4J Superintendent Announces Final Year
After more than a decade at the helm of Eugene School District 4J and 36 years in education and local government administration, Superintendent George Russell has announced that 2010–11 will be his last year as superintendent.
His leadership as 4J's superintendent since 1998 has garnered the respect and appreciation of the local community and educators across the nation, including recognition as Oregon’s Superintendent of the Year in 2005.
"It has been my distinct pleasure to serve the students and community of Eugene for these many years," Mr. Russell said. "Over the course of my career, I've worked in some excellent school districts with great colleagues and outstanding professionals, but nowhere else have I seen the strong sense of commitment and dedication to student success and organizational excellence as I have here. I can’t imagine that I could have had a better journey, but the time has come to move on so that the district can find new leadership for the next part of the journey. While we have some difficult challenges ahead of us over this next year, I am confident that we will face them head on and make the best choices for our students and our community."
At the board meeting where Mr. Russell announced his resignation, school board members praised his leadership and thanked him for his superb service, then turned to the future. Board chair Craig Smith said, "George has been an outstanding leader for the district, for the state, and on a national level. He will be missed — and hard to replace."
To allow the school board ample time to plan for and seek a new superintendent for 2011–12, Mr. Russell tendered his resignation with more than the six months of notice required by his contract. His resignation is effective no later than June 30, 2011.
To begin the process of finding a replacement, the board will retain a search consultant and appoint a search committee. The search committee will be representative of the district’s stakeholders and the Eugene community, with participants including board members, district staff, students and community members.
The board hopes to make a hiring decision by March 2011.