Newberg-Dundee Public Schools’ (NDPS) ended this past fiscal year (July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022) with a $7.48 million fund balance, according to an auditor from an outside firm. 

Pauly, Rogers, and Co., P.C. Senior Accountant Luke Donaldson delivered an audit report during the Newberg School Board meeting on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. The audit report, a final review of the NDPS’s 2021-2022 fiscal year, addressed financial practices and procedures. 

Donaldson said that the NDPS was in compliance with state and federal regulations, working through complex, pandemic-era federal funding and new auditing language. Yet he noted that the School District handled each challenge well, largely due to the efforts of the financial team, led by Director of Finance Heather Bixby. 

“I’d like to thank Heather and her team,” Donaldson said. “You guys put in a lot of hard work this year.”

Donaldson added that, upon her arrival at the School District, Bixby had to organize many financial documents, which he said were not in order.

"District books were not in a great place when Heather took over," he said.

Striving for financial success, Bixby said that her financial team implemented new procedures and worked closely with the firm. As a result, the School District received an “unmodified opinion of the prior year’s financials,” she explained. That means it was a clean audit.

“I’m proud of our achievements and our collaboration as a team,” Bixby said. “We will continue to work hard for our community.”

Also at the meeting, the Newberg School Board unanimously approved the 2023-24 budget, which included $64.9 million in the general fund, the main fund for the School District.