This coming February, Camas voters will have an opportunity to vote on two levies that would maintain current funding levels for the school district.
The first levy is the Maintenance and Operations Replacement which funds teacher positions, smaller classrooms, textbooks, extracurricular activities, security, janitorial services, school nurses, technology support, accelerated programs, and school libraries.
The second levy is the Technology levy which provides network, wifi, and devices for student use. The levy makes up 20% of the Camas School District’s annual budget. Camas is known nationwide for having amazing schools that provide top-notch education and activities for students. Many families move to Camas specifically for the school system.
Currently, there is a community organized group called “Vote YES Camas!” This organization works to get information out to the community that this levy is not an additional tax levy. It maintains current taxing levels already worked into property tax. They feel it is important to maintain funding levels to continue the excellent resources CSD is known for through the next three years. Amanda Irving is the chairperson for “Vote YES Camas!” The committee was asked what would happen to the district if the funding was not passed.
She said “I think it would be really dangerous and unfair. Coming from a different state where they didn’t support the schools with levies for funding, there were no security measures, not enough bus drivers, the school needed repairs all the time, but most importantly several activities were cut and it became more expensive for parents and students to participate in the school community.”
She added, “Unlike in Camas, our school district is funded for these activities and resources. Our community rallies and comes together around sporting events, the arts, and academic teams. Our community would suffer and lose the hometown papermaker feel that we hold dear.”
CSD Superintendent Dr. Jeff Snell said, “The overall local school tax rate moving forward will decrease with the passage of the levies. We have benefited from a long history of support from our community. That support has built and sustained our wonderful facilities and programming we have for students.”
He added, “This year is obviously a different year. In trying to work through what school looks like during the pandemic there has been criticism of how fast or how slow we expand in-person learning opportunities. We hope that our community recognizes the long term impact of the levies and will continue to support our district.”
The Levy vote will occur on February 2, 2021. A brochure with more information will be mailed in mid-January 2021. More information can be obtained by going to this CSD website.