Springfield School Board Member Nicole De Graff unexpectedly announced her plans to resign at a school board meeting Tuesday.
Her announcement, first reported by The Register Guard, came after her vote against resolving confidential complaints the board discussed in an approximately 50 minute executive session.
"I will just say my perspective of governance and risk is different and also I'm resigning June 30," De Graff said during the meeting.
De Graff did not respond to KLCC’s request for comment.
The District shared a statement about De Graff's planned resignation, thanking her for her service.
"During Director De Graff’s tenure on the Board, the District celebrated several accomplishments across the District, including achieving a record high graduation rate, improvements in student assessment outcomes, and state-level recognition of SPS staff and programs," District spokesperson Brian Richardson wrote. "We appreciate how she continuously worked to meet students and staff in the classrooms and advocated for Springfield and its students."
The board will need to declare De Graff's seat vacant before they can start the process of filling her seat.
When she steps down, De Graff will be the second school Board of Education member to resign this year. Heather Quaas-Annsa resigned in February citing dysfunction and harassment from the public.
De Graff has been at odds with board members Jonathan Light and Amber Langworthy for most of the school year.
De Graff, and board member Ken Kohl, disagreed with the other half of the board on who to choose as Quaas-Annsa’s replacement and who to choose as acting superintendent after the previous superintendent resigned.
She and Kohl also faced a recall effort for her vote to lay off teachers to resolve a mid-year budget issue, a decision the other two board members also disagreed with. DeGraff was elected to the board in 2023 and her term would have expired in 2027.
She also recently came in a distant third in the Republican primary for Oregon Senate 6th District.
This story was updated on May, 28, 2026 to include a statement from Springfield School District.
