Eugene School District 4J

4J School District General Obligation Bonds (G.O. Bonds)

State school funding does not provide for building, renovating or replacing schools. Under Oregon’s tax law limitations, communities have two options to provide local school funding: Bonds for capital improvements such as buildings, and local option levies for operating costs. By law, when voters pass a capital bond measure, the money may only be spent on capital improvements such as facilities, equipment, curriculum and technology. 4J voters have approved multiple general obligation bonds for capital improvements over time, most recently in 2018 and 2013.

• 2018 Bond Projects and Information

4J School District Local Option Levy

The Eugene School District 4J local option levy is a property tax that provides money for school operations in 4J schools and charter schools. Under Oregon property tax law, a local option levy is the only tool a school district has to allow the community to increase funding for local school operations. While bond funds can be spent only on capital improvements such as buildings, buses and technology, levies pay for school operations: staff, class sizes, programs, utilities and other daily operating costs. Revenues from the local option levy are part of the district’s general fund.

• Local Option Levy Information

The 4J Grants Team, as a part of Financial Services, supports initiatives and projects that advance district goals and increase educational opportunities for students. The team works with district-wide, regional, and school specific grants and assists with grant compliance and other fiduciary responsibilities.

What is a grant and how do I differentiate it from a donation?

A grant is typically funding which originates from any number of non-district sources, and often requires some sort of application or request to be a recipient of the funding with or without financial or other reporting requirements. Donations by contrast are typically unsolicited funds received for a specified purpose (sometimes very restrictive and other times almost unrestricted).

Important note to prospective grant writers:
All prospective grants must have a Grants Request Form filled out, which can be found on the Financial Services Google Drive. It must be approved by both the applicant’s direct supervisor and the district Finance Director at least 2 weeks prior to your submission of the grant application. This Grant Request form should be submitted to Financial Services at finance@eugene4j.freshservice.com along with all relevant information about the grant, including:

• the application,
• any contracts,
• budget documents,
• and any other information/paperwork that may be needed to support the grant

Once the application is reviewed/approved internally, save a copy of this form and grant application details for your records.

If the grant is awarded by the grantor, please reach back out to the Grants Team to assist with the receipt of funding and financial account set up processes. School Secretaries and grant applicants should direct the receipt of checks for grants directly to the Grant Team at the district Financial Services office. The Grants Team will utilize the information in the grant application to set up the grant in our financial software, BusinessPlus, and communicate with you about the accounts to use and any other pertinent details. The Grants Team will be in contact with you about your award throughout the year, and will pay particular attention during the budget season (beginning in late January) and around year end (June/July). Please be prepared to stay in contact with the Grants Team through July to wrap up your grant unless you work with the team and clear all outstanding items earlier. Depending on the grant parameters, there may be additional steps, but the Grants Team will advise if any of those are relevant to your specific application.

Education Education Foundation (EEF)

Since 1993, EEF has connected the community with programs and proejcts in every school in Eugene School District 4J in order to increase opportunities for enrichment for all students. EEF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports the school district. As the Foundation of 4J, EEF serves as the funraising arm of the district by soliciting donations, hosting an annual gala, and supportin gschools and parent groups in their site-based fundraising efforts. EEF offers schools and departments Gifts and Grants to support opportunities for enrichment for all students. For additional information and how to donate, please visit the EEF website linked here (eeflane.org)