Newberg SD 29J holds budget committee orientation, outlines process and timeline

Nate Bridal, director of finance for Yamhill County School District 29J (Newberg SD 29J), led a budget committee orientation and training for board and budget committee members, explaining the statutory process and the district’s timeline for the coming months. Bridal said the session was “the budget committee orientation or training” and told members the meeting was intended to explain “what it is we're gonna do, what we have to do, what we should do, and what we can do.”

The training framed the work of the committee as a public, statutory process overseen by the Oregon Department of Revenue and governed by Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS). Bridal walked members through what he described as a nine-step process that begins with appointing a budget officer (the district’s finance director), preparing a proposed budget and publishing notice, then conducting public budget committee meetings, and finally approving a proposed budget and a permanent tax levy to send to the board. Bridal emphasized the committee’s role in asking questions…