Stoll Berne found Fridley had to train himself and that his job description included an entire program -- the "Lead in Water Program" -- that Fridley and his bosses did not initially know existed.

John Burnham, who was director of environmental health and safety at Oregon Health Sciences University, is handling Fridley's job on an interim basis. Chief Financial Officer Yousef Awwad has taken over Magliano's duties.

-- Bethany Barnes