Eugene 4J School District is nearing the end of its search for a new superintendent.
The district has been searching for a new superintendent since last summer.
It parted ways last year with its previous leader, Andy Dey, after it received complaints of bullying. The district has been led in an interim capacity by Colt Gill, the former director of the Oregon Department of Education. Previously, Gill had served as superintendent of the Bethel School District.
School Board member Judy Newman said the community helped the board craft a job description. She said the search firm the district hired, Human Capital Enterprises, has helped screen candidates, and the board started reviewing applications last week.
Newman said so far - it looks like the district will have a strong pool to choose from.
"That is really exciting and heartening to me,” Newman said. “I really am looking forward to having, I hope, a permanent, strong superintendent that will lead us through the next several years."
Unlike 4J’s last search, the district will not publicly name finalists. A group of community members will question them in a confidential session. The school board will also interview finalists before making their choice in mid-to-late March.
Newman said the search firm advised the district to do a confidential hiring process in hopes of attracting a stronger candidate pool.
Oregon’s public meetings laws allow public bodies to conduct portions of the hiring process for leadership positions behind closed doors, provided that the body adopts “hiring standards, criteria and policy directives” during a public meeting. A vote on whether to hire a specific candidate must also be conducted in public.
Newman said the school board will get feedback from the parents and staff before making a decision by using confidential community engagement interview panels.
“They'll be 39 community members, staff, parents, and leaders participating in addition to the executive team at the district," she said. "We really are considering closely the input from these other folks too."
Eugene 4J’s last search for a superintendent, which resulted in Dey’s hiring, was contentious. The search stalled part way through the process after the firm it hired raised concerns about ongoing discord between school board members. Later, it publicly released the names of four finalists, and one ended up withdrawing.
Eventually, the school board appointed Dey, in a 4-3 vote.
