EUGENE, Ore — Due to the budgetary constraints in the 2024-2025 budget the Eugene School District 4J is looking to sell their newly-acquired administration building in Downtown Eugene. 

The district bought the former Wells Fargo earlier this year with the intent of making it their new administration building. Prioritizing student services was the top reason for selling the Wells Fargo building, 4J officials said. 4J parents like Rio Annsa and Administrators like Interim Superintendent Colt Gill agreed it was the best decision, under the circumstances.

Annsa said, “I think at the moment, regardless of how you feel about having got the building, I think they’re making the right choice now to spend that money on teachers and students.”

Annsa was skeptical about the Wells Fargo building when the School District first got its hands on it. She felt there were more important priorities, such as renovating existing schools. The 4J district eventually concluded the building and its renovations were too expensive, and thus conflicted with the district’s long-term budget scenario.

Interim Superintendent Colt Gill said, “We looked at increased cost for personnel, we looked at some great new programs that are available to workers in Oregon like Paid Leave Oregon and some of the costs associated with that, we felt like we needed to make decisions now that preserve direct student services.”

The Wells Fargo building located at 99 East Broadway in Downtown Eugene was originally acquired by the district for $2.9 million. But the renovations were estimated to have cost as high as $13.5 million. Administrators said they are sure that, in time, they will not have a problem selling the building to potential buyers who want access to a building in the downtown area.

Annsa said, “I applaud the school district for doing that, rather than sticking with it and potentially having layoffs that would really hurt students, and teachers.”

The money originally intended for renovations will now go to other areas. Parents like Annsa have an idea where they would like to see the funds go.

She said, “More funding brought into special Ed, brought into educational assistance who do so much of the work to support students, who need extra help or accommodations.”

She also hopes they can get some money from the sale. 

She said, “I do really hope that they get back what they spent on the building though, because that would be funds that are just gone if they aren’t able to recoup the costs.”

While the district would like to eventually move its administrative offices, it feels it’s more important to focus on student needs right now. This comes at a time when multiple districts across the state a facing budget shortages. The district has already identified potential investments.

Gill said, “So this will be things like additional P.E. time for students in middle schools, librarians in elementary schools, counseling services, campus monitors for school safety, that’s the kinds of thing the District is investing in, through the sale of this building.”

There are still plans to update the current education center. But those plans are still five or more years out from transforming the center.

Gill said, “So looking forward as the district goes through long range planning which will include community engagement, we will be looking at this site 200 north Monroe as a potential site for student services.”

Julio Mora Rodriguez joined the KEZI 9 News team in October of 2022 as a news reporter. If you have any story ideas, you can email Julio at jrodriguez@kezi.com.