Newberg SD 29J finance committee reviews enrollment, ADM projections and tighter budget controls

At a Newberg School District 29J finance committee meeting, district finance staff presented December enrollment and ADM data, described the district's budget assumptions for state school fund estimates and outlined changes in encumbrance and contract-tracking practices to limit overspending.

Gail (staff member presenting finance reports) told the committee the district's December 31 student count was 3,975 and the ADM used for state reporting was about 3,965.5. She said the district's extended ADM shown in the spreadsheet (the 06/01/2024 column) was 3,997.5 and that the adopted budget's working estimate had been close to those figures. Gail said staff expect to lose at least 30 students between the meeting date and the end of the year and that continued family withdrawals could reduce ADM further; she specifically noted that some families were keeping students at home because of federal policy concerns.

Committee members asked about class sizes and grade-level "bubble" cohorts. Gail said elementary class sizes were generally reasonable (examples she gave: a largest kindergarten class of 26 at Edwards; third-grade sections of 29 and 28; one fourth-grade class of 33 that the district manages with push-in EAs and pull-out groups). She said middle-school scheduling and some electives may require grade-level adjustments next year, while high-school FTE is expected to be lower.

The committee discussed cost drivers and practices that contributed to budget stress. Gail described the district's prior practice of not consistently encumbering large contracts and explained changes being made: (1) large multi-year or annual contracts (for example, the transportation contract) are now being encumbered at the maximum contract amount up front so available balances are visible in monthly reports; (2) professional services contracts (for example, special-education psychological services) are being handled as encumbrances for expected annual totals rather than only by individual invoices; and (3) the business office is improving disencumbrance practices so stale encumbrances do not roll forward incorrectly (she noted some bond-fund encumbrances needed cleanup).

Gail and committee members discussed one high-cost special-education placement: three district students attend OASIS, a full-time ESD program for severely impacted special-education students, and the district pays about $68,000 per OASIS student per year to the ESD. Committee members stressed the importance of tracking these placements and their budget impact.

The committee also reviewed the reporting format given to the board: members urged that expenditure reports be shown by object (salary, benefits, contracted services, utilities) as well as by function so that unusual variances (for example, in salaries or contracted services) are more visible. Gail said she had adjusted monthly reports to show revenue first, then expenditures by object, appropriation reconciliation, and a state-school-fund reconciliation.

On committee organization and communications, members agreed to draft a short public-facing statement explaining why the finance committee recommended not pursuing a forensic audit and summarizing controls put in place to prevent recurrence of reporting and control gaps. A small sub-group of committee members volunteered to draft the memo and present it to the finance committee for review; the committee penciled an early-March meeting to review a draft before sharing it with the full board and public.

The committee welcomed a new staff member, Nate, who will work with Gail on budget follow-up and review. Committee members confirmed Gail and Nate will meet regularly to monitor encumbrances, appropriations and ADM trends as the district prepares for the budget committee schedule.