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Eugene School District 4J

Equity. Excellence. Innovation.

Budget Timeline

Next Steps

February–March
  • District makes allocations to buildings and prepares 2026-27 budget document; HR and contractual notifications begin.
April–June
  • Budget Committee meets to review and approve a proposed school budget, ensuring that it aligns with the district’s educational goals and priorities, while also allowing for community input and feedback.
  • School Board adopts budget by June 30, 2026.
July 1
  • Budget and staffing reductions take effect.


 



Previous Steps

November
  • School board approves a resolution authorizing a reduction in force for the coming school year. The board will set the overall reduction levels at future meetings, with the superintendnet deciding the positions to be eliminated within the board-approved levels.
  • Superintendent Miriam Mickelson announced her selection of Dr. Brooke Wagner as 4J’s new assistant superintendent of system integration and continous improvement. The appointment follows Dr. Mickelson’s announcement the prior month that she is eliminating four assistant superintendents as part of a reorganization of the district’s executive team. 

December

January
  • Dr. Mickelson announces and the school board subsequently approves $18 million in Phase 2 reductions (see chart) that pauses or scales back numerous pandemic-era intiaitives and programs, affecting up to 127 full-time positions. The decision follows the reduction of up to 32 positions for the employee group that represents mid-level managers and career professionals.
  • Dr. Mickelson announces $9.8 million in Phase 3 cuts (see chart), which reduces school-based classified and licensed staffing by up to 110 full-time-equivalent positions, co-locates Family School in the Camas Ridge Community School building, and returns the middle school schedule to six periods to account for staffing reductions in grades 6-8.
February
  • Dr. Mickelson announces and the schoool board subsequently approves $9.8 million in Phase 3 reductions, which scales back school-based classified and licensed staffing by up to 110 full-time-equivalent positions, co-locates Family School in the Camas Ridge Community School building, and returns the middle school schedule to six periods to account for staffing reductions in grades 6-8.

 


 

Setting the Stage

District leaders spent the beginning of the current school year providing information about the financial challenges for the coming 2026-27 school year to families and employees, and also soliciting ideas about the values, priorities and concerns to help guide the decision-making. That feedback was incorporated into the budget reduction plan that the school board adopted over three phases.

 

FOR FAMILIES FOR STAFF  FOR EVERYONE

Superintendent Dr. Miriam Mickelson and Finance Director Matt Brown held several community forum to provide information about the district’s financial challenges at the following dates and locations: 

  • North Eugene High School:
    Library, Thursday, Oct. 16
  • Churchill High School:
    Library, Tuesday, Oct. 21
  • Sheldon High School:
    Library, Thursday, Oct. 23
  • South Eugene High School:
    Library, Thursday, Oct. 30
  • Virtual Community Forum, Tuesday, Nov. 4 | Recording

Dr. Mickelson and Brown held several virtual budget webinars for 4J employees to provide information about the budget at the following dates and times:

 

4J conducted a ThoughtExchange survey to hear the community’s ideas about the values, priorities and concerns that should be considered during the budget planning process. The survey was live for several weeks and closed in early November

The insights have helped inform budget planning while centering student success. A report on the survey is available, and was presented to the school board on Nov. 19.



Budget Information 2026-27 slide presentation