NEWBERG, Ore. — Bonnie Benedict Preschool will remain closed for the 2025-26 school year while the Chehalem Parks and Recreation District seeks outside funding to repair the building.

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CPRD Superintendent Clay Downing informed the district’s Board of Directors at a March 27 meeting of the decision to shut down both preschool and pre-K programs this summer. Bonnie Benedict had been under review for nearly three years, particularly after enrollment declined during the COVID-19 pandemic and failed to recover to sustainable levels.

“Primarily, the district has evaluated enrollment and cost recovery as standards for evaluation,” Downing said in an earlier interview about the school’s potential closure. “Right now, total enrollment is 17 children. For the programs to be sustainable, we would expect approximately 55 total students.”

The board later amended the draft budget to restore funding, allowing more time for discussion without requiring a supplemental budget in the next fiscal year.

The adopted budget allocates $283,185 dedicated to relocating the school’s programming and operations to another building while repairs could be completed at 504 E 2nd St. However, the repairs will require significant outside funding.

Downing said the district applied for a $1.1 million major project grant from Business Oregon and the Department of Early Learning and Care’s Child Care Infrastructure Fund. While Bonnie Benedict was not awarded the grant, Downing said he received feedback on how to improve the application for the next round of funding—totaling $20 million—and plans to seek technical assistance to strengthen the submission.

In the fund’s first round earlier this year, $10 million was awarded to projects across the state, including George Fox University and A-Dec’s childcare facility, announced earlier this year. 

The second round drew 674 applicants requesting more than $278 million. Just over $20.3 million was awarded. In Newberg, Leanne Joy Baker Daycare, Green Acres Preschool and Daycare, and Buckle My Shoe Childcare received funding for minor building improvement projects.

The third round of funding opens Sept. 17 and closes Nov. 19.

“We feel like we are an excellent candidate for the grant,” Downing said. “We’re going to really focus on demonstrating the need of the district and highlight that through data and demographics. I think we can make a really strong case.”

In the meantime, the funds budgeted for Bonnie Benedict will remain earmarked for the project, Downing said, with the goal of securing funding through the Child Care Infrastructure Fund, other grants, or alternative funding models.

“If there’s anywhere we can find money, we’ll find it,” he said.