Eugene School District 4J agenda: Kelly/YG feedback, police partnership, self-evaluation

Miranda Cyr, Register-Guard
·4 min read
A parent from Yujin Gakuen Japanese Immersion School writes a note at the June 1 community meeting to discuss options for where to locate the school. YG has been collocating with Kelly Middle School at 850 Howard since 2020.
A parent from Yujin Gakuen Japanese Immersion School writes a note at the June 1 community meeting to discuss options for where to locate the school. YG has been collocating with Kelly Middle School at 850 Howard since 2020.

The Eugene School District 4J Board of Directors will discuss the 850 Howard building, a new partnership with police and a self-evaluation during its Wednesday public meeting.

This will be the final school board meeting before the four new board members − Tom Di Liberto, Rick Hamilton, Jenny Jonak and Morgan Munro − start in July.

Kelly/YG community feedback

After gathering feedback and commentary from community members in the North Region, the 4J board is set to discuss and possibly make a decision on the colocation situation with Kelly Middle School and Yujin Gakuen Japanese Immersion School.

Jenna McCulley, 4J director of communications, will share an overview of community opinions gathered via two designated meetings and a website for online feedback.

The two schools have been housed together a mile away from NEHS since 2020, which was intended to be a temporary fix. They'd hoped the old North Eugene High building could be their home, but in April the board decided to demolish the building.

Now that moving into the old high school building is off the table, different ideas have been floated. Options include continued colocation − possibly with additional renovations - colocation at a different school or moving to a different stand-alone site.

EPD partnership to begin this fall

4J Superintendent Andy Dey will present a "reimagined" partnership with the Eugene Police Department.

In 2020, the school board voted to not extend its contract with the Eugene Police Department, which at the time had five school resource officers on 4J campuses. There have been no SROs in 4J schools since the beginning of 2021.

The board had previously promised a new plan for safety and security in schools but that was delayed due to the pandemic and remote learning.

During the June 7 meeting, the board authorized Dey to begin discussing with EPD Chief Chris Skinner about a new partnership. On Wednesday, Dey will share the general goals and information on defining the role of law enforcement within the school district.

Dey will ask the board for feedback and return to them with a contract for review and approval no later than the Aug. 9 board meeting.

Board self-reflection

The board will review submissions for its self-reflection. At the June 7 meeting, the board decided to move forward with a formal self-reflection opportunity, to look back on the ups and downs in the past year and think about ways to improve.

Initially, there was discussion of an anonymous feedback site, but the board decided that blurred the lines for public meetings and decided all comments would remain public.

With only three of the seven board members remaining on the board with the four new members starting in July, board member Judy Newman asked why the board would do an evaluation so late in the year. Board Chair Maya Rabasa said that an annual evaluation is required for the board, something that they did not complete last year. She said if they do not complete a self-evaluation this year, that would mean two years of not complying with policy.

"Reflecting on on the experience of the last year and nearly the last two years, in some ways, can only serve to help us as a body," said Rabasa, whose term lasts until 2025. "But this also will help me as an individual to think deeply about what I would like to continue doing, what I would like to make a shift and where I would like to personally grow."

Also on the Eugene School District 4J Board agenda

Other items on Wednesday's agenda include:

  • Adoption of the 2023-24 budget.

  • Information on the legislative session.

  • Updates on the position and office for a 4J ombudsperson.

  • Resolution of change to contract with the chief executive officer.

  • Elect chair and vice chair for the 2023-24 school year.

How to participate in the board meeting

The regular board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The board will meet in closed executive session beforehand, starting at 5 p.m. The meetings will be held at the 4J district office, 200 N. Monroe St., with some board members attending virtually.

The meeting also will be streamed online at 4j-lane-edu.zoom.us/j/91225128314. The recorded meeting will be uploaded to 4J's YouTube channel in the following days.

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: 4J board agenda: Kelly/YG feedback, police partnership, self-evaluation