Introductory Comments
Interim Superintendent Cydney Vandercar said that the district is making progress despite the many challenges during the past year, including improvements in graduation rates, performance measures holding steady, and bond-funded construction work moving forward.
With the return of on-site learning getting closer, Superintendent Vandercar said the district is working to hire additional custodians and classified employees at each school building to serve as COVID “utility players” to help with the COVID-19-related safety protocols and communication.
Items for Information (no board action is expected to be taken)
• Received a bond measure update and the plan for upcoming summer construction: The new Edison Elementary School building is under construction. Design documents were completed in October and submitted for permit review, demolition of the previous building began in December, and foundation work began in January. The project is on schedule with substantial completion slated for the summer of 2022. The project is estimated to cost about $40 million, about $2 million less than initially projected.
Site preparation for the new North Eugene High School building is slated to begin in late March or early April. Design documents have been completed and submitted to the City of Eugene for permit review. Substantial completion of the project is slated for the summer of 2023. The project is currently estimated to cost about $139.9 million, about $5 million over the initial projections, including costs for investments in career technical education facilities. The district is hoping to realize some savings when contractor bidding is completed.
Site activity to prepare for the expansion of Gilham Elementary School is slated to begin in April or May. Design documents have been completed and submitted to the City of Eugene for permit review. Substantial completion of the project is slated for the summer of 2022. The project is estimated to cost $9.9 million, about $1 million over the initial projections. The district is hoping to see some savings when contractor bidding is completed.
Potential cost overages with the North Eugene High School and Gilham Elementary School projects will be covered with existing bond premium and savings and will not impact the availability of funding for other projects included in the bond measure voters approved in November 2018.
An extensive list of other construction projects will be undertaken this summer. Last summer, in 2020, significant projects among a long list included completing the swing school facility at the Willard site, installing a modular classroom to provide space for a pre-K program at Chávez Elementary School, and completing renovations at Kelly Middle School for the co-location of Yujin Gakuen.
Projects in summer 2021 will include renovations to Kennedy Middle School for the relocation of the Chinese Immersion School; equitable athletic improvements at multiple high school sites; turf replacements at Sheldon and Churchill High School; bleacher replacements at Kennedy and Monroe Middle School; entry vestibule at Twin Oaks Elementary School; track resurfacing at Churchill, South Eugene and North Eugene High School; restroom renovation at Fox Hollow Campus; roofing at Kelly, Spencer Butte and Monroe Middle School; and more. The district is estimated to spend $75 million in bond funding during the coming summer construction season.
• Received an update on graduation rates: More students in Eugene School District 4J graduated on time than in any previous year since the Oregon Department of Education began consistently recording the data, according to official 2020 graduation rates released by the agency in January. Eugene School District’s on-time, four-year graduation rate in 2020 was 81.7% — 3.9 percentage points higher than the previous school year, ahead of the Lane County average of 78.8%, and coming within 1 percentage point of the statewide average of 82.6%, which also is a new high. Even more substantial gains have been made over recent years among many historically underserved groups of students, including Black, Latinx and Native American students, economically disadvantaged students, and students with disabilities.
• Received an update on 4J’s wraparound services program: The district established a wraparound services program last spring to support the health and wellbeing of students with funding from the Student Success Act and community donations.
The wraparound services team engages a network of community partners to provide food, cleaning supplies, clothing and referrals to community resources for students and families experiencing crisis, including homelessness, chronic absenteeism and other needs. The team has assisted more than 400 4J families and distributes more than 120 food boxes weekly.
The program has received significant fundraising aid through the Eugene Education Foundation that has helped provide services and material supports that would not normally be available through district general funds, to support families’ needs that have intensified during the pandemic. The program has expanded this year with the hiring a bilingual social worker and two bilingual “navigators” to support families.
• Received an update on COVID-19 and comprehensive distance learning: With the expectation that students will begin returning to school buildings in a hybrid on-site learning model in March, the district is providing families one more opportunity to change their student’s learning pathway. Elementary families had the opportunity in February to change their choice of learning location between online-only and hybrid on-site/online learning. Hundreds of families changed their student’s choice from the online to hybrid model, and hundreds more from the hybrid to online model. In net total, 360 more students will be enrolled in the online-only “Same School Online” learning pathway than before. The district is shifting staffing and class lists, and intends to notify families in the hybrid learning pathway whether their students will on-site Mondays and Tuesdays (Group A), or Thursdays and Fridays (Group B) around the end of the month. Changes to classroom assignments for elementary school students and teachers will occur in March before K–1 students begin the hybrid learning schedule.
COVID-19 vaccines continue to roll out to district staff to support the return to in-person learning. The first group of district staff will receive their second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine next week.
The Eugene, Bethel and Springfield school districts have collaboratively agreed to opt in to permit high school football beginning February 22, with games tentatively scheduled to begin the week of March 4. Soccer and cross country are beginning their abbreviated season as well, and volleyball teams also are expected to be able to play if local COVID rates continue to improve.
Items for Action
• Approved the Lane Education Service District service plan for 2021–23: The education service district supports Lane County’s 16 school districts, including Eugene School District 4J. State law requires each education service district to adopt and regularly update a plan outlining how it will improve instruction and student learning, ensure equitable access to resources and make efficient use of available funding. This plan includes services for students with special needs, school improvement, technology, and administrative and other support. The vote was unanimous.
• Approved items on the consent agenda: The board approved the annual contracts for private alternative education providers; an amendment to the district’s agreement with the Eugene Family YMCA to purchase a portion of the Roosevelt Middle School property; and the official minutes of the Jan. 13 board meeting. The vote was unanimous.
Items for Future Action (board action is expected at a later meeting)
• Considered adoption of 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 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.
• Considered adoption of board policy for the continuity of authority in the superintendent’s office in the event that the superintendent is unable to perform the duties due to unanticipated incapacitation, death, absence or other emergency
circumstance. Proposed policy CI – Emergency Superintendent Authority would be a new policy adoption for the board to meet that need, defining and authorizing an emergency acting superintendent to serve under such circumstances.
• Considered adoption of 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
Public Input
The board heard live public comment via Zoom. Six speakers spoke about standardized testing, in-person instruction, virtual public comment and KRVM. To request to speak to the school board, community members may complete an online request form by 12 p.m. on the Monday before the next regular board meeting. Community members also may send comments via email to board@4j.lane.edu.
Agenda and Materials
Feb. 17 agenda and materials
Feb. 17 work session audio recording
Feb. 17 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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