Classified employees: We would appreciate 4J fulfilling its HB 2016 responsibilities

Presenter: Eugene School District 4J recognizes Classified School Employees Appreciation Week. School board chair Tom Di Liberto:

Tom Di Liberto: We’d like to take this moment to recognize this week as Classified School Employees Appreciation Week. This is to honor the essential contributions of classified staff here in Eugene and across Oregon.

In Eugene School District 4J, every employee plays a vital role in fulfilling our mission to ensure that each student has access to a safe, inclusive, and high quality education.

Classified employees are foundational to that mission, serving as educational assistants, custodians, nutritional services, nutrition services professionals, bus drivers, office professionals, health assistance technology specialists, maintenance and ground staff, and in many other indispensable roles.

Classified staff members are often the first to welcome students each morning and a steady presence supporting them throughout the school day, building relationships rooted in trust, compassion, and respect.

Their work directly supports student wellness and safety, fosters inclusive learning environments, and ensures that schools operate with care, efficiency, and excellence.

Therefore, the Board of Directors of Eugene School District 4J hereby proclaims the first full week of March, 2026 as Classified School Employees Appreciation Week.

We recognize that when students feel safe on the bus, nourished in the cafeteria, supported in the classroom, welcomed in the office, and cared for throughout the school day, they are better able to learn, to grow, and to discover their potential. The dedication of our classified staff makes these moments possible.

Their work strengthens the foundation upon which school student success is built, and for that we offer our deepest gratitude.  

Presenter: 4J Superintendent Dr. Miriam Mickelson:

Dr. Miriam Mickelson (4J, superintendent): This week being Classified Employee Appreciation Week, I want to echo what Board Chair Di Liberto shared and express our deepest gratitude to our classified employees across Eugene School District 4J.

Our classified staff are essential to the daily life of our schools and our district, supporting students, our families, and fellow educators with care and skill and dedication.

And while some of their work happens behind the scenes, its impact is felt everywhere. I am truly grateful for their professionalism. Their commitment to students and the study presence they provide in our schools and workplaces.

Two days ago I had the opportunity to attend the transportation staff meeting, and at this meeting they were talking about a number of things including parking lot safety and what to do when these certain situations happen on the road.

And it just reminded me of how difficult and challenging their jobs can be and making sure that our students are transported to school and back safely. And yet it’s very meaningful and impactful. And I just walked away from that meeting with a renewed sense of appreciation and gratitude for the work that our bus drivers do.

And this morning I had a chance to connect with one of our carpenters. There are only four of them serving 40 buildings. And we were talking—Raul was talking—about how they often have a long list of work orders and they’re doing their very best to make sure that they are responding.

And those are just a couple of examples that show how hardworking they are and how valuable our classified employees are to 4J.

And so, like, Board Chair Di Liberto said, we’re so grateful and so thank you to all of our classified staff for all that you do. 

Presenter: Kara Mayer:

Kara Mayer: It’s lovely to be here on this lovely classified appreciation week. So my name is Kara Mayer and I’m the kitchen coordinator at Spencer Butte Middle School.

And with this classified appreciation week, there is just so much and so many to appreciate. Classified workers—we are front and center behind the scenes and everywhere in between. We’re like Visa: We are everywhere you want us to be (maybe without the hidden fees).

With over 100 different job titles, we literally impact every single aspect of a student’s day. You know our importance and contributions, and I might be biased, in fact, as you’ve heard tonight, they just cannot be overstated, and I really genuinely thank you all for your super kind words. It really means a lot to me and to my coworkers.

But you know what makes me feel less appreciated? Having to bear the entire cost of OSCA’s president’s release time on the backs of our classified staff.

Undeniably we are in really uncertain times and we know that cuts are coming. And who do classified staff turn to—for answers to questions, support, or just even a shoulder to cry on? Who answers those oftentimes tearful calls?

It’s our OSCA President—the same person who spends well over 50% of their time doing work for the district, but whose salary is 100% paid for by every classified OSCA member. Not by the district, just by us.

And we can argue the semantics of interpretation of the law, etc., but that completely misses the point of ‘fair share’ and does not lessen the financial burden, which is solely on our classified staff.

The district paying its fair share and working collaboratively with OSCA to solve problems and support our staff—you know, that’s where the magic happens. I mean, that’s where people feel respected, listened to, appreciated, and that’s how trust is built. And I know that an equitable solution is possible and we are really just trying to work with you here.

So please, let’s get this done. I know we can get this done and share the burden. That would feel appreciative to me. 

Presenter: Kristina Shaughnessy: 

Kristina Shaughnessy: Hello everyone, and happy Classified Employee Appreciation Week! Board members and Superintendent Mickelson: Thank you for your kind words of appreciation. It is really wonderful to hear, and I’ve talked with many of you one-on-one, and I know your words are sincere. Thank you.

I’m Kristina Shaughnessy, and I work as a special education school bus driver. I connect with so many hardworking and amazing classified employees every day, which is an honor and a true privilege.

I think you have all articulated very well the many ways our amazing classified employees support our students’ education and well-being. This is my ode to my classified colleagues in 4J. It’s a shout-out to them and how I appreciate them all. We support each other in all that we do as we support our students together.

One really important way we support each other is through our association—Chapter 1 in the Oregon Schools Employees Association. We value the support we give each other through our association. Part of our hard-earned wages as dues support these important efforts.

We value the option of a full-time release chapter president to fully support us. This is paid for by membership dues. It would be very sweet, very wonderful, if during this Classified Appreciation Week you, School District Eugene 4J, could right a wrong that we all recently have become aware of.

House Bill 2016 was passed in 2019. This law makes it clear that public employers are responsible to pay the wages when an association representative steps away from their job to represent employees in various ways.

Since 2019, all other school districts in Oregon have met this responsibility. Eugene 4J has not. It is the only district in Oregon that has not.

This is a really big mistake, oversight. The district requires and directs about 70% of our Chapter 1 president’s time for this type of representation. The law says that the employer is responsible for these costs, not the employees or the employee association.

Up till now—and currently—this is paid for 100% by membership dues of classified employees. What this means is that our membership dues are being used by the district to pay for district operations. This needs to be fixed. We really need to fix this.

And it would be so wonderful, so amazing if during this classified employees appreciation week, you could make this right for us.

Thank you so very much, and happy classified appreciation week. 

John Yznaga: My name is John Yznaga. I’m a father of two students in the district, a bus driver at 4J, and a proud member of OSEA. I want to clarify, I’m speaking for myself and not as a representative of OSEA.

As I was thinking about what to say tonight, a quote kept coming to mind: ‘How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives,’ by Annie Dillard.

I applied to be a bus driver to spend my days serving my community. I’m lucky enough to be able to drive to both the schools that my students attend.

It’s Classified Appreciation Week. We appreciate your appreciation. And we celebrate over 1,000 workers who work to make this district function. They spend their days and their lives doing that. Our bus drivers, EAs, nutrition services, the list goes on and on. I could spend the rest of my time listing those.

But I want to acknowledge a special position here, which is, the OSCA Chapter 1 president.

They’re a classified member as well, an important member of our community who is elected by their peers to serve us and to represent us in many moments throughout the day at the district.

As you’ve heard from others, they spend up to 70% of their time, in grievance complaints, other protected activities by the law that was passed in 2019. And as has been stated, and you all know, OSCA dues pay 100% of her time release right now. 

I’m here on Classified Appreciation Week to ask you to pay the fair share from the district. This is protected time to represent classified staff. We appreciate and we work as hard as we can for the district, for the students. Our president does the same for us. 

Morgan Raikes Bennett: My name is Morgan Raikes Bennett. I am what is known as a transition specialist for the district. There are one of us in each of the comprehensive high schools. 

We support students in the transition out of high school , and that largely focuses on career-related exploration and learning, but it also encompasses independent living, college, accessing other resources like , in the community, social, just accessing in general.

So it’s a wide range of duties and potentials. And we also are, as one of us in each high school, are tasked with an insurmountable thing in order to be able to provide that support for students.

It’s a tough thing to be in, to not be set up for success in that way, but it’s just the way it is.

That’s a normalcy for a lot of education workers, right? The state of funding and all.

The idea is that the more support the classified have directly translates to the more support our students receive and better outcomes. A sense of yeah, appreciation themselves and support in the process. And conversely, without that, less than, right?

And so again, I want to just reemphasize what a lot of my coworkers have come up here and shared about the absolute imperative it is to support classified employees and knowing that, by doing that, you’re supporting students.

As I just passed out, there’s an article written by the additional attorney that the school board or the district has hired to conduct bargaining against the different employee groups.

And he authored this article in 2019, acknowledging full well he knew what HB 2016 meant: the implications for public employers to be able to subsidize at a minimum, come to an agreement around not 100%, but an agreement around covering the cost of association leave and representation… And so I would like you to take it very seriously that back in 2019, his understanding was very clear.

So thank you to everyone, student reps too. I just really appreciate the sacrifice that each and every one of you do to be here, and beyond, right? Sacrifice is essential. Sacrifice is what classified employees do day in, day out. We sacrifice for the mission of serving students, providing an opportunity supporting the district.

We sacrifice for the district every day, even in off-hours. The idea is that we are asking you to join us and support us in this mission. And there’s no better way to do that than to support the elected representative, our union president, in helping cover the cost of their time because their time is largely serving district purposes in addition to supporting the staff that support the students.

So, be fair. Pay your share. You’re going to be getting a lot more letters in your email, so keep an open mind and we’d love it if you’d steward that conversation. 

Lisa Jenkins-Easton: My name is Lisa Jenkins-Easton. I am the president for Oregon School Employees Association Eugene Chapter 1. 

In 2023, the legislature enshrined HB 2708, Classified School Employees Week, into law. And I quote: ‘In recognition of Classified School Employees Week, all communities that support children in public schools are encouraged to take time to recognize the essential daily contributions of classified school employees to the success of the children of the state.’

In our district and schools everywhere, we represent the very diverse and skilled labor that is also represented across almost all industry and government trades, technology, communications, nutrition, the list goes on. A lot of people have given a list tonight, so I’m going to keep going.

I do want to mention that in my list, last but not least, the hundreds of EAs providing instructional support across our programs who make it possible for students to access their education.

I appreciate all of this work and hope you all see how we interconnect and the reliance we have on every department to orchestrate a successful school day.

Jamie Myers: My name’s Jamie Myers and I’m the president of the Eugene Education Association. And my word of the year, I’ve never had a word of the year before, but I have chosen that my word of the year is: ‘community.’

And I think that that is really an important word and an important concept. And the reason for that is because it honors everyone who comes together and everyone has a role and every role is important.

And in order for a community to be healthy, all the roles need to be honored equally. And I think that’s really appropriate during Classified Appreciation Week. Yeah, I will mention it. ’cause they are so critical and important to the work that we do, our classified employees.

And if I may, I’m going to share a short little funny story. I’m going to lighten our mood just a tiny bit.

When I was teaching at Chavez Elementary one day, one of my students, very politely in a very sweet voice, said to me, ‘Ms. Myers, is that a tarantula?’ And she was pointing at a really, really big, like, sand-dollar-sized spider on the ceiling of the classroom.

And I walked over to it and I looked up at it (at a safe distance) and I said, ‘No, that’s not a tarantula, but we’re just going to stay on this side of the room for now. And at lunch I’ll find Mr. Matt, our custodian and he can help us with that spider.’

And I did, and he did, although his jaw about hit the floor when he saw the size of the thing. But he got it out of the room for us so that we could continue with our day that afternoon and be safe.

And these are the kinds of things that our classified employees do for our students all the time. I mean, they’re not always tarantula-sized spiders. Sometimes they might be the size-of-my-fingertip spiders, but they keep our kids safe. They keep our spaces clean. They keep our kids fed.

They take our students who can’t sit still for a second longer out behind the school and let ’em run back and forth for five minutes and then come back in and sit down so they can focus.

They do the things that need to be done in the moment, and they have the time and the capacity in their work and in the way they interact with our kids to develop relationships in a different way from teachers and administrators, and that is of critical importance.

So I want to honor our classified employees today and give a huge thank you to them for the many ways they have supported me and my EEA colleagues and for the millions of ways that they support our students and families every day.

Joel Lavin (MAPS): Hey, my name is Joel Lavin, and tonight I’m speaking on behalf of the managers, administrators, and professionals for Eugene 4J. I also want to recognize the classified staff that work in this district.

In our roles as MAPS members, we’re often the thinkers and the strategists of our district, and we manage systems and develop long-term plans, guide our schools and lead schools, right. But here tonight, I want to testify to a fundamental truth that our vision that our leadership is only as strong as the heart behind it.

This week is Classified Employee Appreciation Week, and it’s a perfect time to acknowledge that our classified staff are like the lifeblood of our 4J in many ways.

As MAPS members, we carry forward a lot of the vision, as I stated, but our classified colleagues are the ones who walk the path with students every single day in every part of our district. And I wanted to highlight a few of our positions that we have, ’cause we heard about many of the positions.

Our facilities and maintenance teams work so hard and many times, you know, it’s cold in the morning. And it’s our custodians and our HVAC technicians that make our classrooms and our schools a comfortable place.

They’re also the ones who are helping make sure that it’s safe. During COVID, of course, , we were worried about viruses. They built huge systems and our facilities and management team were developing these systems, but it was classified folks that were making sure that those environments were actually safe.

And as an administrator, we work really hard to create a culture of belonging and support, and our (building) behavior support assistants (or BBSAs), they provide a steady, calming presence for our students.

They help students that are dysregulated help find their footing again, and they’re experts in helping deescalate and helps teach empathy in creating quiet, safe harbors for learning, that can happen.

And then we also have financial managers and financial directors and principals who oversee our district resources, of course. But it’s our financial clerks and our classified secretaries who are the ones who are really truly the vigilant guardians of our community trust. 

And they’re keeping a meticulous eye on every single public dollar and ensuring that we follow every state law to support those.

So that’s just another one of those jobs that everyone’s talking about tonight that we haven’t mentioned yet. To put it simply, even though MAPS provides a map, our classified staff provides humanity. And without them, our district would be a series of plans rather than a place of belonging.

Classified employees often are the first to arrive and the last to leave, and they’re even working while we sleep. I don’t know if you know that, but their work is a quiet, essential pulse that keeps 4J moving. On behalf of managers, administrators, and professionals of 4J, we want to go on the record tonight to thank our classified partners and collaborators.

Collaborators, we value your expertise. We admire your resilience, and we recognize that our success as leaders is entirely dependent on your dedication to our classified. We see you, we thank you, and we honor your work alongside you.

Presenter: During public comment March 4, 4J classified employees say the only school district in Oregon not complying with the law should fulfill its responsibilities under House Bill 2016.