Interim Superintendent Dr. Paula A. Radich described strategies to fill the $12 - $13.5 million dollar budget hole facing the district this school year, including:
- Labor negotiations to address salaries, benefits and furlough days
- Reduce administrators in the district office, elementary and secondary schools
- Examine sharing the use of Joan Austin Elementary
- Recode grants to capture savings
- Implement new staffing ratios across all employee groups
- Decrease contract services
- Capture savings in energy use, supplies, equipment, textbooks and transportation
Dr. Radich described additional work underway to address the budget challenge:
1. Action plans developed by staff work groups that focus on strategies to tackle the budget issues. Representatives from each group updated their work in progress:
- Savings (Jillian Felizarta) such as bulk purchasing, reexamining purchased online tools and services for overlap and use and school facility use.
- Building school community (Mark Brown) to identify strategies to create a more caring school community that takes care of kids, establishes trust, supports employees losing jobs and ensuring a welcoming first week of school
- Community supports (Jen Schneider) to target ways parents, community, service clubs, school district retirees and others can assist schools during this time.
- Marketing for student retention and enrollment (Holly Meile) to identify school programs and services that attract and build enrollment
2. Increase communication including listening sessions, budget Q&A, online feedback. Weekly staff updates and engaging stakeholders in the staff reduction process.
3. Recalibrate by applying new staffing ratios and analyzing every system in the district with a focus on how can the district do this better or smarter?
4. Increasing our expectations for fiscal accountability by implementing budget training to all budget administrators, ensuring compliance with every fund and conduct a forensic audit.
New staffing ratios will be shared with school and district administrator in a work session on Thursday. Dr Radich warned that “they will come as a shock” as the school district works to correct the accumulation of overstaffing and dropping enrollment.
Joan Austin Elementary is not closing, however leasing a portion of the school (less than one-third of total square footage) for day care facilities a year from now are in the initial stages of ongoing conversations between the district, George Fox University and A-dec.
Concerns for the current budget situation, potential loss of jobs, increasing class size and their need for information drew approximately 65 staff, parents and community members to Listening Sessions for face-to-face conversations with school board and budget committee members. Please continue to share your questions, comments, concerns and ideas for savings at [email protected]
A forensic audit to determine the root cause of Newberg’s massive budget deficit received a green light from the school board. Dr. Radich and Gayellen Jacobson, Interim Director of Operations and Finance, will bring a request for proposal to the school board next month. “Audit do not do a deep dive,” according to Dr. Radich. “We need to get to the bottom of what happened, why and understand the budget anomalies in specific areas.”
Board Action Items
Deb Bridges was elected Board Chairperson and James Wolfer will serve as Vice Chairperson in the annual school board leadership election. Outgoing chairperson Nancy Woodward was thanked for her leadership and she expressed hopes that the board will be able to increase the amount of time it focuses on what’s best for kids.
A new Finance Committee intended to put more eyes on the school budget and provide feedback regarding the district’s finances and operations throughout the school year will be established as an advisory committee to the school board. The committee will consist of two school board members, two budget committee members and three members of the community. Jeremy Hayden was appointed committee chair. Community members interested in serving may contact Tabitha Renne for more information and an application.
Seven complaints including not properly noticing listening sessions, violating Oregon meeting law to hire Dr. Radich and not complying with board policy were all dismissed by the school board after discussion with WESD attorney Lisa Freiley. District legal counsel spent five work days addressing seven complaints and 14 requests from six individuals since June 11.
Also, the school board voted to
- participate in the Newberg Enterprise Zone, a tax abatement program designed to attract business to the former mill site development.
- approve three resolutions to authorize official banks for deposit & withdrawals, establish deposit & withdrawals to the Local Government Investment Pool and establish designated school district appointments for legal counsel were approved
- update signatories designated for district, school and student body accounts were approved.