Federal retrenchments in health, education, and family support are leaving states to fill widening gaps. Cuts to Medicaid, narrowed Title IX protections, stagnant childcare investments, and uncertainty around reproductive rights all raise the stakes for Oregon families.
Women and children often bear the brunt, but fathers, caregivers, and communities as a whole are also affected. Oregon must respond boldly with equitable healthcare, family care, childcare, and educational support that shields every household—especially the nearly 70% of Oregonians earning under $100,000—from destabilization.
Healthcare for all Oregonians: Building Toward Universal Coverage
In 2022, Oregonians approved Measure 111, making health care a constitutional right. In 2023, SB 1089 created the Universal Health Plan Governance Board (UHPGB) to design a comprehensive plan for delivering affordable, equitable care. By 2026, lawmakers will review proposals to unify coverage and financing.
Oregon already operates OHP Bridge, providing premium-free coverage for adults who are at 138–200% of the federal poverty level. Pairing this with federal 1115 Medicaid waivers and 1332 reinsurance mechanisms can channel federal funds into a single, sustainable system. Lessons from Colorado, Washington, and Massachusetts show that expanding coverage is possible, but only if cost growth is disciplined and affordability benchmarks are enforced (Colorado Health Institute, 2024; Massachusetts Health Policy Commission, 2023; Washington Health Benefit Exchange, 2024).
To make this more than an insurance program, Oregon should reward providers for better health outcomes—like improved chronic disease management, widely adopted preventive care, and reduced avoidable hospitalizations—and offer Oregon cities incentives for providing and funding community clinic spaces and support for new medical and nursing graduates in primary care roles.
Family Care: Paid Leave That Works for Everyone
Oregon’s Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) program now guarantees up to 12 weeks of paid leave (14 for pregnancy-related needs). Since launching in 2023, it has delivered over $1 billion in benefits to more than 150,000 people. Yet delays in processing and limited awareness—especially among fathers, self-employed workers, and small business employees—undermine its impact.
To strengthen PFML, Oregon should:
Streamline applications and improve processing for faster benefit delivery.
Expand outreach to fathers and caregivers in non-traditional roles.
Integrate PFML with universal health coverage so families’ wages and health needs are jointly protected.
Childcare: Affordability as an Economic Imperative
Oregon has the highest infant care costs in the nation—nearly $18,000–$19,000 annually. Public investments have reduced “childcare deserts” from 27 counties in 2018 to just 9 in 2025. But demand still far outpaces supply.
Legislation such as SB 5514 ($225M for subsidies), passed in July, 2025, and HB 2593 (still in Committee; goal of bill is to reduce waitlists) should be implemented. State leaders can also expand support for childcare businesses and explore municipal childcare grants for cities that invest in facilities, or workforce training.
Education: Schools as the Core of Family Safety Nets
Schools are more than a place to learn—they are frontlines for child safety, mental health, and family resources. Narrowed federal Title IX protections risk undermining these roles. Oregon should maintain strong state-level Title IX standards that protect all students, including boys who underreport harassment and girls who face systemic barriers (Oregon Department of Education, Title IX Guidance, 2024).
Education funding should also be coupled with child wellness services in each community:
Expand SafeOregon tip lines and mental health counselors in schools.
Fund afterschool and early-learning programs as child-protection tools.
Encourage partnerships between schools, healthcare providers, and social services so families can access multiple supports under one roof.
A Unified Vision for all Oregon Families
Oregon has a historic opportunity to weave together universal healthcare, strong family leave, affordable childcare, and robust educational supports into a cohesive safety net. Doing so will not only protect low to average income households from federal shortfalls, but also improve long-term community resilience.
The path forward is clear:
Guarantee healthcare as a right—and make it affordable.
Strengthen PFML so all parents and caregivers can use it.
Cut childcare costs and expand supply statewide.
Keep schools as safe, equitable anchors for every child.
When the federal government falters, Oregon must stand tall. By building systems that value health, caregiving, and education for everyone in our communities, Oregon can ensure her families have the stability to thrive.
“However, after an extensive investigation, I found that systems to monitor the district’s finances were either non-existent or were unsophisticated and ineffective in achieving the desired outcome.” Independent Investigator Dave Novotney, Ph.D.
A damning 56-page investigation report was obtained by Newberg Neighbors and reveals that former Newberg School District Superintendent Dr. Steve Phillips failed to monitor the budget, resulting in an $8 million deficit. He also used racist language and misrepresented the district’s compliance with state standards. The report, prepared by independent investigator Dave Novotney, Ph.D., substantiates four of seven allegations against Phillips during his tenure leading a district beset by years of controversy.
Dr. Novotney was also briefly the interim superintendent prior to Dr. Phillips, when then-board chair Dave Brown and three other board members fired Dr. Joe Morelock with no plan for a replacement. At the time, Novotney provided his services for free as the superintendent of the Willamette Educational School District, of which Newberg is a part. Upon his retirement, he became an independent investigator.
The investigation, which included interviews with 27 district employees and administrators, paints a picture of a superintendent who held informal “pop-in” meetings instead of implementing proper financial oversight, referred to students and staff using racist terms in private conversations, and told staff to report compliance with state standards even when programs fell short – because “nobody actually reports out of compliance.”
We are expecting further information from our records request. This report, which is redacted to protect the identities of those who were interviewed over the course of the investigation, is the first.
Newberg Neighbors has taken the liberty of creating a Cliff’s Notes version for public consumption.
Allegation 1: Did Dr. Phillips fail to provide adequate oversight of the budget?
The allegation was substantiated, with 4 specific duties contained within school board policies CB and CBA were cited that demonstrated Dr. Phillips’ culpability for the devastating budget fiasco. Furthermore, as Dr. Novotney is a former superintendent himself, he had specific knowledge of the responsibilities of a superintendent and the budgeting process and found Phillips to be lacking in his fiduciary responsibilities.
Specifically, the district lacked basic systems with which to monitor the budget, did not implement a practice known as “budget blocking” in the district’s finance software that would have prevented the overspending responsible for the budget deficit, and did not grant administrators access to monitor or view their departments’ budgets. Despite Dr. Phillips’ claims that he isn’t responsible for the mess made of the district’s budget, Board Policy very clearly states that, while the superintendent can delegate tasks to others, they are not relieved from the responsibility of actions taken under delegation.
Allegation 2: Did Dr. Phillips use racist and discriminatory language during private meetings?
The allegation was substantiated, with two standards in the employee handbook and two standards in NDPS board policy CBA cited to have been violated. Dr. Phillips referred to Caucasian kids as “whities,” Hispanic students as “brownies” and LGBTQ students as “gays and weirdos” in multiple instances with two separate people, one of whom Dr. Phillips assumed would be friendly to his views. In Dr. Phillips’ interview, he expressed frustration at a perceived lack of loyalty among administration ranks, seemingly expecting to be protected at all costs by the principals who worked beneath him. Dr. Phillips also claimed ODE wanted students to be referred to as white kids and brown kids. This item is potentially reportable to TSPC.
Allegation 3: Did Dr. Phillips mislead ODE, the NDPS Board of Directors, and the community at large about the district’s full compliance with Division 22 standards in fall of 2023?
The allegation was substantiated. NDPS board policies CM and CBA were cited to have been violated, as well as two standards in the employee handbook. This item is potentially reportable to TSPC.
Allegation 4: Did Dr. Phillips fail to adhere to board policy regarding Reductions in Force (RIFs) in June of 2024?
This allegation was unsubstantiated, with specific board policy cited that demonstrated why this was an unfounded claim. Specifically, the June RIFs were for classified and non-represented staff, two populations who don’t require Board of Directors action before the RIF process can begin.
Allegation 5: Did Dr. Phillips fail to properly implement administrator evaluations consistent with TSPC standards and Board Policy CCG?
This allegation was substantiated and was fairly cut-and-dried. However, Dr. Phillips claimed administrators in Newberg had never been evaluated by TSPC standards, which was easily found to be untrue as TSPC standards were used in the 2021-22 school year by Karen Pugsley, who was Admin on Special Assignment at the time. The evaluation created by Dr. Phillips was merely a self-reflection.
Allegation 6: Did Dr. Phillips attempt to negatively impact the employment of Gregg Koskela?
This allegation was unsubstantiated, as the other superintendent in this equation seemed to understand the communication from Dr. Phillips to be a concern about whether Mr. Koskela was writing and posting on his blog during company time. It should be noted, however, that Dr. Novotney believes Dr. Phillips did make a significant error in judgment in contacting Mr. Koskela’s new boss.
Allegation 7 was specific to Dr. Phillips’ time in Jewell and the civil rights lawsuit filed last spring.
As the litigation is ongoing, a proper investigation was unable to be completed. However, Dr. Novotney noted in his report that Dr. Phillips promptly reported an inappropriate letter discovered in the classroom of the sex offender to the proper authorities.
We recommend reading the full report in its entirety. In early 2022, we had a superintendent candidate with the knowledge, experience, and reputation to lead a district of this size; yet the conservative school board majority chose a superintendent on administrative leave and under investigation at his then-current job, who was also forced out of his previous job due to the expression of racist views via the reposting of anti-undocumented immigrant sentiment on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Thus, none of what’s contained within the pages of the report should be a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to school district business over the last four years.
It is clear Dr. Phillips was not hired because he was the best man for the job; rather, he was hired despite being unqualified for the job. His sole qualification was his political views, which closely matched those of the conservative board majority. Don’t take our word for it: one of the people interviewed stated Dr. Phillips referred to people unaligned with his political views as “commies.” This cronyism directly led to chaos, destruction, and heartbreak for our district and community which will take years to fully recover from.
It is our hope the community will remember this saga when it’s time for school board elections in May. Our next school board will be responsible for hiring a permanent superintendent for our district. It is imperative we continue the healing process by electing people with integrity who are committed to the non-partisan nature of the school board, so that a superintendent of good character who will lead this district with competence, professionalism, virtue, and accountability may be hired.
Your letter to your “Friends and Family,” published on multiple community social media sites, was the impetus for me to write this open letter to you. *By resigning suddenly, just four months shy of the end of your term, you were not good to your word and never responded to my request to meet with you despite multiple reasons for meeting.
You have been an enigma to me. Your words frequently sounded good, but your actions seldom matched your words. Despite writing to you numerous times while you were on the board, you never acknowledged that you had received or even read any of the emails I sent you. The last time I wrote to you, I requested a meeting, for you to listen to me, for me to listen to you. My letter mentioned several topics I wanted to discuss:
Finances. Specifically, your thoughts about who you believe is responsible for them and your understanding of what happened with Dr. Phillips.
The Superintendent. How you understood the role of Dr. Steven Phillips, his contract, and the role and contract of the deputy superintendent. Also, I wanted to know why the board approved a deputy superintendent contract, something that is not normally their job.
Your intent in the August 13, 2024 board meeting: A lot of what was said and asked about at that board meeting is deeply troubling to me. The disclosure that you reached out and spoke to two people on protected leave is the most serious from a legal perspective. I have agonized over whether to file a formal complaint about this incident. I have decided to hear you out and ask my questions before making that decision.
Your response to my request to meet and talk was curt, but I was pleased you responded! Here is what you said: “This response is to let you know that I have received your email. You have included many things for me to think about. Once I have had time to consider your request I will respond.”
Since you never did respond, instead quitting and posting a public letter, I have to assume this public letter is your response, so I shall respond in kind.
In 2008, I went back to work after mainly raising children for 15 years. I worked part-time for NOCAP (Newberg Off-Campus Alternative Program). Over a period of years, my eyes were opened to a part of Newberg I didn’t know existed.
God was working in my life. As the reality grew that here in Newberg there were many children growing up in poverty, or broken homes, or homes rocked by drug addiction, abandonment, mental health issues and death, many of my biases were exposed and challenged. God, like he always is, was good. Co-workers were patient with me. Students were patient with me. God was patient with me.
My path with the Newberg School District was long and windy, but when I landed back at Catalyst (NOCAP renamed and in a beautiful new building-thank you Newberg!) in a job that used my Bachelor degree in sociology/social work, I had found both my passion and my calling. To quote Frederick Buechner about vocation, “The kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work (a) that you need most to do and (b) that the world most needs to have done.” I was doing meaningful work in my hometown with a diverse group of dedicated staff and students.
Those who followed developments in the district noticed that when you won the board election in 2021 (against a life-long conservative Christian, who also felt called to serve on the school board) you told people that big changes were coming. (The plan to fire Joe was already in place) For those of you who were paying close attention to the developments of the school board, you heard that Dave Brown, as the new chair said, “**Discovery has got to go.” We also heard Renee Powell regularly denigrate staff and spout that we were “indoctrinating” students. For those folks, it may not have been a surprise that I took a leave of absence, then resigned, so I could continue to speak truth and advocate for the students of the school district, specifically Catalyst.
I was very prayerful, and honestly believe the Lord called me to Catalyst, and then called me to leave Catalyst to continue being a voice for the marginalized students in Newberg. I was to continue partnering with God’s love and God’s work in the world.
Because of you firing, without cause, a skilled superintendent and your efforts to create school policies that would transform the environment into one that normalized and centered white nationalism and Christian nationalism, and making sure loyalists were in all positions, I was persecuted and my husband reassigned (sound familiar?).
District office staff received personal death threats and other personal threats on an almost daily basis; threats that often stated support for Dave Brown and the board. ***Carey Martell, who Dave Brown described as “doing more for the school district than anyone,” mailed an entire glossy flyer (funded by ?) full of smears and lies about my husband to the entire school district population.
Four community members, two of them teachers, were sued by four board members, including you. No, not one of them shared personal addresses or phone numbers of the four of you, or suggested that anyone harass you. They were desperately trying to figure out who you all would actually listen to. Your employers? Your pastors? In one case, a person was trying to get important information from a former team member to the appropriate person. Your suing actually seemed to be retaliation against the group of parents who sued the board for acting illegally.
Note: You lost your lawsuits, they won theirs.
Back to me and other staff members–losing our main income and the constant physical and financial threats created a tremendous amount of stress for me, my family, and a large number of school district staff. The staff members you sued left the district. The community members you sued left our community.
I am a strong woman who has no illusions that following God will be easy. Yet still, it was disheartening that my husband and I had to be subjected to such hatred. When you first started working with the new board, I was alarmed at how Renee Powell still spoke words of absolute certainty and shame to her fellow board members. You didn’t speak much, but sometimes when you spoke, it sounded good.
Your actions seldom matched your words however. Your votes were always in support of Renee and Dr. Phillips, even when things like that sweetheart deal contract that NEVER should have happened in the first place were on the table. During that process, you used a manipulative form of dehumanization as an analogy, saying the board was “holding a gun” to Phillips’ head. I think this was pure projection as Dave Brown and the rest of his board, including you, held the school district hostage with a completely hidden, sweetheart of a contract for Phillips. There was a stunning amount of lies and manipulation when that contract was brought to the light.
Still, after Renee moved, I was hopeful your sense of calling to the district and desire for good for the district, combined with the obvious effort every board member made to include you and treat you respectfully, would result in good for the district. We all watched as the district’s severe budget problems came to light. I hoped you would finally lay blame in the right place. After all, it is critical for school districts that the superintendent oversee the budget correctly.
Instead, I witnessed you blame anyone but Phillips and subsequently witnessed a lot of manipulation from you. To say your words and your body language/tone/voting did not match is an understatement. You spoke what I sincerely believe to be lies about the former chair of the school board, even though you should have known by then that Phillips would do anything, including lying, to save his own skin. You claim that you have witnessed “a high degree of dishonesty and manipulation, resulting in good people’s lives being turned upside down and their careers and reputations being destroyed”.
Hear me—-Dr. Phillips brought that on himself. He was largely without honor in the budget crisis. There was plenty of evidence present prior to you hiring him to know that Dr. Phillips, despite fitting the political profile you were looking for, was not a skilled superintendent. You brought him to our district anyway. You brought a high degree of dishonesty and manipulation. It resulted in good people’s lives being turned upside down and their careers and reputations being destroyed long before Dr. Phillips failed to oversee the budget.
When you resigned suddenly from the board, with no warning and no explanation, I figured the results of the investigation into Dr. Phillips were too painful. I was hopeful that the Lord, or one of his gifts, cognitive dissonance, had finally been acknowledged in your life. But no. Instead I read a letter full of enough grievances and blame to mask any Spirit of God speaking or cognitive dissonance that might have been showing up. It makes no sense that you resigned four months before your term was over because of “negativity, false accusations and miscarriages of justices.” By your telling, those have been present since the beginning of your term. I’m sticking with this being the way to avoid the cognitive dissonance created by Dr. Phillips’ actions and the independent investigation.
I feel incredibly fortunate that I was hired by Forest Grove to work at their alternative program and my husband was hired by a small district in the opposite direction, where he is their amazing communications director and now oversees bond work as well. Like many other former district employees who were forced out of jobs or experienced RIFs because of budget cuts, we have found meaningful work far from our homes. I look forward to becoming a new grandmother this year and many other things. I will be continuing to practice hope, to seek truth and justice, and to lean into joyful community. As my pastor said today when we gathered to worship, “We get to experience WITHNESS”— both with others and God. I have made long lasting and meaningful relationships because of these rocky years our school district has endured. ****I will never regret that.
God is great and His plans are perfect.
Elaine Koskela
Former employee of the Newberg School District
* “How many good people will be dissuaded from running if this garbage keeps up?” This statement, made by the person who posted your letter publicly, is another reason I was moved to write this open letter. I take heart in the fact that so many people in Newberg and Dundee are paying attention and have shown a willingness to hold our public officials accountable, even at great personal cost. It’s another thing I will never regret; a whole lot of people were very interested in what was happening in our public schools and many, many people have stepped up. By all means, if you are a person who believes that public education is the best way of making sure we educate all our children, if you believe that all our children are worth educating, if you are passionate about working together with other passionate people, if you are willing to listen and learn, and speak your knowledge, and follow the rules, please get involved! You will find amazing people to work alongside.
**Discovery is an amazing six-week program that is successfully used in many types of alternative schools to teach study skills, to allow new students to get to know each other and the school, and to learn the culture and structures of the school, including the main tenant that everyone is treated with dignity and respect. I don’t think Dave had a clue what Discovery was when he declared, waaaay out of his lane as board chair, that “Discovery has to go”.
***I cannot make myself look up the exact quote, but the italics are quite close.
****Using your format and occasionally your actual language to speak my truth is intentional.
Like the rest of the country, Newberg and Yamhill County have a unique opportunity to turn the page on controlling, grievance-filled politics by rejecting politicians who have refused to work with any “outsiders,” taking their positions as a mandate to do as they please.
Since Linsday Berschauer burst upon the scene to run for county commissioner, Yamhill County has seen the rise of partisan dominated politics for community-based issues. With the election of Berschuaer came the rise of two far-right political groups seeking to control all politics in Yamhill County: Newberg Dundee Strong and Mac We Are.
These groups are both affiliates of Strong Town, USA, an organization that advocates “for cities of all sizes to be safe, livable and inviting.”
Sounds good, but despite being affiliates, the agenda of Strong Town, USA, is not really the goal of Newberg Dundee Strong and Mac We Are. Instead, the local organizations are fueled by the identity politics of MAGA.
Thus, voters in our county are faced with low-knowledge candidates who exhibit a lot of confident wrongness.
We see it in the giant signs that liter our beautiful country roads.
We saw it with a “100% MAGA” Newberg-Dundee School Board that made national news for its racist policies, then fired a popular and competent superintendent in the Newberg-Dundee School District superintendent and hired their candidate, Dr. Phillips.
We saw it with the lavish praise poured on the new superintendent and chief financial officers by the 7-person board, all members of Newberg Dundee Strong. Their hand-picked leaders for our district repeatedly lied to the community, hiding the fact that they bankrupted the school district, then sued the district for their own incompetence.
We see it with the aggressive smearing of any outsider by Carey Martell, whose “Yamhill Advocate” operated in conspiracy theories that made his targets in Newberg feel unsafe.
We see it with the exclusionary, biased and prejudiced reporting of Becky Wallis, member of NDS, conflict resolution officer for Yamhill County Republicans, and editor of Yamhill County News
We want to take a moment to point out the end result of Wallis’ multiple complaints to the Newberg School Board. Confident wrongness that cost the district (and therefore the taxpayers) time and money. Board member Nancy Woodward and Finance Committee chair Kat McNeil spent countless hours responding to the complaints. One of the board lawyers also gave hours of time. Becky herself seemed to take pleasure in the time and money she caused the district to waste.
On Friday, November 1, all three complaints that made it to the Oregon Ethics Commission were dismissed. All of Wallis’s complaints were protective of Dr. Phillips, insisting that the board and the chair of the finance committee were breaking the law by hiring an interim superintendent and pointing out financial issues, respectively. Confident wrongness at work.
We have the opportunity to put this kind of partisan politics behind us. We need politicians that are knowledgeable and skilled, not blinded by purity partisan politics. We need politicians willing to work with ALL citizens of Yamhill County for the common good.
The city of Newberg is fortunate to have three amazing, highly qualified candidates running for city council: Dr. Jeri Turgesen, Tyson Butler, and the only incumbent, Elise Yarnell.
The city of Newberg is fortunate to have three amazing, highly qualified candidates running for city council: Dr. Jeri Turgesen, Tyson Butler, and the only incumbent, Elise Yarnell.
Yarnell has served six years as a councilor from District 1. She is an amazing communicator and a proven collaborator with extensive experience getting things done! Besides holding a lot of institutional knowledge as our longest-serving city councilor, she is currently the only council member who is not a member of the ideologically rigid and uncompromising Newberg Dundee Strong.
The monopoly Newberg Dundee Strong had on the school board has caused the Newberg Dundee School district to suffer greatly. The last thing we need is our most senior member of the council replaced with yet another member of Newberg Dundee Strong. We are concerned the city councilors will follow the example of the former Newberg Dundee school board members and not engage with or listen to constituents outside of their group.
Why is Newberg Dundee Strong running a candidate for this position in the first place? Britta Mansfield announced her candidacy with a picture of her and Lindsay Berschauer at a local festival. On her website, Britta says, “I believe the community should still be involved in regularly choosing who they want to represent them and lead.”
Sounds good, but there is absolutely no indication of how Mansfield would represent or lead better, let alone different, from Yarnell. In fact, Britta’s entire campaign, from the language used right down to the branding, seems to be copied from Elise. This raises a good deal of concern about why she is running under the guise of “let(ting) the citizens choose who represents them.”
If Mansfied wins Yarnell’s seat with no other changes to the council, then EVERY council position will be represented by members of Newberg Dundee Strong. This concern about a Newberg Dundee Strong monopoly was shared with Mansfield on her Facebook page, along with a question about if she would represent all her constituents. Instead of attempting to quell the concerns about representation, Britta just ignored the question altogether.
Thankfully, in addition to Elise, there are two other highly qualified citizens running for city councilor positions: Dr. Jeri Turgesen and Tyson Butler.
Turgesen was raised in rural Yamhill and brings her rural sensibilities and years of experience as a psychologist in Newberg to the table. She oversees all behavioral health for the Newberg Dundee School District. She is passionate about Newberg being a safe and nurturing community, especially for our children.
This passion about youth mental health led her and Elise to create and implement a system to identify and help students experiencing suicidal ideation. Their combined efforts stopped the rash of youth suicides that rocked our community several years ago and it is crucial that this work continue.
Like Yarnell, Turgesen is a clear and effective communicator. They both recently gave testimony to the Board of Commissioners about youth mental health, successfully getting funding released that had been held. Berschauer had held the funding because of her concerns about parents’ rights. Jeri explained the collaborative approach the health center uses and showed its effectiveness with data. There is 100% parental/guardian participation for youth in crisis. Her kindness, coupled with an ability to address serious issues, is much appreciated.
Butler is a working professional who chose Newberg to raise his children, largely because it is a tight-knit community. He holds a master’s degree in public administration and has 10 years of experience in community development and conflict resolution. There are skills that will be put to good use here in Newberg! Jeri and Tyson will bring much needed diversity, skill and experience to our community. They will foster a strong, collaborative city.
Please vote for Elise Yarnell, Dr. Jeri Turgesen, and Tyson Butler for Newberg City Council!
It’s political sign season in my home community, as it is everywhere. In the county where I live, political signs proliferate almost every spring and fall, mostly for candidates in local races, less often for those at the national level, perhaps because Oregon is not a swing state, and because national races are pretty much decided before our polls close.
There are several notable exceptions in my hometown, though, of signs supporting a national candidate and which show that we are an uncivil people, and also uncivilized. The first, on a flagpole blocks from my home, has been proudly proclaiming “F*** Joe Biden!” for several years now. Except, of course, the asterisks are letters. Even the “Let’s Go Brandon!” bumper sticker on a car parked near that house shows a bit more taste, by the smallest of margins.
In January 2023, the Newberg-Dundee School Board couldn’t believe their good fortune–and they let their constituents know. According to comments made at that meeting, their specially-picked superintendent, Stephen Phillips, had hired all the best people, who were saving the district scads of money, communicating with astounding transparency, and transforming the way finances operated in the district, since–according to members of the board–the previous administration wasn’t up to the job.
At least that’s what they said. Here’s a sampling of their comments from the January 2023 board meeting:
I really appreciate the communication that you’re doing with all the staff and everybody. I think that’s just great, having that open communication. So, thank you for all your work. (Director Renee Powell, expressing her gratitude to Heather Bixby)
And, you know, that’s always hard when you haven’t been held accountable, or haven’t been held to a high— higher standard and processes — those best-known methods. And she’s doing that and it’s being received well. And it’s going to make — well, I mean, we’re going to have an excess, it sounds like, going into next year. And I — and I just applaud you, Heather, for the great work that you’re doing. And–and, keep up the good work. Yeah. (Director Trevor DeHard, expressing his gratitude to Heather Bixby)
Well, Dr. Phillips just hired a lot of good people. But he probably didn’t do any better than he did with Heather. So we just — we’ll leave it at that. So, thank you very much for the great work. (Board Chair Dave Brown, expressing his gratitude to Heather Bixby)
By now, we all know that these accolades were premature. Not even sixteen months later, we’ve learned that our district is facing a catastrophic budget crisis, including a $14 million deficit heading into next year, on top of a $1.5 million deficit this year, one that needs to be covered before June ends.
Rather than being transparent about the budget, communicating with stakeholders, or using best practices, Phillips and his crew are walking into the district’s darkness without a plan, continuing to use the same tactics that got us here in the first place: seemingly putting his own interests ahead of the community and its children.
(And that great hire, Heather Bixby? She’s not been to any of the budget meetings since May 21, and no one in administration has said what happened to her. It’s like Bixby has vanished, but not without a trace: after all, it’s her problematic accounting, her inability to track hiring, and her unwillingness to use proven software that helped carry Newberg-Dundee schools into its current mess.)
Although Phillips has (somewhat) owned his role in this colossal failure, he continues to operate as he had before the discovery of the budget shortfall, making it even more difficult to trust that he can lead us back to financial solvency. Specifically, Phillips lacks
Transparency: At recent budget meetings, Phillips has not clearly articulated his plan for leading the school through this difficult time. For example, he mentioned an idea about consolidating elementary schools, but he hasn’t explained his justification for doing so. Meanwhile, rumors are circulating that Phillips is providing tours of Joan Austen Elementary to representatives from several local entities interested in using the building for childcare. Is this true? How will this help with the budget shortfall? How will this impact teachers, students, other stakeholders? A leader would explain his actions, talk with his board about his thinking, and be transparent about his decision-making. Phillips is not being transparent.
Communication: Similarly, Phillips is not communicating clearly with teachers, parents, or community members about why the district got into this mess, what specifically happened to the millions now missing, or what he will specifically do going forward. In fact, rather than communicating clearly, the communications position at the district has been slashed to .5 FTE. Statements put out by Phillips and his district office reflect a lack of attention to this crucial element of leadership: they are unclear, poorly written, and without the specificity needed at this moment. Phillips is not communicating clearly.
Empathy: People in our community are fearful of what the future holds for their children. Teachers are fearful about their jobs. Employees of the district are fearful about whether they will get paid this year, and whether they should be looking for a job next. The school board is facing a daunting task. At this moment, we need an empathetic leader, one who can face constituents with honesty about what has happened; an acknowledgement of how his actions have damaged the district; and the compassion to express that people are afraid. Phillips’ astounding lack of empathy was on clear display at the last budget meeting (May 30), when his snarky response to Directors Jeremy Hayden and Sol Allen served to diminish them and their concerns, attempting to make them look stupid (even though their questions reflected Phillip’s lack of communication and transparency). Phillips lacks the empathy needed at this moment.
Accountability: One of our main concerns over the last two years is that the previous school board, and Superintendent Phillips, were not being held accountable for any decisions they have made: There were no formal leadership evaluations. No audits of the budget. And a sweetheart contract that had no mechanism for holding Phillips accountable: indeed, the old board awarded him (and his deputy superintendent) contracts that included lucrative payouts if he was fired, making that even losing his job would mean that Phillips won. Although the May 2023 election was one way the community held directors accountable, Phillips has continued to make decisions about the budget without consulting the board, as if he alone can fix a district he has dismantled. Phillips operates without fear of accountability.
QUESTIONS WE ALL SHOULD BE ASKING:
Do we really want Phillips to be creating a plan for the district?
Do we really feel like he is capable of formulating a systematic plan by creating a lens for decision making, reaching out to stakeholders and then implementing the plan?
Don’t we really need an experienced interim to come in and do a thorough analysis before any cuts like an elementary school are put on the table?
Phillips’ actions, his inaction, his hubris, his unwillingness to listen to constituents will continue to mire our district in a financial collapse he enabled, along with the “best people” he hired. (And maybe fired? We don’t know, as he won’t say.) The pressure on him should be mounting, especially given recent press coverage like this story on KGW.
Help us continue to push Phillips toward resigning without a payout he is rumored to be seeking. You can sign a petition demanding he resign. You can show up to the board meeting tonight (June 3) that will start after the 5:00 pm executive session. You can insist that Phillips start working on behalf of the community and its children, rather than his own professional livelihood.
Together, we can start rebuilding Newberg-Dundee schools with the kind of leadership our children deserve, and that we all need.
After Tuesday night’s Newberg School District Budget Meeting, we know the financial state of our district is even more dire than we thought. And yet, at the meeting, the school leadership refused to answer questions that might clarify what was done to get the district into a financial mess; and also, what can be done to assure that the school district doesn’t make similar errors going forward.
Instead, as has often been the case, school leadership deflected, blamed others, and repeated “I don’t know” and “I don’t have an answer for that,” even though people in their positionshould know, and should have answers, given the leadership roles they currently hold.
Something needs to change before Newberg Schools plummet into a financial hole that might shape education in our community for the next generation, at least. Here are two specific ways you can help, right now, to assure a better future for our community’s children:
Write the school board and let them know that we need change in our school’s leadership. Ask them to encourage the resignations of Superintendent Stephen Phillips, Deputy Superintendent Scott Lindenberger, and Director of Finance Heather Bixby. You can write the entire board at boardmembers@newberg.k12.or.us.
Sign this petition, which reflects the concerns of your Newberg neighbors, and demands that Phillips, Lindenberger, and Bixby resign. We are hoping that a groundswell of support might make a difference in changing the leadership of our district.
If you need talking points, please consider this public statement, made Tuesday (5/21) by Newberg School Board Chair Nancy Woodward, one which reflects the deep concerns of this board, and the difficult road ahead for Newberg schools. We need someone in leadership who can help the schools navigate this road with care, transparency, and competence.
From Nancy Woodward, Chair of the Newberg School District:
The Newberg-Dundee School Board received news last night that the school district is over $3.7 million dollars in debt for this current school year. This stunning disclosure is as much a shock to members of the School Board as it is to you.
Despite frequent inquiries of the superintendent on the status of the district budget, the school board was regularly assured that any potential budget shortfall would be managed through savings from staff retirement and resignations. Last week at the May 14th board meeting, the board was told there were new concerns about the current year and proposed 2024-25 budget.
Here is the current status:
The school district just paid $1.1 million dollars to the Oregon Department of Education for overpayment of revenue. According to a recent independent budget review, the district is short over $10.7 million dollars to balance the 2024-25 school budget. The school board must legally adopt a budget for 2024-25 school year by the end of June.
Our next step is to fully understand the magnitude of this budget crisis and exactly what led the district to this point— and to share this information with you.
As a locally elected board, the Newberg-Dundee School Board has a fiduciary responsibility to the citizens of this community. We have a duty to protect the school district’s assets, provide transparency, accountability and promote a high level of professionalism from the organization’s leadership. We take that responsibility seriously.
Newberg students deserve our best, even under the most difficult of times. The School Board is committed to providing ongoing, transparent communication and working with the the community and skilled professionals to resolve this crisis. You are encouraged to direct your questions, comments and ideas to the entire board at boardmembers@newberg.k12.or.us
zThe Newberg Public School District is facing a dire reckoning. One need only look at the calendar of school board events planned for May–a series of budget meetings and special sessions–to see that all is not right with the district. Budget shortfalls, announced at last week’s board meeting, come on top of the recently-publicized lawsuit against Superintendent Stephen Phillips, who failed to protect a child from a predatory teacher while Phillips was leading the Jewell School District.
Phillips’ long-time principle of toxic positivity turns out to mostly just be toxic, especially when his administration assured the board and constituents that he had turned around a financially failing district. (The district was not financially failing when Philips was hired. He did not turn the district around.)
In fact, at a January 2023 Newberg school district board meeting, board directors fawned about how far Phillips and his CFO, Heather Bixby, had resurrected the district budget, especially when other nearby districts were failing. Some examples:
Director Shelby Kolb: I couldn’t believe what you’ve had to do and what–what you(Bixby) have done, and how far you’ve brought us. And so, much thanks.
Director Trevor DeHart: [It’s] always hard when you haven’t been held accountable, or haven’t been held to a high— higher standard and processes — those best-known methods. And she’s doing that and it’s being received well. And it’s going to make — well, I mean, we’re going to have an excess, it sounds like, going into next year. And I — and I just applaud you, Heather, for the great work that you’re doing. And–and, keep up the good work.
Board President Dave Brown: Well, Dr. Phillips just hired a lot of good people. But he probably didn’t do any better than he did with Heather. So we just — we’ll leave it at that. So, thank you very much for the great work.
CFO Heather Bixby: I think that the current administration has been phenomenal to guide in prudent public spending. And so, instead of being careless in how money is spent and just thinking that it is an open door to spend all the money that we get, people have adjusted really well to me telling people, “No.” They’ve adjusted well to meimplementing policies on what is acceptable for certain grants or student body funds.I mean, there’s–there’s a whole gamut of things that I have to oversee to make surethat we’re being fiscally responsible.
And a bit later: …when people understand those guidelines are out there for us, those rules are out there for us, they appreciate having a little guidance and so we, current administration, myself included, don’t have any problem guiding them to be more fiscally responsible.
However, the Newberg District Office has not been forthcoming with the public about what’s really happening with the budget. The current administration has not been prudent, has not been phenomenal, has not been fiscally conservative: all those values that Bixby et al. continued to tout up to, and beyond, the changed board last May.
The budget meeting on May 7 gives us a good sense of the questions we need to be asking this board, and in particular the Newberg Public Schools District Office leadership. At that meeting, several budget committee members drew attention to these problematic accounting issues:
Phillips proposed using some of the district’s remaining bond money for operational expenses. At the meeting, he was told this use of bond funds is not possible, which seemed to be a surprise to him. He admits that they “planned differently” for use of those funds. (Someone running such a large district, and with a lucrative contract, would know better about how those funds should be used.)
The district has a significant budgeting shortfall, given falling enrollments and projections that were aspirational. As a result, they will have to give $1.2 million back to the state, money that will not be used for instruction, hiring and retaining staff (at least the ones who are still here after the mass exodus of 2022), or curriculum. Although Bixby said there will not be a significant number of RIFs (Reduction in Force) word on the street is different, and teachers have been told that RIFs are coming. Once again, the students lose.
Several years ago, former Superintendent Joe Morelock had set aside $700,000 to cover an anticipated increase in PERS (Public Employees Retirement System) over the next few years. Bixby et al. took the PERS money meant for the increase and put it back into the general budget. It appears the money Morelock saved to build an ending fund balance and start planning for the future has been spent, and the district will need to find money to cover the PERS fund going forward.
May saw the district owing the state more money than the state monthly payment for the district. This is a big accounting mistake, and there’s no way they didn’t know they were going to have to pay the money back, yet never said anything about this at the last budget meeting when income for the remainder of the year was talked about.
A committee member pointed out that there was $100,000 missing from the budget, needed for professional development and legally part of the NEA contract. Even though the NEA is currently under contract negotiations at present, the district office forgot to include this money in the budget. Bixby’s response was that “It’s hard to catch all these things,” though this is quite literally part of her job.
Substantial violations in the district’s nutrition department last year (thanks, in large part, to Phillips’ hiring of nutrition director Bryan Quinn) have resulted in what we think is multiple fines. The district seems to be doing everything they can to NOT share information about these fines, so we are unclear as to the total number of fines and total amount. We are fairly certain there was a fine of over $100,000 resulting from Quinn not properly reporting potential allergens in school food. At the May 7 board meeting, after much prodding, Bixby admitted there was a $35,000 fine stemming from last summers’ food program. What other fines has our district incurred?
The lucrative administrative contracts themselves, especially those for Phillips and Deputy Superintendent Scott Lindenberger, add almost half a million dollars to the budget, and questions remain about whether those contracts should have been awarded to people who are struggling to keep a district afloat; who are the subject of multiple complaints; and who are under investigation in other districts.
Because of these and other budget problems, Newberg’s Chief Financial Officer, Heather Bixby, has asked the Oregon Association of School Board Officials to come in and go over Newberg’s financial books. The person who once bragged about being more fiscally responsible than the prior administration (who managed to significantly increase our ending fund balance AND put away a good chunk of money for the looming PERS increase) needs OASBO to come in and “fix” our books and tell us how much money we really have. We should have the report tonight.
Hopefully, the OASBO official will bring to light the significant issues that are currently being papered over with toxic positivity, and the board can hire a new administration that doesn’t come with so much baggage, and with so little ability to run a district well.
Tonight’s budget meeting is open to the public, although there will be no public comments. Keeping our officials accountable can be one way to assure that Newberg’s children have the education they deserve.
Over the course of our reporting about the Newberg School District, we’ve continued to have questions about Superintendent Steven Phillips, hired by the school board in 2022 to assume leadership of a district in crisis. At that time, another candidate for the superintendent role, someone with a distinguished history in Newberg who was recommended by a number of educators and parents, was overlooked in favor of Phillips: a person with serious baggage. Phillips had been fired from the Beaverton School District for racist social media posts, and was on leave from Jewell School District when he was hired in Newberg.
It wasn’t ever clear why Phillips was suspended from his Jewell position, but a recent court filing might provide some answers. As reported by The Oregonian, in a lawsuit filed on Monday in Clatsop County, a former Jewell student alleges that a teacher abused her sexually for several years, over 100 times, and supplied her with marijuana and other drugs. The suit alleges that despite ample evidence by other employees in the school building, the abuse was not curtailed, nor was the offending teacher forced out of his position.
Instead, the suit says, he was allowed to quietly resign and apply to other school districts, who were not aware of his predatory behavior. The teacher’s license was revoked in fall 2023, and on April 9, he was sentenced to three years in prison.
The Oregonian article provides some details alleging Phillips’ culpability as a leader in the district who did not protect the victim, nor by extension other students in the district. But the lawsuit itself, which you can read here, is even more damning.
Here are some allegations:
“Phillips…interviewed multiple students from Brandon’s classroom who corroborated concerns about Brandon’s boundary violations and inappropriate conduct towards students. Among the concerns was Brandon spending most of the instructional period behind closed doors in his private office with female students (one of whom was Plaintiff).”
“As set out above…Defendants had extensive information [of] Brandon’s dangerousness towards female students. Despite Defendent’s knowledge of this information, neither the District…Executive Administrator/Superintendent Phillips, nor any other district staff reported this information to the proper authorities, undertook any investigation…nor made any attempt otherwise to end, mitigate, or prevent Brandon’s ongoing sexual abuse of Plaintiff.”
“On April 1, 2019, a Jewell School District volunteer walking by Brandon’s class saw Plaintiff smoking marijuana and reported it to the school administration. A small group of three female students (including Plaintiff) who regularly used marijuana with Brandon in his classroom were called into Superintendent Phillips’ office…Plaintiff disclosed to Superintendent Phillips that it was Brandon who had supplied her with the marijuana vape pen. Thereafter, Phillips effectively expelled Plaintiff, rescinding an inter-district transfer and forcing Plaintiff to return to her zoned school in the Vernonia School District. Plaintiff’s father also told Phillips that he believed Brandon supplied the marijuana to Plaintiff. District Defendants did not take any meaningful action in response to this information. Instead, District Defendants allowed Brandon to complete the 2018-2019 school year…the District Defendants facilitated Brandon obtaining another teaching job, this time with grade schoolers…”
“Throughout the period of Brandon’s boundary violations, harassment, and grooming of Plaintiff while Plaintiff attended Jewell School, much of which was observable, occurred within view of the Defendants, the Defendants (1) failed to question Brandon about the nature of his relationship with Plaintiff, (2) failed to investigate comments and reports that Brandon had an intimate relationship with Plaintiff, (3) failed to report reasonable suspicion of child abuse of Plaintiff to police or state authorities, and (4) failed to create and enforce an appropriate boundary between Brandon and students…in doing so, Defendants acted with deliberate indifference to the safety of students…and/or tacitly authorized Brandon’s misconduct to continue.”
In a district where teachers have unfairly and incorrectly been accused of being sexual predators, and of indoctrinating students, it’s extra troubling that our superintendent did so much to shield an actual predator, despite ample evidence that the teacher was causing significant harm to a student. Superintendent Phillips has a lot to answer for here, and we hope he will address these allegations directly rather than brush them away with more toxic positivity.
Newberg Neighbors for a Better Community 
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