Camas School District announces widespread administrative cuts

The Camas School District will lay off nearly a dozen administrators as part of budget cuts.

The school district is facing a $13 million to $16 million budget shortfall ahead of the 2025-26 school year due to declining student enrollment, increased costs and depleted COVID-19 relief funds from the federal government.

On Tuesday, district officials said the cuts will include three full-time deans at Camas High School and Liberty and Skyridge middle schools and three full-time assistant principals at Helen Baller, Dorothy Fox and Grass Valley elementary schools and at Odyssey Middle School.

“Each one is a dedicated professional who has given so much to our students, our schools and this community,” Camas School District Superintendent John Anzalone said in a message that went out to school district staff and families this evening. “While we understand the necessity of these reductions to stabilize our budget, we also recognize the profound impact these changes have on individuals and teams across the district.”

Two positions — an assistant superintendent of teaching and learning and the director of community education — will remain unfilled after the people in those positions retire in December.

Camas School Board member Corey McEnry said last month the budget cuts are something the board has anticipated for years but had “pushed off” as long as possible, using reserves, trimming expenditures and advocating for more funding at the state level.

“We are short of any miracle actions coming out of the Legislature and we have exhausted our options here,” McEnry said at a Jan. 27 board meeting.

The board agreed in January to pass a reduction-in-force resolution that will eliminate 10 percent of the district’s certificated staff, which includes teachers; reduce the total number of classified, noneducator support staff by 13 percent; and cut the district’s administrator positions by approximately 29 percent.

The cuts also include the district’s full-time early learning coordinator at the Heights Learning Center, a part-time social-emotional liaison and the full-time director of secondary education.

In spring, the district plans to notify teachers and classified staff whose jobs will be cut.

“We know that these changes will have an impact on our system, and we remain committed to serving our students, families and community,” Anzalone said today, thanking district staff and community members for their “kindness, compassion and care for our students and one another during this challenging time.”