Eugene School District 4J

Published: AUGUST 6, 2023

Información en español

 September 6, 2023
School Board Regular Meeting

On Wednesday, September 6, the school board held a regular meeting. The sessions were open to the public via in-person meeting, live video on Zoom, live audio stream, and radio broadcast on KRVM 1280-AM and 98.7-FM.

Regular Meeting

Introductory Comments

Superintendent Andy Dey welcomed students and staff back for the 2023–24 school year. He noted the ratio of educators to students in our buildings is the lowest its been in many years, there are fewer unfilled positions at 4J than in recent years, and the district office reorganization he announced last spring is providing much-needed support to school buildings.

Items for Information (no board action is expected to be taken)

• Received update on planning for annual school board retreat: Board member Judy Newman updated her colleagues on planning for the upcoming retreat, which will be held in early October.

Items for Action

• Approved the consent calendar: With a single vote, board members approved the revised official minutes of the June 7, June 21, and July 5 board meetings. The vote was unanimous.

• Received board and superintendent committee assignments: The board chair assigns board members to committees and associated bodies each year. Board members received the list of proposed assignments at the August 2 meeting, and they were approved at this meeting. The vote was unanimous.

• Approved process for appointing new school board member: Board members approved the process for appointing the new school board member to serve out the remaining term of the vacant Position 2 seat. Applications are being accepted now through September 11. At its September 20 meeting, board members will identify which applicants to interview using ranked voting. The interviews will be conducted immediately following. The board is scheduled to vote for an appointment at the same meeting, with the new school board member taking the oath of office following the vote. The board voted for a process that doesn’t include reference checks of the applicants. The vote was 4–1, with board member Judy Newman voting no.

• Revised board meeting calendar: The board meeting calendar the board initially approved included a board meeting on June 19, which falls on the federal holiday of Juneteenth. The board voted to remove that meeting date and only have a single meeting in June. The last day of school is June 13. The vote was unanimous.

• Declared district-owned property as surplus: Two years ago, the district purchased property off Northwest Expressway with the intent of have students, under the guidance of industry professionals, build homes on them as part of the Future Build career and technical education program. Once completed, a home would be turned over to DevNW to house a family navigating out of homelessness. The board was asked to declare the property at 1466 Park Street, where the program’s first home was built, as surplus so that transaction can happen. The district will use proceeds from that transaction to construct a second home under the Future Build program. The vote was unanimous.

• Adjudicated complaints received by the board: The board voted to adjudicate four complaints received by the board. The board dismissed two complaints. It also voted to dismiss a third complaint as the remedy sought was now moot. Finally, the board voted for an extension to respond to the final complaint and directed an independent investigation be conducted into the issues it raised. All the votes were unanimous. The board  agreed to hold a work session in the near future to discuss how to improve the policy related to complaints received by the board.

The board also voted to reaffirm its commitment to the board policies outlining how the elected members conduct themselves as public officials. The vote was unanimous.

Public Input

The board heard live public comment in person. Three people testified. To request to provide public comment to the school board, community members may complete an online request form by the Monday before the next regular board meeting. Community members also may send comments via email to board@4j.lane.edu.

Agenda and Materials

September 6 work session and regular board meeting materials

September 6 regular meeting audio recording
September 6 regular meeting video recording