CAMAS — The Camas School District’s four-year budget projection shows tough financial times ahead.
“Our district’s financial health is on the decline,” Superintendent John Anzalone told the school board last week, blaming “rising costs, lagging revenues and a state-funding model that is not aligned with … the real-world costs of running a school district.”
“Actions must be taken to eliminate the 10 percent, or $14 million, gap,” Jasen McEathron, business services director, told board members on Monday. “We cannot spend more than we receive in revenues any longer.”
Anzalone said the district plans to use money from its general fund reserves to make up for a $7.2 million budget deficit heading into the 2024-25 school year, which begins Tuesday.
According to a four-year budget projection, the school district’s $131.6 million in expenditures will exceed its $124.4 million in revenues.
The district is facing significant budget cuts to the 2025-26 budget to avoid going into what is known as “binding conditions” with the state.
“Essentially, a district is bankrupt at this point,” McEathron said, explaining that when a school district cannot balance its budget and has dipped too far into its reserves, it would look to binding conditions to help avoid a financial crisis.
In binding conditions, the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and Educational Service District 112 would require the district to make specific cuts to stabilize the budget.
McEathron said Washington school districts have rarely entered into this type of financial situation, but it is becoming more common as districts across the state, including in Camas and Washougal, struggle to keep up with increasing costs and decreasing student populations.
The district has already cut $700,000 from its 2024-25 budget, Anzalone said.
“To save $700,000 going into the school year, my team and I have decided to eliminate six positions after a six-month runway. We asked (six employees) to sign a six-month contract with the intent to not renew the contract at the end of the six months,” Anzalone said. “That still falls in (the) school year, but very late into the school year, and provides these employees a six-month window to look elsewhere.”
Anzalone and some district managers have agreed to take six unpaid furlough days during the school year, and the district will reduce overtime and stipends for central office staff.
Other cuts ahead of the 2024-25 school year include reducing materials and supply budgets by 10 percent; restricting travel and meals or refreshments during meetings; and eliminating return bus transportation for student-athletes attending away games or meets in the Clark County area.
School board members said Monday that the district’s financial situation is no surprise.
“We’ve been paying with our savings for the past four years,” board member Connie Hennessey said. “Now, our savings are gone, and we just don’t have money from the state to offer the services we as a district have come to expect.”
Teachers’ union responds
During the budget hearing, two leaders of the Camas Education Association — Beth Ceron and Michael Sanchez, both teachers at Skyridge Middle School — described what they said was an unexpected email from district leaders detailing the budget woes.
“The email really was hard to stomach,” Ceron said. “The biggest issue is transparency. You just hired a new assistant superintendent, and we have budget cuts.”
Ceron and Sanchez said district leaders canceled budget meetings last spring and that they had no idea the school district was facing such major budget issues.
“Our members have a lot of concerns. And stopping the budget committee meetings was really — I think it was a poor choice,” Sanchez said.
Ceron said she also believed district leaders had not been transparent about the problems facing the district.
“We’ve been ringing alarm bells on this for the past couple years,” board member Cory McEnry said Monday. “That this is what happens if nothing changes. We’re here. Nothing has changed.”
