Former ODE director Colt Gill to become interim superintendent of Eugene 4J schools

This story was updated at 10:10a.m. Thursday

Eugene School District 4J school board has named Colt Gill as its top choice for the interim superintendent position, announcing Wednesday night that it had entered into contract negotiations.

The decision comes just a week after the board began accepting applications and two weeks since the announced mutual separation with Superintendent Andy Dey.

The board voted unanimously on March 6 to approve the mutual separation of Dey and the school district after a reported internal investigation, letter of reprimand and string of closed meetings.

The separation officially begins on June 30. Dey will continue his duties as superintendent of the 16,000-student district until then.

On March 6, the board also passed a motion to begin the search process for an interim. The board worked with the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators to facilitate the search. In the board's guidelines for applicants, it requested an interim to step into the position on April 1.

During Wednesday's meeting, board chair Maya Rabasa gave a statement on the selection process and Gill's selection.

She said 4J received applications from 11 candidates, and narrowed down the candidates. During Wednesday night's closed executive session, the board interviewed two "extremely highly qualified candidates."

The board voted unanimously to enter into negotiations with Gill.

Who is Colt Gill?

Gill has 28 years of experience in Oregon education. Gill most recently worked at the state level. He was appointed the education innovation officer at ODE in 2016, then became director in 2018, leading Oregon schools through the COVID-19 pandemic. He retired from the director position in 2023.

Before ODE, Gill was superintendent of Bethel School District for 10 years. A press release from the board states that Gill is from Eugene.

"We as a board believe that Colt Gill is an exemplary leader in education with nearly three decades of experience across various roles in Oregon's educational system, and has had a tangible impact in Oregon," Rabasa said during the meeting. "We're proud to bring a leader of his caliber to our district."

"It's very exciting to have him join us," Rabasa told the Register-Guard.

Why the rush?

The current interim selection process is expedited compared to the last superintendent search in 2020. During the previous superintendent turnover, former superintendent Gustavo Balderas announced his departure in March. Then-interim Cydney Vandercar was appointed two months later.

However, that appointment took place at the tumultuous beginning of remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"There's only so many districts around our size in Oregon, and quite a few of them are looking for either interim or permanent superintendents," said Rabasa in response to a question about the quick pace. "The pool is highly competitive, and in order to be able to position ourselves to secure the highest quality interim superintendent that we could, we needed to jump in right away."

Gill was not immediately available for comment on his selection.

Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr.