Eugene School District 4J has established a timeline for selecting and hiring a new permanent superintendent.

The 4J school board announced its finalized timeline for the search Wednesday evening, setting July 2025 as the target start date.

In contrast to previous searches, this superintendent search will remain largely confidential.

4J does not intend to release the names of finalists. The last superintendent search, which resulted in the hiring of former Superintendent Andy Dey, had public finalists and was shrouded in allegations and complaints, as reported at the time by KEZI. Dey left 4J amidst controversy stirred by rumors and an internal investigation.

This time around, the board has elected a more confidential route involving small community panels sworn to confidentiality. The general public will not know who is being considered until the new superintendent is announced.

"This is a good sort of balance between getting community input and also keeping the candidates confidential to ensure we get the most robust applicant pool we can get," said board member Judy Newman, who is chair of the ad hoc Superintendent Search Board Subcommittee, during Wednesday's meeting. "It's a very public thing when you become a finalist."

After a brief discussion, the board finalized its superintendent search timeline:

Next in the process is holding 33 focus groups, each consisting of six participants, who will provide input on the desired qualities and characteristics of a permanent superintendent. The focus groups include licensed staff, classified staff, administrative staff, parents, students, community groups, executive leadership, staff affinity groups, charter school representatives, alternative education representatives and the 4J Equity Committee.

These focus groups will be conducted by search firm Human Capital Enterprises, which was selected by the board to aid the search process.

District community members received an email detailing how to apply to be in the focus groups. The deadline to apply is Monday. Those who apply will be selected via a lottery system to participate.

The attributes determined by the focus groups will be included in the official job posting that will open in December.

Once the new superintendent is hired, the individual would work closely with interim Superintendent Colt Gill until transitioning formally into the position on July 1.