CAMAS — The Camas school board has written the check, and now it’s up to voters to sign it.
The five-member board voted unanimously tonight to put a $120 million bond measure before voters in February.
The bond would pay for a new high school on the Camas High School campus. It would be a standalone school with optional enrollment, with a likely science and technology focus, though students would still latch on to CHS for extracurriculars.
There was no public comment Monday night, and board discussion was limited to specifics of the bond language. The bond has been in the works for months, however, and members of the public previously weighed in as the school board moved toward consensus on the vote.
The board did decide to take out language that the new school include grades 9-12 only. While that is the initial plan, board members wanted to leave open the possibility of using the building for other purposes once a new campus is built.
A new comprehensive high school may be possible within the next decade, school officials said last week.
If approved, next year’s bond would pay for a relocated Lacamas Heights Elementary School, security upgrades, ongoing maintenance and updates to the shuttered Joyce Garver Auditorium.
The bond would cost taxpayers $0.48 per $1,000 of assessed home value effective 2017. That would raise the bond tax on a $150,000 home by $72 a year; homeowners with an assessed value of $500,000 would pay an extra $240 per year.
Ballots are due for the bond election on Feb. 9.
