NEWBERG, Ore. — The Newberg-Dundee School District is preparing to redraw its six elementary school boundaries, with the City of Newberg providing staff time and mapping technology to help create more balanced enrollment zones.

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Superintendent Dave Parker said the district faces a “logistical math problem” when it comes to enrollment balance, prompting the launch of a boundary committee to explore how to even out class sizes across schools.

“Four of our schools now have only one or two sections per grade level, which makes it harder to keep class sizes balanced from year to year,” Parker said. “A small change in enrollment — just a few students moving in or out — can greatly impact class size and staffing needs. Because several schools have only one or two sections per grade level, we aren’t able to balance class sizes as effectively as we need to.”

Elementary enrollment across the district varies: Edwards Elementary has 411 students enrolled in grades K–5; Mabel Rush has 363; Crater has 263; Joan Austin has 215; Dundee has 200; and Ewing Young has 136. Chehalem Online School enrolls 93 students.

The boundary committee, which includes staff, parents, and community members, will study enrollment data and consider potential adjustments that preserve strong school communities while creating a more stable and balanced system, Parker said.

The group held its first of four scheduled meetings Oct. 2. The next session will cover city growth data and findings from a fall 2024 enrollment study examining how many students have left the district.

“We will also talk about different models of elementary school structures that we see in the state,” Parker said. “More of this information will come out over time.”

The timeline for any boundary changes depends on the committee’s final recommendation, and no changes are expected before next year, Parker said.

The district’s average class size is about 20.7 students per teacher, and enrollment decreased 1.24% from 2024 to 2025.

“Given our current enrollment and funding levels, the district should be closer to 23 or 24 students per class,” Parker said. “Our goal through this process is not to change what’s working, but to ensure every elementary student continues to learn in a high-quality, sustainable environment.”

City Manager Will Worthey said the city is serving in a support role for the boundary review.

“The school district is seeking to have more even class sizes and therefore more efficiency, since school rolls are falling across the state and nation due to Americans having fewer babies,” Worthey said.

Emily Salsbury, interim public information officer for the city, confirmed the city is assisting with GIS mapping and helping distribute a survey to estimate how many new students the district may see in the coming years.

“This is based on our in-progress housing developments coupled with some data we’re hoping to collect through a survey to residents,” Salsbury said.

Newberg households can participate in the survey to help the district estimate future enrollment at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TKRCMQY.