Newberg-Dundee School Board Refers Five-Year Levy to May Ballot

NEWBERG, Ore. — Voters in the Newberg-Dundee School District will decide May 19 whether to approve a five-year local option levy that district leaders say is needed to address a projected $4.5 million funding gap for the 2026-27 school year.

The school board voted unanimously, 7-0, on Feb. 10 to refer Measure 2026-11, titled “5-Year Levy to Preserve Neighborhood Schools, Teachers, Class Sizes,” to the ballot. If approved, the levy would raise $1.20 per $1,000 of assessed property value annually for five years, beginning in the 2026-27 school year, according to district information.

Currently, district taxpayers pay $1.28 per $1,000 of assessed property value, which includes the capital improvement bond that enabled construction of Dundee Elementary School and improvements at all schools, according to the district. Approval of the levy would increase the total rate to $2.48 per $1,000, with the additional $1.20 expiring after five years.

The levy is estimated to generate $32.5 million over five years.

In a Feb. 13 email to parents, Superintendent Dave Parker said the district is facing “a significant funding gap of approximately $4.5 million for the 2026-27 school year,” citing rising costs, flat state support, and efforts to restore a full academic calendar. The $4.5 million figure represents the projected shortfall in operating funds covering staffing and a variety of other expenses like cost-of-living adjustments, contract increases, utilities, and other operational costs, he said.

“A number of school districts in Oregon have these local school levies, including many of our neighboring districts. If approved, this will be our first,” Parker said.

The measure will appear on the May 19 ballot as a local option levy for operations, not a bond for capital projects. If passed, funds would be used to support classroom instruction and stabilize school operations, Parker said.

“We’re heading into budget season, so we’ll have more information in three to four weeks,” Parker said. “But as of right now, we have to plan for the worst-case scenario, assuming the levy doesn’t pass.”

According to district projections, without levy support, cuts could include 25 full-time teaching positions, 10 full-time nonteaching positions, and five school days. Additional impacts could include larger class sizes, blended-grade classrooms, potential school closures, and loss of academic programming.

District officials said levy funds would be held in a separate account and overseen by a committee to ensure the money is directed toward classroom instruction and stabilizing district finances, rather than administration.

The district is also working to eliminate furlough days and restore a full academic calendar, which would increase operating costs by adding paid workdays for staff and keeping schools open additional days.

Without new revenue, officials say reductions would begin in 2026-27.

In the following year, district leaders say additional reductions could include possible school closures, changes to grade configurations, boundary adjustments, and further staff cuts.

Over the past two years, the district has reduced staffing by 76.75 full-time equivalent positions, including 15% of administrators, 15% of teachers, and 12% of support staff, according to district data. Those cuts followed a $1.2 million budget deficit that surfaced after the 2024 school year.

“This has been a really challenging journey for the last three years,” said board Chair Deb Bridges. “Students, families, and the teaching community have all been impacted. I very much appreciate the effort that everyone has put into this most recent conversation.”

This year, the district said it is not refilling vacant positions unless necessary, has reduced schools’ nonpersonnel budgets by 20%, and is limiting nonessential spending.

“Before asking our community to consider a levy, we have taken serious steps to reduce spending and tighten our operating budget,” Parker wrote. “Even with these steps, the gap remains.”

The district has outlined three goals for the measure: maintaining neighborhood schools, providing accountability and transparency, and ensuring local control.

“Neighborhood schools are community anchors,” Parker wrote. “They keep young students close to home, reduce long bus rides, and preserve relationships that make schools strong.”

Before voting to approve, board members spoke in favor of the levy.

“It’s almost been three years since we got terrible, shocking community news [about the budget deficit], and we’re still rebuilding from that,” board member James Wolfer said. “This is our chance as a community in one fell swoop to undo and push the reset button.”

Board member Aubrey Nichols said the measure gives the public a chance to weigh in on the district’s future.

“Our role as board members is to listen to our community, and so we’ll be out there listening,” she said. “My experience in this town is that we really care very deeply about education in Newberg and Dundee.

“I hope that by putting this on the ballot, it gives people the opportunity to voice their opinions via their ballot, and I hope the community will voice their support for schools so we can continue to do the amazing work that we’re doing, that our educators are doing, so we can keep our neighborhood schools open and continue to put students first.”

Board member Andy Byerly echoed that sentiment, noting the tension between financial challenges and student achievement, including Newberg High School’s recently announced historically high graduation rate.

“We’re doing really good work, and we have no fund balance. We’re doing really good work, and we’re broke,” Byerly said. “There’s real tension there. We do have some work to do around thinking about sustaining the funding we do have. As stewards of public funds, we have to work toward the future. But I can’t figure out in my mind any way to do this without putting it in the hands of the community.”

Between now and the May 19 election, district officials said they will provide additional information about district finances, the projected budget gap, and potential impacts under different scenarios.

The district has launched a website, NewbergSchoolsLevy.org, to share information about the measure and its potential effects. Ballots for the May 19 election are expected to be mailed to registered voters in late April.

Want to know your annual cost if the levy were to pass? Property owners can visit the county tax assessor’s website and enter their account number or search their address. They can review their 2025 assessed value, divide it by $1,000, and multiply by 1.2 to estimate the annual additional levy amount. To see the total amount if the levy passes, multiply by 2.48 to account for the existing 1.28 per $1000.

Correction Feb. 17 at 7:20 a.m. — The original story stated the taxpayer currently pays a rate of $1.40 per $1,000 of assessed value, citing a chart from the Newberg Dundee School District. The actual current rate is $1.28 per $1,000. Newsberg regrets the error.