Camas School Expansion Bond Squeaks
By With Super Majority Vote; Battle Ground
Schools Pass Levy, Too
By Ernie Geigenmiller

Click here for result numbers

Update …

After last-minute ballots were counted by the Clark County Elections Department Wednesday, it became clear that the Camas School District’s $90 million bond passed the supermajority threshold needed to win passage with 60.62 percent.

On Tuesday’s election night, Camas voters appeared to be splitting their votes as the $90 million bond to build two new schools while remodeling others, was barely failing, while a $7.1 million technology levy easily passed.

Official, but not final Clark County Elections Department tallies show the technology levy (Proposition No. 2) passing with 3,959 votes at 63 percent to 2,319 votes, or 39 percent. It was a clear victory for the levy that replaces computers, cameras and high tech equipment for the school district.

Proposition No. 1, the more controversial of the two, calls for $90 million to build two new schools, expand Camas High School, Lacamas Heights and Dorothy Fox elementary schools, while reconstructing Helen Baller and Doc Harris Stadium. Opponents believed it was too much money.

Special elections bonds and levies require a super-majority 60 percent to pass.

On Tuesday, more than 4,000 ballots remain uncounted and those votes, which were counted Wednesday, appeared to make all the difference. Camas School Board Chairman Casey O’Dell is optimistic that the final tally will stay above the needed 60 percent.

“I have a better feeling now than I did Tuesday night,” said O’Dell. “I don’t want to count my chickens until they’ve hatched, but it looks good. I was very disappointed Tuesday night, and I had a feeling this vote would be close.”

O’Dell is pleased voters chose to help fund the ever-demanding needs of public education in Camas, Battle Ground and Ridgefield. He pointed out the growing population has put a lot of pressure on local schools to hire more teachers, expand existing schools and renovate.

But he also expressed displeasure with the supermajority law that requires 60 percent approval for bonds and levies such as these.

“It’s silly we need to have supermajority to fund education,” O’Dell says. “Educators have been putting pressure on the state legislature to allow the public to change the law to a simple majority – to have an initiative on the ballot. To have a simple majority would be nice.”

O’Dell also pointed out these bond measures wouldn’t even be necessary if the state would adequately fund education.

“Proper funding statewide would help everything,” he added. “The legislature passes laws that aren’t funded and then we’re expected to pay for them. That puts a lot of pressure on our local school district. They have a lot of unfunded mandates.”

Helen Baller school principal Jerry Moss said he’s breathing a big sigh of relief because the bond passed. He too is frustrated with the supermajority law “because most other votes require a simple majority to win.”

A victory is a victory, he said, no matter how close.

“We’re trying to deal with the expected increase in students over the next three to four years,” Moss said. “And the reality is that this vote affected the entire community. There will be no more portables at (Dorothy) Fox (Elementary) … Helen Baller, which has a good history, will continue with a new building … there’ll be better learning facilities with more room. It’s really a long-term fix to our challenges today. We’re very happy.”

Moss said the community would get together, form a committee, and decide what its priorities are. He thinks Grass Valley School will be the first construction project.
The site is located behind Grass Valley Park near 38th Street and 44th Avenue in Camas.

“The substructure is already in place,” he said. “And it will take pressure off Prune Hill Elementary. Our goal is to not have anymore boundary changes until Grass Valley is completed.”

O”Dell said Grass Valley is likely to be the first project, but says the final decision has yet to be made. “We’ll need to plan a timeline and get feedback from qualified architects and engineers. There will be a lot of community input.”

With the bond’s passage, it’s estimated the rise in property taxes will be 62 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. The tech levy cost is 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.

Ridgefield easily passed their three-year maintenance and operations levy as 68.1 percent of voters approved the measure.

Battle Ground’s three-year levy also passed with 61.44 percent of the votes cast. It was looking shaky on Tuesday night. Many had doubts it would pass given Battle Ground voter’s history with school levies.

And in Washougal, voters soundly defeated a proposed civic center as 56.7 percent of voters said simply “no.”

Stay turned for final results from the Clark County Elections Department.

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