A former Camas School District administrator known by many as “the founding father” of the district’s project-based learning schools is taking legal action against the district for what he considers wrongful termination and discrimination.
Former Odyssey Middle and Discovery High Principal Aaron Smith said he has retained an attorney and filed a tort claim against the district — an initial step required before any lawsuit can be filed — but did not provide a copy of the document for review.
Camas School District Communications Director Doreen McKercher did not confirm the existence of the tort claim, but she declined comment on Smith’s allegations due to what they described as “pending litigation.”
District officials warned they would need to make more than $5 million in budget cuts before the 2023-24 school year due to declining enrollment rates, the end of one-time COVID relief funds and reduced “regionalization” funds from the state that had been used since 2018 to help school districts in higher cost-of-living areas retain teachers and other certificated staff members.
Smith, along with Dan Huld, the principal of the district’s 2-year-old, remote, K-12 Camas Connect Academy, were informed in the spring that the district intended to hire one principal to oversee the project-based learning schools and academy, and that their positions had been eliminated and that they had to apply for the newly created dual-role principal position to be considered for the job.
Though he said he did not realize it at the time, Smith said he has learned that his tenure as a principal, as well as his years working in the Camas School District and Washington state as an educator, should have provided him with tenure and some protection against losing his job.
“I was so shocked that ‘illegal’ didn’t cross my mind at all,” Smith said. “It was only when I spoke to my attorney in May that illegal entered my consciousness.”
Instead of eliminating his position, Smith contends, the district should have asked him to take on more responsibilities.
“I should still be employed,” Smith told The Post-Record. “Because I wasn’t made aware of my actual rights — there was no conversation with the district about what that could look like — I said I would not reapply for my current job. … It was just a complete lack of professional courtesy and empathy from district leadership.”
Smith’s welcoming, inclusive attitude and “my door is always open” leadership style proved popular with students, families, staff and several district administrators.
Additionally, many Odyssey and Discovery students and parents who talked to The Post-Record said Smith, who had been the Camas School District’s only openly gay principal, created a welcoming, safe space for LGBTQ students and their families.
“I felt like he was an advocate,” Camas parent Carrie Kuba said of Smith. Kuba’s project-based learning student, a recent Odyssey Middle graduate and incoming Discovery freshman, identifies as a member of the LGBTQ community.
“I was really impressed by his desire to make (diversity, equity and inclusion) a priority,” Kuba said, “and by his ability to be aware that those issues do not take away from services for other kids … but lifts the school and community as a whole.”
The district announced in late May that it had hired Huld, the former Camas Connect Academy principal, to run the merged programs.
Smith said he feels school district leaders erred in their decision to open the dual principalship up to candidates instead of simply adding responsibilities to his plate. He added that the school district also did not offer him comparable employment.
“At this point, I’m not trying to get my job back. They’ve interviewed and they’ve hired. The new administrator is making plans. The damage is done,” Smith said. “I’m devastated and heartbroken … and I don’t know what to do. What I’m hoping is that this will wake people up to what is happening in our community so it doesn’t happen to anybody else.”
