The staff and students of Camas High School (CHS) have noticed some not-so-great differences to the start of this school year. It is not a strike, but things like delayed schedules, larger class sizes, and problems accessing Skyward are still disruptive. The explanation? A budget shortage in the Camas School District (CSD) meant at the last minute, two CHS teachers transferred to other district schools.

This summer, schools in the district were also in the middle of transferring grading platforms, from Skyward, to its latest iteration, Qmlativ; these platforms are what students use to see their class schedules, as well as their grades throughout the school year.

Teachers have been greatly impacted as well.

“My schedule was dramatically changed; three of my classes were replaced entirely, my planning period was moved and the average size of my classes increased a good deal,” social studies teacher and Camas Education Association (CEA) member, Eric Linthwaite said.

Students have noticed the increase in class sizes and find it impactful on their learning. 

“Plitt’s [AP comparative government] class has 36 students, which is a lot, but it’s an AP class so students take it more seriously. If it’s a different class that’s not as serious, I think 36 would be too much,” senior Aiden Anderson said.

Students also found the lack of explanation for the schedule problems before the start of school frustrating.

“It’s been incredibly frustrating with the poor communication. Not only did we leave Skyward, but we haven’t been able to access Qmlativ and school starts in a week. I don’t know my classes or my schedule,” senior Joshua Meiners said as the first day of school approached.

“My goal is to keep folks informed as soon as I get information pertinent to either staff or students,” CHS Principal Kelly O’Rourke said.

Though the difficulties with accessing Qmlativ can only be attributed to technical difficulties, the reason CHS made the switch from Skyward to begin with is because Skyward had been around since 1990; the software was simply too old. Part of the reason the first day of school was pushed until after Labor Day—it has historically started the week before—was in anticipation of a slow transition. 

But just a few weeks before the start of school, Skyridge Middle School (SMS) informed the CSD they had too many students for the number of teachers available. As the district is trying to save $14 million in two years, it seemed impractical to hire new teachers. Especially when CHS had slightly smaller class sizes than usual, thus allowing for two teachers to transfer to SMS.

“The staff decision for the movement came Monday evening and therefore, counselors could not start modifying class schedules until yesterday,” O’Rourke said on the Wednesday before the start of the school.

CSD’s budgeting plans have been in the works for a while. However, with events like the McCleary lawsuit and the COVID-19 pandemic providing Washington schools with federal funding, the need to save has not been especially necessary until now. Moreover, the budget crunch has been worsened by inflation and lack of enrollment. 

The District sees lack of enrollment as being primarily part of the housing problem.

“We have very, very expensive homes being built, and yet we don’t have young families with young students who can afford to move in..… So we really have to look at: do we have too many staff members for the amount of students we’re serving,” CSD Superintendent John Anzalone said.

Thus far, cuts have been made at the central district office, in material and supply budgets, and other areas. 

More cuts will be made in the spring and those are foreseen to be more impactful.