North Eugene High School’s principal is stepping down from his role, leaving two of the four traditional high schools in Eugene School District 4J without a designated permanent administrative leader for the 2025-26 school year.
NEHS Principal Nain Muñoz resigned from his role Wednesday.
According to an email from 4J Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Larry Williams sent to parents and community members on Friday afternoon, Muñoz’s resignation is effective at the end of the 2024-25 school year.
“We are grateful for Principal Munoz’s thoughtful timing, which provides us ample opportunity to conduct a thorough search for North Eugene’s next leader,” Williams’ email stated. “We appreciate his dedicated leadership over the past year and a half, and we wish him well in his future endeavors.”
Muñoz came to NEHS at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year as the school transitioned into its new building.
His resignation follows the dismissal of former Churchill High School Principal Missy Cole and former Assistant Principal Lance Falcon in late October. 4J recently published a news release stating interim Churchill Principal Justin Huntley will continue in his role at the school through the remainder of the 2024-25 school year. The release stated that a formal recruitment process for a permanent principal and assistant principal will begin in spring.
Williams’ email confirmed that the NEHS principal search will start in February. The district intends to organize “opportunities” for parents and guardians to give input on qualities they’d like to see in NEHS’s next principal.
“We understand that leadership transitions can raise questions and concerns,” Williams said. “Please know that our priority is to maintain stability for our students while ensuring we select an outstanding leader who will continue to move North Eugene High School forward.”
In addition to the searches at Churchill and NEHS, 4J continues its search for a permanent superintendent after the resignation of former Superintendent Andy Dey in March 2024. The 4J school board intends to hire a new superintendent to begin working in July 2025.
Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: North Eugene High School Principal Nain Muñoz resigns
