North Eugene High principal to step down effective immediately

North Eugene High’s principal has officially stepped down just two and a half weeks after his resignation was made public.

Principal Nain Muñoz emailed the North community Wednesday afternoon, communicating his intent to step away as the school’s administrative lead, effective immediately. Originally, Muñoz had planned to finish out the 2024-25 school year.

“This has been an emotional process and I believe that this is the right course for our school,” Muñoz said in the email. “This decision gives our staff the best possible opportunity to start fresh and have enough time to find new leadership for the following school year. For myself, I am eager to focus on my family before my next major professional undertaking.”

Muñoz submitted his resignation on Nov. 13, but it wasn’t publicly announced until Jan. 10. When the North community learned he was leaving, they rallied around Muñoz, urging both him and Eugene School District 4J to reconsider. Muñoz sent out an email on Jan. 17, stating he intended to reverse the resignation, but 4J upheld it.

After a whirlwind month for NEHS, Muñoz has officially left his role.

Muñoz told The Register-Guard that his time at NEHS would forever include some of his favorite experiences as a principal. He expressed his gratitude to the entire North community and said it was an honor to be in the role.

“The whole staff are second to none, I have never been around a group of professionals who care and give so much for students,” Muñoz said. “I am also going to miss the Highlander students. I never took one of those days as their principal for granted. I loved every minute of it, and will miss many.”

4J assistant superintendents Larry Williams and Brooke Wagner sent a release to community members Wednesday afternoon confirming Muñoz’s exit and giving updates on who will be taking over NEHS’s leadership in the meantime.

The district stated that 4J Director of Secondary Education Greg Borgerding will temporarily serve as interim principal, pending the district’s placement of a longer-term interim principal through the remainder of the school year. NEHS assistant administrators Jesús Sandoval, Steven Humble and Peter Barsotti will remain on staff.

“We know this was a hard process for all, including Principal Muñoz and the North Eugene Community,” Williams and Wagner stated. “We were not prepared for his initial resignation and anticipated that we would begin recruitment with him still at North through year-end. We want to recognize that these situations are painful for many who are connected to the North Eugene community.  However, there simply have been a combination of difficulties that could not be resolved.”

Williams and Wagner thanked Muñoz for his time at NEHS, which began in the fall of 2023.

When his resignation was initially announced, 4J leaders expressed their intent to organize “opportunities” for parents and guardians to give input on qualities they’d like to see in NEHS’s next principal.

“We love and respect the whole North community and want nothing more than for it to have a great leader who will focus on all the great things North Eugene High School does,” Williams and Wagner stated. “We will work closely with the North community as we seek the right person to exemplify Highlander Pride.”

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: Nain Muñoz departs North Eugene High: 4J names interim leadership

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