Election 2023: Meet Eugene 4J position 4 candidates Gordon Lafer and Rick Hamilton

Corrections & Clarifications: The article has been updated to accurately reflect candidate Rick Hamilton's position on school security. He said he would like to explore security options for campus safety.

Editor's note: The Register-Guard spoke with all eight candidates running in the May 16 election and over the next several days will run articles on the candidates for each of the open positions. This is the second of four articles.

With the 2023 special election coming May 16, eight candidates are vying for four positions on the Eugene School District 4J Board of Directors.

For position 4, Rick Hamilton, a retired police officer, is running against incumbent Gordon Lafer, a University of Oregon professor.

Gordon Lafer

Lafer, 63, was first elected to the board in 2019. Lafer is a professor and co-director of the Labor Education and Research Center at the University of Oregon, where he has been since 1997. Originally from New Jersey, Lafer earned a doctorate degree from Yale University before moving to Eugene 25 years ago.

Lafer has one daughter, who is a junior at South Eugene High School.

While on the board, Lafer, who is the current vice chair, has supported free meals for all 4J students, free library cards for all students and free menstrual products in school bathrooms. Lafer also supports career technical education programs such as the Future Build and equity for all students.

Lafer said he would like to expand creative learning opportunities in 4J. He has been inspired by Finland's school system, which considers all aspects of life "learning." Learning to climb a tree or learning to tie a shoe can be equally as valuable as learning calculus, he said.

"For my kid, and for most kids, I just want them to feel like the world is full of weird and wonderful things," Lafer said. "They're capable of exploring that. And beyond that, they don't necessarily need to know the stops on the Lewis and Clark Trail or the order of the presidents."

Lafer said he believes nationwide schools have been pushed to "command and control" education, leading to boring classes and students who feel like failures.

Lafer said he has gotten a promise from 4J Superintendent Andy Dey that there will be $200k put aside to help pay for new, experimental classes in the coming years. Creative classes foster a more engaging learning environment and reduce the risk of teacher burnout, according to Lafer.

Other goals that Lafer has if reelected include bolstering the budget on the state level, fostering more collaboration between special education and general education teachers, targeted class sizes and reducing homework loads.

Lafer also wants to push to reduce staff turnover. He suggested creating more teacher mentorship programs, holding exit interviews and talking with teachers to find better ways to support them.

"The reason we need to be talking so much to employees, above all, is to figure out what are the things that cost nothing, or that cost not much, that we could do that would make a difference," Lafer said. "We, nationally, I think, face the danger of the destruction of teaching as a profession."

Lafer said in his time on the board, he's learned how much time, communication and work it takes to get any policy approved.

"I don't need or want anything from this job except to try and make things a little better in the schools," Lafer said. "I'm never going to run for another office. I'm a tenured professor, I don't need to make money for this. I don't need to be quoted in the newspaper.

"If the school system were just working well, I would rather stay home and have more time with my kid."

Rick Hamilton

Hamilton, 64, was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but has been in Oregon since 1979, moving from Salem to Eugene in 1990.

He attended Western Oregon University. Hamilton is married to Linda Hamilton, who has served on the Lane Education Service District board since 2015. He worked for the Oregon State Police Department for 31 years.

Hamilton raised five children, two of whom are his biological children and three nieces and nephews. Four of the children graduated from Sheldon High School. He also has three grandkids, none of whom attend 4J schools.

In February, Hamilton's son died unexpectedly. Despite a heavy heart, Hamilton said he has decided to continue his campaign.

"I told my supporters that I was still going to run for school board because it's important with all the things that are going on on the board and the issues that I saw," Hamilton said. "I knew that I could contribute so I made it a priority to follow through on the school board candidacy."

If elected, Hamilton said he will focus on students in special education, students of color and other marginalized populations, ensuring they are getting the support they need.

"When we're talking about marginalized kids, mental health is a big one," Hamilton said. "Depression can be a big one. You talk about teen suicide in a marginalized kid. In school, those are issues that need to be addressed."

Hamilton said he would like to see a continued push for CTE courses. He said he is also pleased to see the progress being made in the bond project for rebuilding Edison Elementary, Camas Ridge Middle and North Eugene High.

He believes a new perspective is needed on the board. As an African American man and former police officer, Hamilton said he could provide this new perspective.

Following 4J's removal of school resources officers in 2021 and the rise in gun violence nationwide, Hamilton has concerns about school safety. If elected, Hamilton would like to hold conversations about exploring "all options" to to bolster school and district security.

"There's some concern about school safety" Hamilton said. "Who (is) more (prepared) to address that issue than myself?

"We're wide open, just waiting for catastrophe to happen, so there needs to be some serious discussion."

Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Gordon Lafer and Rick Hamilton are running for Eugene 4J position 4