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QuickTake:
Miriam Mickelson, superintendent of Eugene School District 4J, presented the third and final part of her plan to cut $30 million from the district budget. The third phase includes a plan to move Family School into the Camas Ridge Community School building, reduce electives for middle schoolers and cut more than 100 additional student-facing jobs.
School board members in Eugene School District 4J heard the third and last part of the district’s $30 million budget reduction plan for next school year, during the board’s Jan. 21 meeting.
The new plans include preserving Family School, an alternative elementary school in south Eugene, by moving it into the same building as Camas Ridge Community School. The district will also reduce middle school elective time and cut up to an additional 110 employees, bringing the total number of potential staff cuts next school year to 269.
“While Phase 3 is not the largest dollar amount, it is nevertheless most acutely felt, because it directly affects our schools,” Superintendent Miriam Mickelson said in her presentation to the board.
The district is grappling with a historic $30 million deficit for the 2026-27 budget due to decreasing enrollment, increasing employee costs, the end of COVID-relief funding and the board’s decision last year to spend reserves to maintain staffing. With reserves now significantly drawn down, 4J’s board has already given the district permission to cut up to 159 full-time equivalent positions next year in addition to other cost-saving measures.
Board members will vote Feb. 4 on the Phase 3 reductions.
Family School at Camas Ridge
Mickelson approached Family School staff and families in the fall with the news she was considering closing the school. After listening to them, however, the superintendent changed her mind.
“As I spent more time understanding both the strengths of Family School and the available capacity, space-wise, within our system, I came to believe that there is a way to preserve the program while addressing, still, our budgetary needs,” Mickelson told the board.
Family School is currently in its own building on Crest Drive. It serves about 111 students and emphasizes parent involvement. According to parents, many of its students are neurodivergent and have experienced more belonging at Family School after not finding it elsewhere. It is a “choice” school, not a neighborhood school, meaning that all students opt to attend.
Family School has successfully been co-located with other schools over the years, Mickelson said. She chose Camas Ridge Community School the new home for Family School because it is at only 58% capacity. The building is new, having opened in fall 2024 after being rebuilt. Mickelson said another reason she selected Camas Ridge was that the school’s values align with Family School’s. Locating both schools in the same building will save the district $1.26 million, without factoring in administration costs.
Mickelson said if the board agrees to the move, there will likely be a leadership consolidation of the two schools and a reset, meaning neither of the current principals would become principal of the shared building.
Parents from both schools attended the Jan. 21 meeting. Family School parents, who have been advocating for the school to be kept open since the fall, were supportive of the proposed move. Camas Ridge parents, however, expressed concerns.
“The process of this problem-solving endeavor is really deeply flawed,” Camas Ridge parent Maya Buchanan said. “It lacked proper engagement in transparency and information was asymmetrically communicated with the Camas community. We were offered an extremely short window to engage, and very late in the process.”
Maia Dart, Camas Ridge parent and PTO member, said the school has undergone four leadership changes and three buildings during the past six years, which makes further change scary.
Hobie Blackhorn, principal of Camas Ridge, also spoke, identifying himself as a Native parent of south Eugene. He spoke about the racism Native Americans, including his children, have experienced in south Eugene schools and spoke indirectly about the Family School co-location at Camas Ridge.
“My fellow parents who feel dismayed by being invited into a process where the decision has already been made, I see you, I know you, I know these emotions personally,” Blackhorn said. “Maybe you are worried about disruption to your children’s education. You know the safety, trust and confidence you feel walking into your school will change. And this is all in the name of this hegemonic display of equity.”
Mickelson acknowledged Camas Ridge families were looped into discussions about the possible Family School move only a couple of weeks ago and listed several concerns from families that district staff is working through. She said the district would form a transition team with participants from both schools to address issues.
More staff cuts, fewer middle school electives
Mickelson’s Phase 3 cuts are due to enrollment losses and total $9.88 million when unemployment payment costs and staffing adjustment reserves are accounted for.
Here’s a breakdown:
- Family School move (saves $160,000): This does not include the salary of the administrator who will be cut (already accounted for in Phase 2 reductions) or $1.1 million in current building costs, savings that will be factored into the capital projects budget.
- Less middle school elective time (saves $3.08 million): The district would cut one elective period for students and cut teaching positions accordingly. Two music teachers spoke against the change during public comment.
- Licensed staff reductions (saves $9.59 million): Up to 95 full-time teachers and other licensed staff would lose their jobs. Mickelson said there are no specifics yet on how many staff will be cut at each school, but said district leaders will share staffing allocation with principals at the end of the month.
- Classified staff reductions (saves $850,000): Up to 15 full-time equivalent staff will be cut.
Mickelson said the district is budgeting $1.5 million to fund staffing adjustments for unexpected class sizes and other back-to-school surprises and $2.3 million for unemployment costs.
