School Board candidate James Gleason passed off a number of data points and opinions in the Voters Pamphlet and newspaper interviews as “facts” during the recent May 21 election. While Mr. Gleason was unsuccessful in his bid to win a seat on the school board, we would like to take the opportunity to clarify and correct any lingering question about the accuracy of his remarks about students and staff in Newberg Public Schools.

“Newberg School District is sadly considered one of the worst in the State of Oregon.”
The Oregon Department of Education rates six Newberg schools as “Outstanding.” Of the 31 percent of Oregon schools ranked Outstanding, Newberg placed six schools in that category. The other three schools were part of the 59 percent ranked Satisfactory. US News and World Report recently ranked Newberg High School in the top 25 percent of public high schools across the country.

“… big drop out rates …”
NHS dropout rate for 2011-12 is 2.38%.  State average dropout rate for the same period is  3.4%. Any student dropping out of high school is too many. On the other hand, of the 48 Oregon high schools awarding at least 250 diplomas, Newberg High School had the third highest increase in the graduation rate since 2011.

“… lackluster SAT scores…”      “The average college bound Newberg High student can’t get into the University of Oregon or Oregon State with their poor SAT scores.”
Newberg consistently scores above the national average on the SAT. As more students are encouraged to attend college, increasing numbers of students are taking the SAT – not just the college-bound students that traditionally produce higher SAT scores. Plenty of NHS grads are accepted at Oregon State and University and the University of Oregon. Subsequently we also have students who successfully go on to attend schools such as USC, CalPoly, Tulane University, Olin College, Notre Dame, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and Cooper Union as well as many other prestigious colleges and universities. 

“Classroom sizes hit an all-time high and are in excess of 30 students to 1 teacher in many cases.”Out of 90 elementary classrooms, six classrooms have more than 30 students. Budget cuts in Oregon school district have resulted in increasing class sizes, cutting the number of days of school, or both. Newberg has managed to maintain a full school year but class sizes have increased. Regrettably, Oregon has one of the highest student-teacher ratios in the nation.

“Over 55% of licensed teachers are Tier1/Tier 2 PERS members with over 12 years of experience. These teachers cost nearly 3 times what a new teacher earns.  We need a more balanced ratio of experience levels.”
Over 55% of the school district staff members are Tier 1 & 2 members. This includes custodians, secretaries, cooks, maintenance & grounds, instructional assistants and administrators, as well as teachers. First year teachers earn $34,000; top salary is $61,000, making the experienced teachers earning less than twice the cost of a new teacher. The school district adheres to Oregon Labor Law, which prevents us from dismissing employees based on experience levels.

“Expenses of $86.2 million are budgeted for the next year or over $16,000 per student.”
$86.2 million is the total of all funds, including bond funds approved by voters. Only $41,472,000 in general funds are used to operate schools this year. The average cost per student is $8,314 per student, not $16,000. Funding per student varies on needs such as special education, poverty or non-English speaking. General funds used to operate schools were $43.4 million in 2010-11, $41.1 million in 2011-12 and $41.4 million in 2012-13. State revenue increases this year allowed Newberg to increase the general fund operation budget to $43,430,000.

. . . in addition to spending all the money it’s collected in property taxes, it’s “run up $78 million in debt” while at the same time the high school “is failing our community.”
The $78 million is the outstanding principal on all school district debt due to construction bonds passed by the voters of our community in 2002 and 2011. This is not a credit card expense. The school district makes regular payments on a schedule. Payments will be complete in less than eight years.

“I’m particularly disappointed in the way the Newberg School District has used bond monies to fund just current ongoing expenses in the district because that’s not the intent of bond levies.”
Oregon law allows school districts to include technology, textbooks and classroom equipment intrinsic to the use of the facility in bond costs. Given the reductions in state funding, this was the only way Newberg schools could fund replacement of outdated textbooks and technology.  School district voters supported including technology, textbooks, musical instruments and classroom equipment with construction, with 60% approval.

“… 23 BMW-driving administrators making over $100k per year while routine operating costs such as textbooks and band instruments go on the credit card.”
There are 21.67 FTE administrators (some are part time) to manage 5,100 students and 560 staff members in 13 schools. In 2012, the average salary in Oregon for a high school principal was $104,917, middle school principal was $99,003 and elementary principal was $94,233. Less than half of the administrators in the school district make over $100,000.

No one drives a BMW.

We extend the same opportunity to any citizen that we have extended to Mr. Gleason multiple times: Visit our schools. Call us and ask us questions.  Attend a school board or budget committee meeting. Volunteer. Mentor a student. Be a resource for real-world educational experiences.

The education of young people in Newberg and Dundee is our job, one we accept enthusiastically  . . .  but it also the collective responsibility of the community.  We thank all the members of the community who partner with us each and every year to ensure not only the success of individual students, but the overall success of our community as well.

Melinda Van Bossyut, Chair, Newberg School Board
Dr. Kym LeBlanc-Esparza, Superintendent

and members of the Newberg School Board, principals, teachers and senior staff