(The Center Square) – Tuesday marked the first day of school in Camas in southwest Washington, where the district is grappling with budget projections that point to tough times ahead.
In a school board in Camas meeting Last week, Superintendent John Anzalone told the school board that “rising costs, lagging revenues and a state funding model that is out of alignment with the true costs of operating a school district” are to blame.
Anzalone said the district plans to use money from its general fund reserves to offset a $7.2 million budget deficit heading into the 2024-25 school year.
Camas is not alone in facing a budget dilemma, as several other districts are facing similar challenges.
” In Seattle “This is probably the most devastating situation right now,” Anzalone said. “They’ve proposed closing 20 schools by the start of the school year, which would be one of the largest district closures nationally in the last 10 years. Five districts are now in the red, including Marysville.”
Anzalone then showed the board members news reports about Marysville and the financial difficulties of Vancouver school districts.
“This shows that we are not alone and that we are doing our best and working very hard with our partners and our negotiating teams to leave no stone unturned,” Anzalone said.
According to a four-year budget projection, Camas's expenses of $131.6 million will exceed its revenues of $124.4 million.
The district faces significant budget cuts next year to avoid entering into what are called “binding conditions” with the state.
Under restrictive conditions, the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and Educational Services District 112 This would force the district to make specific cuts to stabilize the budget.
The district has already cut $700,000 from this year's budget, with Anzalone detailing where those cuts are being made.
“We will eliminate six positions in the central office after a period of six months,” he said, explaining that the district wanted to give employees time to build their resumes and look for other work.
“It’s not easy news to take, but I felt like it was something that was as far away from the classroom as we could go, but also showing grace to our employees and giving them some time,” Anzalone said.
He explained that he and other district leaders and managers will take six days of unpaid leave during the school year, staggering them so that there are not multiple people absent on the same day.
Other budget cuts include reducing equipment and supplies budgets, restricting travel and eliminating round-trip bus transportation for student-athletes playing away games in Clark County.
According to the Camas School District websiteThere are 7,235 students enrolled in the district, with $15,372 spent per student each year.
