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QuickTake:
The superintendent’s nonpersonnel and executive-level cuts for next school year total $2.3 million out of $30 million in planned cuts. Among additional cuts to be decided later is the possibility that Family School could be closed or moved. Parents turned out to make their case that the board keep the small alternative elementary school.
Budget cut announcements for the 2026-27 school year in Eugene School District 4J have begun, and so have community pleas for mercy.
In the first of three presentations planned to address the district’s $30 million shortfall, Superintendent Miriam Mickelson, at the Wednesday, Dec. 10, school board meeting, outlined an initial $2.3 million in recommended cuts. She also asked the board to authorize her Phase Two personnel cuts, the majority of which are managers and administrators.
The 4J district is facing a large budget gap due to declining enrollment, rising employee costs, the end of COVID-era relief money and past use of reserves to delay bigger cuts. The school board put Mickelson’s phased approach in motion Wednesday and heard angst about planned cuts at the classroom and school level that are expected to be presented in January.
The first round of cuts
The superintendent’s presentation broke down how much the district will cut from different categories of nonpersonnel costs and executive-level positions:
- Technology subscriptions ($252,417): This would end contracts with platforms like Thought Exchange, a forum for public discussion; Seesaw, an elementary digital learning platform; and Rosetta Stone, a language learning platform used for English language learning.
- Professional development ($500,000): Professional development spending for teachers will be reduced and paused for managers and administrators. Professional opportunities for curriculum development will still be prioritized, Mickelson said.
- School discretionary budget ($220,000): Each school’s discretionary budget will be reduced.
- Professional service contracts ($32,762): This would include reductions in spending toward contracted services, including investigations, job reviews and coaching.
- Department reductions ($407,250): This would include materials and services in the district office.
- Staffing and stipend reductions ($893,525): This includes the cutting three assistant superintendents, which Mickelson announced earlier in the fall, and unemployment pay for staff who are laid off.
Mickelson said all budget cuts are considered through the lens of the district’s values and that staff and community input are taken into account.
The district will use Google Surveys instead of Thought Exchange, Mickelson said, and through a survey of teachers about Seesaw, administrators found that teachers use it to various degrees, but only a handful use it heavily. The district is also cutting its subscription to Turnitin.com, an anti-plagiarism software that is now less useful due to artificial intelligence.
Administrators surveyed secondary teachers about the online educational platform Canvas. Teachers said they use it heavily and cutting it would have a big impact. Mickelson said it is “very likely” the district will keep it.
Board actions
The board unanimously approved a resolution authorizing Mickelson to cut 32 manager, director, administrator, supervisor and professional roles that are not represented by a union.
Mickelson said the 32 positions is an overestimation, but prevents the need to return to the board for additional authorizations. These cuts are part of Phase Two of Mickelson’s budget cut presentations that she will present in more detail in January. Mickelson said the district will notify employees before winter break so they know as early as possible. The district will not release information publicly about the exact positions cut until spring.
In February the board had raised the amount the district should keep in budget reserves — from 5% to 8% of the general fund amount, meaning the district’s savings cannot go under 8% of its general fund. But on Wednesday, the board reversed course and voted 5-2 to lower the reserve amount back to 5%.
Finance director Matt Brown recommended the board still commit to cutting $30 million, even with about $7.6 million now freed up from the change to the reserve policy. The board voted last year to use reserves to make cuts less severe, but as a result, 4J now faces even steeper cuts.
“I think this whole district, top to bottom, learned from that,” said board Chair Tom DiLiberto. “I don’t think we should kick budget cuts down the road.”
The board voted unanimously to add a caveat to the reserve policy adjustment, directing Mickelson to continue planning for $30 million in reductions.
Pleas to save Family School
Parents from Family School, a small alternative elementary school in south Eugene that many neurodivergent students attend, spoke to board members Dec. 10 about the possibility of the district closing their school of about 100 students.
Several, including Hailey Lessel, spoke about their children not thriving in neighborhood schools and finding belonging and success at Family School. There, parents volunteer more than they do in the average elementary school and class sizes are smaller. According to a school survey, many families said they would leave the district if Family School closes.
“He no longer elopes, he no longer self-harms, his stomach issues are completely healed,” Lessel said, speaking about her son. “And he has a sister who came into that school at a second-grade reading level in fourth grade, and she is now at level. This is not just my story. This is many of our kids’ stories.”
Kelly McIver, 4J spokesperson, confirmed that Mickelson is considering “program changes” to the Family School, saying she is considering the possibility of co-locating it in another building.
