NEWBERG, Ore. — Newberg-Dundee Public Schools’ five-year local option levy failed at the ballot May 19, leaving the district to move forward with significant staff reductions and the prospect of school closures as it heads into the 2026-27 school year.
Measure 36-239, which would have assessed $1.20 per $1,000 of assessed property value and raised an estimated $6.1 million annually, failed 57.6% to 42.4% in unofficial results as of May 22. Superintendent Dave Parker said the outcome, while disappointing, was not entirely a surprise.
“We’ve set our budget with the notion that the levy would not pass,” Parker told Newsberg. “Where we’re moving forward is implementing that budget.”
What Happens Now
The district will advance the budget its Budget Committee approved May 5, a spending plan drafted with the levy’s failure as a contingency. It goes before the Newberg-Dundee School Board at a public hearing May 26, when the board is expected to vote on final adoption.
Enacting the budget means cutting approximately 35 positions — 25 teachers and 10 support staff — on top of the 76.75 full-time equivalent positions the district has already eliminated over the past two years. The reductions include 17.5 classroom teachers, 6 instructional coaches, 5 special education assistants, 1.5 music and physical education teachers, 2.5 English language development staff, and 2 administrators, according to the district’s pre-election budget presentation.
Parker said affected employees have already been notified.
“We are committed to treating each of them with respect and gratitude for their service to our students,” he said in a written statement issued after results were reported.
The cuts reflect a $5.7 million budget gap driven by flat state funding, declining enrollment, and rising costs. The district’s proposed 2026-27 budget shows the State School Fund allocation to Newberg-Dundee at approximately $33.0 million for the coming year — essentially unchanged from the $33.2 million the district received in 2024-25 — while contractual salary obligations, pension contributions, transportation, and utilities have all continued to climb. Personnel costs account for approximately 79% of the district’s general fund, leaving little room to cut without affecting staff.
Parker said the district has reached the limits of what administrative reductions can accomplish.
“Someone has to be at the building to run the building,” he said. “You need an HR director because of liability nowadays. You need a special education director, and you need someone running finances. We don’t have a communications person — you’ve got me. And there is no assistant superintendent. As I look out at the organization, I can’t imagine any more cuts. I’m out of moves here.”
What the Cuts Mean for Students
Class sizes will grow across grade levels in 2026-27, with the largest impact at the elementary level, Parker said. The district’s pre-election budget presentation projected that 25% of elementary classes would exceed 30 students, or that approximately 35% would be blended — combining students from multiple grade levels into a single classroom. Four furlough days will remain in effect, meaning the full academic calendar will not be restored.
“What we cannot plan our way around is the simple fact that fewer teachers and fewer school days mean less for students,” he said. “This outcome slows our progress, and our community deserves honesty about that.”
The levy’s failure also reopens a longer-term conversation about school boundaries and possible closures. Parker said the boundary committee will be reseated, with potential outcomes including the closure of Ewing Young Elementary School and a reconfiguration of Edwards Elementary as a dual-language immersion school only. No closures or reconfigurations will take place before the 2027-28 school year, he said.
“If it were an easy solution, we would have already done it,” Parker said. “None of these solutions fix all the problems.”
A Statewide Pattern
Newberg-Dundee was not alone on the May 19 ballot. Of the 10 school funding measures before Oregon voters in the primary, five passed and five failed, according to OPB. The Canby School District, facing a similar $6.3 million shortfall, also saw its levy rejected and is planning furlough days and staff reductions.
Reporting by The Oregonian/OregonLive found districts from Beaverton to Gresham to Tigard-Tualatin facing budget deficits for 2026-27, driven by declining enrollment and rising costs — even as overall state education funding increased 11.4% during the current biennium.
An April report from the Oregon Capital Chronicle found that 11 Oregon superintendents have called on the State Board of Education to change the school funding formula, arguing that the state’s reliance on federal poverty estimates has cost some districts millions of dollars in funding.
Parker has made the state’s long-term funding priorities a centerpiece of his public case. According to the Oregon Quality Education Commission’s August 2024 report, fully funding Oregon’s K-12 education system to meet the state’s own quality standards would require $13.5 billion in the 2025-27 biennium — roughly $2.25 billion more than the state projects to spend.
“The question is not record funding — it’s whether it’s sufficient to run a quality education system,” Parker said. “We’re just watching a bunch of new good teachers walk out the door all over Oregon. And that’s tragic.”
What Comes Next
Parker said the district will continue to communicate openly as staffing transitions and budget decisions are finalized in the weeks ahead. He also said the district’s advocacy at the state level will need to become more organized and sustained.
“Managing limited resources responsibly while continuing to fight for our students is the work before us,” he said.
Despite the result, Parker framed the vote as the beginning of a broader conversation rather than a closed chapter.
“We see this vote as the beginning of a conversation with our community, not the end,” he said. “We are committed to engaging openly and honestly about what our students need. That conversation starts now.”
The public budget hearing is scheduled for May 26. Members of the public may attend and provide comment before the board votes on final adoption.
