Introductory Comments
Interim Superintendent Cydney Vandercar reported that the past week has been a busy one. Teachers and other licensed reported for their first day of work on Monday. They heard from Keith Jones, president and chief executive officer of SoulTouchin’ Experiences, who discussed the issues facing people with disabilities.
Superintendent Vandercar said she and other 4J and Lane County Public Health leaders met with U.S. Senator Ron Wyden at Churchill High School on Aug. 30 to discuss the mental health needs of 4J students and families, and the programs and initiatives that the district has set up to help them. Sen. Wyden is scheduled to return in mid-September to discuss with 4J staff and students how the crisis is affecting families.
The superintendent reported that 4J has hired a full-time translation specialist to provide timely translation of district communications from Eugene to Spanish. She encouraged any 4J student or family member who prefers the district’s communications in Spanish and is not yet receiving that service to contact their school to update their language preference in their student’s records. She said the district wants to ensure that all 4J families are receiving district communications.
Superintendent Vandercar said the district has several HEPA air purifiers on hand and will add them to a workspace for extra air flow if it’s not provided by the school buildings’ upgraded ventilation systems and current practice of cycling extra fresh outdoor air into the buildings 24 hours a day. Staff members who work in an area with limited ventilation from building systems and would like an air purifier provided should ask their school principal to request 4J’s facilities department assess the work space and potentially provide a standalone device.
Like many other school districts around the state and nation, 4J is experiencing a bus driver shortage. Superintendent Vandercar said the district’s transportation department has consolidated and simplified bus routes to provide for more runs in a shorter amount of time. The district is setting up a temporary program to provide some money to families incurring additional costs driving their students to school due to the driver shortage. More information about the program will be available soon. Superintendent Vandercar outlined the protocols the district has put into place to prevent spread of COVID-19 on buses, including requiring masks, keeping open at all times windows and roof vents in buses, and thoroughly cleaning the vehicles between cohorts of students. Students who are in close contact (within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes) with a positive case of COVID on a school bus may be at lower risk of contracting the illness due to these measures, but will still need to quarantine.
Superintendent Vandercar reminded that Oct. 18 is the date that all 4J staff and volunteers must be fully vaccinated under a new state mandate. She also said 4J staff can hear from her, Board Chair Judy Newman and the leaders of the district’s three employee groups in a back-to-school video message that will be aired the following day.
Board Chair Judy Newman also reported on Wyden’s roundtable discussion, noting how proud she was to hear about the various programs and initiatives 4J has developed to address the mental health needs of students and staff. Chair Newman also thanked each of the board members for their service and noted that the elected body is learning about the unique talents and interests of each member and how to draw from those to work together as a team.
Items for Information (no board action is expected to be taken)
• Received an update on the return to full-time, in-person learning this fall: District staff provided an update on enrollment. Overall, the district is on track to come close to meeting its enrollment projections for the 2021–22 school year for grades 1–12, but not for kindergarten. High school enrollment is above projections, middle school enrollment is slightly under projections, and elementary school is below projections by about 700 students. The lower projected enrollment in elementary grades K–5 is largely due to parents not enrolling their kindergartners for the coming year, accounting for about 460 of those 700 projected elementary school students who haven’t enrolled. District staff said they anticipate more kindergartners will be enrolled in September, but it’s unlikely the enrollment projection for that grade level will be reached.
About 960 4J students have enrolled in 4J’s two online-only learning options, K–5 Connect and Eugene Online Academy, for the coming school year, with a wait list of about 130 students. The staffing plan for the online schools has been finalized, and the district will be working to get as many students as possible off the wait list and into online programs.
District staff also shared information about meal plans for the coming school year, with all schools being encouraged to have students eat outside, if possible.
Two local medical experts, Dr. Robert Pelz, an infectious disease specialist at Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend, and Dr. Serena Black, a pediatric hospitalist at RiverBend, answered questions from board members, including about physical distancing, masks, COVID-19 testing and contact tracing.
• Reviewed board committee assignments: Each year, the board chair assigns board members to various committees and associated bodies.
Items for Action
• Approved items on the consent agenda: The board approved the official minutes of the Aug. 4 and 18 board meetings. The vote was unanimous.
• Approved informal request for proposals: Board members voted to approve the informal request for proposals (IFRP) to solicit an executive search firm to lead the selection process for a permanent superintendent. Under the adopted timeline, the board will vote to select a search firm at its meeting on Oct. 20 after interviewing finalist firms. The selected firm will begin the search process immediately, with the goal of having the permanent superintendent starting on July 1, 2022. The vote was unanimous.
• Approved revisions to board policies: The board unanimously approved revisions to board policies to reflect changes in law, remove overly broad language and make updates consistent with best practices:
– IIBGA – Electronic Communications System
– INDB – Flag Displays and Salutes
– JGA – Corporal Punishment
• Approved initiating process to adopt a new language arts and social studies curriculum for elementary schools, and adopt a new language arts curriculum for 4J middle and high schools: The school board voted to initiate a comprehensive process to adopt an updated secondary language arts curriculum and an elementary language arts and social studies curriculum that can be used by both English language and language immersion programs.
In 2020 and 2021, the Oregon Department of Education adopted new English language arts and social studies standards. The current adopted curriculums the district use are outdated and can’t be used to teach students in both 4J’s language immersion programs and in classrooms where only English is taught. A full language arts adoption process has not taken place in nearly 15 years.
The adoption process will be led by a team of more than 55 elementary school teachers, and a team of about 28 secondary school teachers plus other district staff. The process will include opportunities for other educators, parents and community members to provide feedback.
Under the proposed timeline, the school board will consider adoption of the new language arts and social studies curriculum for elementary schools recommended by the adoption team in spring 2022, and the new language arts curriculum for middle and high schools recommended by the adoption team in spring 2023.
Following a lengthy deliberation, board members turned down on a 3–4 vote an amendment that would have directed the review team for the elementary language arts and social studies curriculum to recommend for board adoption one or two curricula. Board members Maya Rabasa, Laural O’Rourke and Gordon Lafer voted yes and Martina Shabram, Judy Newman, Mary Walston and Alicia Hays voted no on this amendment.
The board then approved initiating the process to adopt a complete suite of instructional materials for each school level on 4–3 votes, with board members Gordon Lafer, Laural O’Rourke, Maya Rabasa and Martina Shabram voting yes, and board members Alicia Hays, Judy Newman and Mary Walston voting no on the motions as posed.
Items for Future Action (board action is expected at a later meeting)
• Considered a resolution requiring individuals to adhere to health and safety protocols including wearing a mask when attending school board meetings in-person: All individuals ages 5 and older attending an in-person public meeting of the school board, regardless of vaccination status, must wear masks covering the mouth and nose. On Aug. 11, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown issued a statewide indoors mask mandate for all people over the age of 5. The board resolution ensures a local mask mandate would remain in effect if the statewide order is rescinded at a later date. The resolution would take effect upon board approval and would expire on June 30, 2022, unless rescinded or extended. The proposed resolution gives the board chair authority to modify the mask mandate and order additional health and safety measures based on guidance from public health authorities.
• Considered allowing dogs on 4J-owned grounds at specific times and under specific conditions: The district currently prohibits dogs on district and school grounds at all times, unless an exemption is granted by the superintendent or designee such as the district safety officer. Under the proposed revisions to board policy, the district would permit people to bring their dogs on district and school grounds during non-school hours and when school activities are not taking place, so long as the canines are leashed and attended to at all times and do not cause annoyance, injury or property damage. Dogs would be prohibited on district and school grounds between the hours of 7 a.m.–5 p.m. on school days, during school- or district-sponsored events and activities, or if access is restricted by the superintendent or their designee.
• Discussed providing allowances in instructional time for the 2021–22 school year: Oregon Department of Education rules set a minimum number of instructional hours that all K–12 students must receive each school year, depending on grade level. 4J school schedules normally meet these requirements without any allowances. Under the state rules, a local school board can approve counting toward this requirement a certain amount of non-instruction time that is supportive of instruction: up to 60 hours of recess in grades K–3, and up to 30 hours each for professional development and parent-teacher conferences in grades K–12. These credits can’t be taken unless the specified activities occur. Board members asked several questions during the discussion. Some board members had proposed authorizing the credits at the prior board meeting, when it was not on the agenda. The superintendent recommended the board not authorize non-instructional time to be credited as instruction hours at this time, as it could result in a reduction in student instructional hours without public input, a specified purpose, or changes to the board-adopted school calendar.
• Considered board goals for the 2021–22 school year: The board sets goals each year. The board has identified several possible goals and will vote on which to adopt during their next meeting.
• Considered approval of board working agreements: The board annually reviews and approves working agreements. The agreements are the guidelines and expectations among and between the individual board members and their interactions with the superintendent, their sole employee, and district staff who are overseen by the superintendent. To support student success, members of the school board and the superintendent agree to function together with integrity and commitment as a leadership team. Further discussion will be needed before the board approves updates to their working agreements.
• Considered nominations for Oregon School Board Association’s elections: The board briefly discussed the process to nominate a local board member to serve on the Oregon School Board Association’s board of directors or its legislative policy committee.
Public Input
The board heard live public comment both in person and virtually via Zoom. Eight speakers, both in person and virtually, spoke about outdoor masking, outside lunches and the return to full-time in-person learning, among other topics. To request to speak to the school board, either in-person or virtually, community members must 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
Sept. 1 work session and regular meeting materials
Sept. 1 work session audio recording
Sept. 1 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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