Introductory Comments
Interim Superintendent Cydney Vandercar recognized the work of 4J’s classified employees during Classified Employee Appreciation Week. In honor of Music in Our Schools Month, she introduced the Churchill High School concert choir, who sang “We Will Rise Up Together” in a virtual performance.
Public Hearing
• Public hearing on special procurement exemptions from competitive bidding: The board held a public hearing on a proposed regulation related to special procurement exemptions from competitive bidding. The school board, as the local contract review board for the district under Oregon public contracting laws, has the authority to solicit and award public contracts for goods and services and to adopt rules and findings for special procurements and exemptions from competitive bidding. The proposed regulation DJC-AR would establish certain exemptions from competitive bidding and designate certain classes of contracts for special procurement. The use of special procurement and exemptions from competitive bidding is consistent with state law and practices by school districts and other public agencies throughout Oregon. It would be used only when expected to result in substantial cost savings or otherwise substantially promote the public interest in a manner that could not be practically realized through standard procurement processes. No one testified during the public hearing, and the board unanimously approved the regulation later in the meeting.
Items for Information (no board action is expected to be taken)
• Received the financial report for the second quarter of the 2019–20 fiscal year (Oct. 1–Dec. 31): The report includes updated numbers for the district’s operating budget and Nutrition Services program.
• Received a report on the North Region review plan: The flagship investment of the 2018 school bond measure is the construction of a new building for North Eugene High School, constructed on the west end of the school property where the former Silver Lea school building previously was located.
Short-term: Yujin Gakuen Japanese Immersion Elementary School has relocated from the Silver Lea building to the Kelly Middle School site. Significant renovations were completed at Kelly in 2020 to provide suitable space for both programs. The elementary classrooms are grouped in one area of the large school building with a separate entryway and a playground. The co-location of Kelly and Yujin Gakuen in the Kelly building was anticipated to begin in 2020 and continue until at least 2024.
Long-term: North Eugene High School will move to its new building in 2023. It was planned that at a future point the district would work with the Kelly and Yujin Gakuen school communities to determine the best location and co-location of the two schools and other programs at the Kelly building, the original North Eugene building (which would require infrastructure updates and renovation before potentially housing other programs), or other available space, with long-term decisions to be made before the new high school was completed. That planning work is now beginning.
The district has enlisted a retired administrator to focus on facilitating the conversation and engagement with staff and community over the next school year, and begun to map out the preliminary plan and timeline to engage in this process. After supporting the transition to the schools’ co-location in the Kelly building, a planning process will begin with the teachers and staff in the school programs, followed by engagement with Kelly and YG families and other school community members. The timeline provides for initial dialogue this spring, then the opportunity for staff and families to engage more deeply in envisioning the future of the school programs starting in the fall.
The aim of the process is to develop a recommendation to the superintendent for each school’s long-term future location and programming before the end of the 2021–22 school year.
• Received an update on planning for in-person board meetings: The board has been meeting virtually for the past year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The board plans to resume holding meetings with board members on-site starting March 17. Board members and staff will attend meetings in a hybrid of on-site and online presence. District staff outlined the health and safety protocols that will be put into place to resume in-person meetings, including signing in and out, answering health screening questions, keeping 6 feet apart, and wearing masks at all times. Speakers will have the opportunity to offer public testimony via Zoom; other options such as testimony by speakerphone also were discussed. Livestreaming of board meetings for public access will continue.
• Received an update on COVID-19 and school operations: All 4J employees have had the opportunity to receive their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and the district has begun providing employees with the second dose. 4J will hold its next district-sponsored vaccination clinic for educators next week.
The abbreviated fall sports season—cross-country, football, soccer and volleyball—is in full swing, with games and matches kicking off this week. High school varsity games are being livestreamed to provide virtual access, as spectators are not allowed on-site at high school games at this time due to state COVID restrictions. Families who come to games must remain in their cars in the parking lot. School staff and Eugene police will be present for safety and security, as is routine for many athletic events under non-pandemic circumstances.
Staff outlined the ongoing planning to begin on-site/online hybrid learning, starting with kindergartners and first grade students. Students in grades K–1 will come to school for hybrid on-site transition and orientation the week of March 15 and begin their regular hybrid schedule the week of March 29.
District staff also presented information about the ongoing districtwide professional development on anti-racism.
Items for Action
• Approved items on the consent agenda: The board approved personnel actions, the annual alternative education provider contracts for special education services, a temporary child care voucher program, and the official minutes of the Jan. 27 board meeting. The board also approved the construction contracts for two bond-funded projects: renovations to Kennedy Middle School to support the relocation of the Chinese Immersion Elementary School, and the synthetic field turf replacement at Churchill and Sheldon high schools. The vote was unanimous.
• Adopted a regulation for special procurement and exemptions from competitive bidding: The school board, as the local contract review board for the district under Oregon public contracting laws, has the authority to solicit and award public contracts for goods and services and to adopt rules and findings for special procurements and exemptions from competitive bidding. The regulation DJC-AR establishes certain exemptions from competitive bidding and designates certain classes of contracts for special procurement. The vote was unanimous.
• Unanimously approved revisions to the following board policies:
– IGBA – Students with Disabilities – Child Identification Procedures
– IGBAH – Special Education – Evaluation Procedures
– IGBAJ – Special Education –Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
– IGBBC – Talented and Gifted – Programs and Services
– JGAB – Use of Restraint or Seclusion
– JGD – Suspension
• Adopted a board policy for the continuity of authority in the superintendent’s office: Policy CI – Emergency Superintendent Authority authorizes the superintendent to appoint an emergency acting superintendent to serve in the event that the incumbent superintendent is unable to perform the duties due to unanticipated incapacitation, death, absence or other emergency circumstance. It is a new policy adoption for the board to meet that need, defining and authorizing an emergency acting superintendent to serve under such circumstances. The vote was unanimous.
Public Input
The board heard live public comment via Zoom. Eight speakers spoke about the hybrid learning schedule, racial disparities, in-person high school graduation, fully reopening school buildings, and a request to install artificial turf at Swede Johnson Stadium, North Eugene High School’s baseball field, for it to serve as a multi-sport field. To request to speak 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
March 3 agenda and materials
March 3 work session audio recording
March 3 regular meeting audio recording
NOTE: This is a quick summary of the topics and actions at a meeting of the school board. This document is NOT the official minutes of the school board. Official minutes are posted after they are drafted, reviewed and approved by the board. Audio recordings of meetings are typically posted within two days after the meeting.
School Board Meeting Schedule & Information
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