Eugene District 4J school board member Evangelina Sundgrenz announced on her campaign’s Facebook page that she will formally resign from the board at the June 5 meeting, effective June 30. Sundgrenz has served in position 6 since 2017. She says in her post that her family is moving out of state.
Sundgrenz writes that she is “most proud of the strong community partnerships and outreach that made possible our community’s approval of the 2018 bond measure to replace three aging school buildings and make capital improvements at every 4J school, and the 2019 renewal of the local option levy that supports school operations including teacher staffing, class sizes and school days.”
The full announcement is below.
According to the school board’s policies, the board will appoint a new member who will take Sundgrenz’s place until the next regular election. Board elections are held in May of odd numbered years.
All board seats are at-large, meaning board members do not have to live in a particular area of town to run or be appointed to a specific seat. According to the board policies the appointee “must be a legally registered voter and a resident within the district for one year immediately preceding the appointment.”
In the recent May 2019 election, longtime board member and former Mayor Jim Torrey lost his position 5 seat to Martina Shabram. Torrey was endorsed by all his fellow board members. Deanna Chappell Belcher ran against incumbent Mary Walston for the position 7 seat and lost.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
It is with both deep sadness and a sense of accomplishment and gratitude that I share that I will be leaving the Eugene School District 4J school board this summer. My family is moving out of state due to a work relocation. At the school board meeting this Wednesday I will formally announce my resignation effective June 30.
It has been an honor to serve on the school board and a privilege to work with so many selfless people dedicated to public education and our community’s children. Being your elected representative on the 4J school board has been a deep honor and the manifestation of my lifelong commitment to education, putting students first and supporting the most marginalized families.
Much has been accomplished in my past two years that I am proud of, including passing a safe schools resolution regarding guns in schools, improving graduation rates, aligning school schedules to ensure students receive enough and equal learning time, adopting and implementing modernized curriculum, adding more teachers and counselors, increasing pathways for all students, and creating a heritage speaker pathway for our immersion schools.
But I am most proud of the strong community partnerships and outreach that made possible our community’s approval of the 2018 bond measure to replace three aging school buildings and make capital improvements at every 4J school, and the 2019 renewal of the local option levy that supports school operations including teacher staffing, class sizes and school days.
I thank the voters of 4J for this amazing opportunity to have served, and express my regret that I must leave Eugene before completing my term in office. The remaining members of the school board will solicit applications and appoint a community member to complete the remainder of my term. I have every confidence that they will select someone who will represent our community well.
Thank you for electing me to be one of your representatives on the school board. I will cherish the many friendships I have made during my time serving on the school board and the budget committee. I wish the district and the community all the best into the future.
Evangelina
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