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4J Announces Combined Leadership Role for 2026-27
Superintendent Miriam Mickelson has firmed up her slimmed-down executive leadership team for the coming 2026-27 school year.
She named Brooke Wagner as the assistant superintendent for system integration and continuous improvement. Wagner, who has more than 25 years experience as a classified employee, teacher, principal and district administrator in Eugene and Springfield, is the current assistant superintendent for administrative services — a job that will be eliminated at the end of the school year.
"This position is designed to remove silos and get all of our teams that serve students and instruction working in a complementary, collaborative and clear way,” Mickelson said. “With her experience, Brooke is ideal to make that happen."
In late October, Mickelson announced she would cut four existing assistant superintendent positions at the end of the current year and create a new single assistant superintendent post. The leadership reductions were a first step in closing a $30 million budget shortfall for the coming year. The four assistant superintendent roles oversee Instruction and Access; Student Services and Well-Being; Equity, Inclusion and Belonging; and Administrative Services.
Starting in July 2026, Wagner in her new role will oversee Instruction and Access (which includes all schools, curriculum, instruction, testing and related services), Human Resources, and Student Services and Well-Being (which includes special education and student health). The other executive leaders include the chief of staff, who in 2026-27 will oversee Equity, School Safety, Communications and Intergovernmental Relations, and other areas; and the chief operations officer, who oversees Facilities, Transportation, Technology, and Nutrition Services and Warehouse.
Wagner, who holds a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Oregon, previously served as 4J’s human resources director and assistant superintendent for instruction. Prior to those appointments, she served for several years as 4J’s director of elementary education and pre-K–8 education. She got her start as an educational assistant before becoming a teacher and later a middle and elementary school principal in Eugene and Springfield. She was named both Oregon’s Assistant Principal of the Year in 2006 and Springfield Public Schools’ Administrator of the Year in 2015.
Mickelson opened the new assistant superintendent recruitment to any of the four current assistant superintendents who wished to apply. An internal process with stakeholder interviews followed.
The budget reduction process for 2026-27 continues in December as Mickelson will formally present the executive cuts to the school board on Dec. 10, along with non-staff cuts. The second phase of proposed reductions goes to the board on Jan. 7, with cuts to managers, administrators (including principals), professionals and supervisors, as well as school and program changes. The board will vote on that set of proposals on Jan. 14. The third phase, including staff reductions for union-represented licensed and classified staff, goes to the board Jan. 21, with a vote expected Feb. 4. The school board must adopt a balanced budget by June 30, 2026.