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Forest Grove School Board adopts $240.7 million budget; approves transfers, contracts and bond-funded tech upgrades
Summary
The Forest Grove School District board on June 10 adopted a $240,683,067 budget for 2025–26, approved property tax levies and a series of supplemental transfers, staffing contracts and bond-funded classroom upgrades. All motions on the fiscal package passed by roll call.
The Forest Grove School District Board of Directors on June 10 adopted a fiscal year 2025–26 budget totaling $240,683,067 and approved the tax levies and appropriations needed to implement it.
The adoption fulfills requirements under Oregon budget law and sets the district's permanent rate at $4.9142 per $1,000 of assessed value while levying $13,587,300 for general obligation bond debt service. The board also approved supplemental and transfer resolutions, several staffing contracts and bond-funded classroom-technology upgrades as part of the same meeting.
The budget adoption was presented under the Oregon Local Budget Law and associated administrative rules; the board read the formal resolution on the record: “Be it resolved that the board of the Forest Grove School District hereby adopts the budget for fiscal year 2026 in the total amount of $240,683,067.” The board then made the appropriations for the general fund, special revenues, food service, debt service, capital projects, enterprise and other funds.
In separate but related votes the board: - Adopted the permanent-rate levy of $4.9142 per $1,000 of assessed value and assessed $13,587,300 for bond debt service, categorizing the permanent rate as subject to the education limitation and bond debt service as excluded from that limit under Article XI, Section 11(b). - Approved Supplemental Budget Resolution 24-25Are123 to transfer $1,000,000 to a FERS UAL reserve account to offset future retirement liabilities, citing year-end state school fund adjustments and final interest revenue. - Approved a budget-transfer resolution moving $700,000 from a facilities acquisition appropriation into grant-related functions as the district closes out certain ESSER and grant accounts. - Approved a contract renewal for a youth-contact position (3% payroll increase for 2025–26) to continue on-site prevention and intervention services at the high school. - Authorized up to $167,200 to secure a temporary school psychologist through contracted staffing if an internal hire is not available. - Approved three bond-funded classroom-technology upgrade projects—Eckershaw Elementary ($81,780.25), Harvey Clark Elementary ($91,046.00) and Forest Grove High School ($258,623.05)—totaling $431,457.30, to proceed using bond funds. - Approved a superintendent contract addendum extending Dr. Suzanne West’s contract through June 30, 2028, and aligning cost-of-living adjustments and the district’s TSA contribution with the negotiated association adjustments.
Board votes on the major fiscal items were taken by roll call and recorded as unanimous on the record. The board moved the consent agenda and other routine items without separate objection earlier in the meeting.
Why it matters: the adopted budget and levy set the district’s revenue and spending plan for the coming year, fund bond projects already under way, and allocate dollars for student services and staffing. Several of the approved actions—reserve funding for pension liabilities and the classroom-technology upgrades—are intended to reduce future risk and advance bond-completion work this summer.
The board closed the meeting after the roll-call votes and several routine contract approvals. Implementation steps cited in the meeting include posting the adopted budget at district headquarters, initiating the bond work this summer and executing the approved contracts and transfers.
