Budget Committee Members

Rotating per meeting

Gary Moller: I am representing the school administrators on this committee. Making sure students and staff have the resources they need to learn and grow is my primary job responsibility. It is important to me that the recommendations coming out of this committee regarding the budget support the high level of success that many students experience in Camas. At the same time, we need to continue to find new ways to support students who, without that support, may not experience the same growth and success because of a lack of access to opportunities.

My second grader is a student in Camas, but my main connection is being a staff member for the past twenty-three years. I have served as a middle school and high school teacher, and I now serve as the principal to the students and staff at Liberty Middle School.

Shelley Houle: I am the president of Camas Education Association representing 461 members. This work is important to me because we are in a new era of education funding models. The legislature clearly indicated that funding would increase in many areas including salaries for certificated, classified, and administration. The Supreme Court did not order legislation that would change the levy system, but that’s what lawmakers did. My belief and hopes are that legislation will improve each year to get us closer to a funding model that is sustainable and that fully funds basic education, including special education. Finally, I believe that local communities should be the ones to decide whether to pass local levies despite a higher state levy.

I’ve taught at Helen Baller for 17 years (seven at fourth grade and the rest at fifth). Three of my children attended Camas schools. I grew up in Washougal and have lived in Clark County my whole life not counting my four years at Western Washington University. I currently live in east Vancouver but previously lived in Camas for six years.

Jenelee Herz: On our budget committee, I am a representative of the Camas Education Association. This work is important because I believe we need to push ourselves beyond maintaining the status quo of Camas and improve the schooling experience for all students in spite of the budget deficit. This opportunity allows us to reevaluate our values about what’s important for each student in our district and align those values with how we allocate resources. Successful schools can be defined in lots of different ways but most often achievement data, and participation in Advanced Placement and athletics are what the community hears about. Although these indicators are important, I believe we need to think about students that don’t fall into those categories and how we are allocating resources to ensure a sense of belonging and support for those students.

I was a math teacher at Camas High for seven years, and now I serve as the secondary math TOSA. I have 3 boys: a 1st grader and 3rd grader at Lacamas Lake Elementary, and a preschooler.

Miranda Jarrell: {coming soon}

Kristi Thomas: As a member of the Camas Association of Educational Office Professionals, I represent the secretaries in our district as well as our students. I feel it is important to understand the direction our district needs to take to continue to offer the highest quality education for ALL students while balancing its budget. I hope to be the voice of somebody that works day in and out with families and students. I hear what is important to them.

I have lived in Camas for 20 years. I have three children that have attended Camas Schools since kindergarten: A graduate from Hayes, a graduate from CHS and a current CHS junior. I have worked for the district 10 years with the last seven as the Administrative Assistant at Hayes Freedom High School.

Lorraine Schmid: Raised in Washougal it wasn’t a big leap moving to Camas 28 years ago. I’ve been employed with the Camas School District since 1992. I have experienced a number of positions over the years but found my niche in Special Education. Along the way, my husband and I raised two Camas graduates.

Participating in this committee is important because it is a collaborative learning opportunity to see into the internal-working parts of a school budget. I represent Camas’ Public School Employees (PSE) and hold the President position. I hope to bring a different perspective that will aid in keeping employees and essential programs intact.

Joe Voogt: I have been a member of the Camas community since birth in 1978 and graduated from CHS in 1997. I am on this committee representing Public School Employees (PSE).

For me, it is important to safeguard the quality of education and programs Camas School District offers to its students and citizens. I hope to contribute to this process by sharing my knowledge about different employee groups as well as my work with user groups that depend on the use of our facilities for their programs.

My children will be third-generation Camas graduates. Like my father before me and myself, my 12th-grade daughter and 6th-grade son have attended camas schools since kindergarten. Beyond being a camas graduate, I have been employed by the district as a groundskeeper since 1999.

Kelly Adams: I currently serve as PTO Treasurer for Skyridge Middle School and am honored to be the district’s PTO/PTA representative on the Budget Committee. In my professional life, I serve as a Financial Controller. As a parent, we recently lived through major budget changes in a previous school district and saw first hand that through hard work and planning, schools can retain their excellence through challenging times and become stronger. Throughout this process, my goal is to keep our eye on “the prize”, which are of course the students that Camas serves.

Our family located to Camas 3 years ago, in large part due to the excellent reputation of the schools. We have four children, three of whom are currently attending Camas Schools at Grass Valley Elementary, Skyridge Middle School, and Discovery High School. It’s a fun and busy time for our family, and we feel fortunate for the opportunities offered by both the School District, and the Camas community at large.

Ryan Dickerson: Other than when I was away at college, I have lived in the Camas/Washougal community for 41 years. I am a class of 1996 graduate of Camas High School and am currently the President of the Camas Athletic Booster Club.

I hope to contribute an outside/community view as a local business owner. I understand the importance of budgeting and forecasting for the future. As part of the Camas Athletic Booster Club, we provide monetary assistance to middle school and high school athletics programs. I hope to convey information on what we can do to continue to assist as well as what our limitations are.

I don’t have a current direct connection to the School District other than the charitable work that I am involved in as a community member and Booster President. I do not have children. My mother and stepfather retired from the school district a few years back and continue to substitute. I have always felt that the Camas community is a great place, and one of the main draws to the community is the School District.

Alison Benjamin: I have lived in Camas since July 2014. I am currently the President of the Camas Educational Foundation and represent them on this committee.

The strength and continued success of our schools are very important to me and are a key element of a thriving community. I am a former elementary school teacher and high school administrator and bring that knowledge with me in all I do.

I have a daughter who is a sophomore at Camas High School. Like many people, we moved to Camas for the schools. Keeping our school strong, our students safe, and our staff continually striving for excellence is essential to the continued growth of our community.

Stephen Nygaard: I’ve lived in Camas for four years, and I represent the Citizens Advisory Committee.

Today’s children will be solving tomorrow’s problems. As a community, I believe it’s important for us to come together and provide our students the best framework for learning and position them to be resilient, strong, respectful, critical thinkers, and problem solvers. We need to do this in a way that creates synergy with the district staff, and with the members of the community who sacrifice and support in various ways and degrees.

I hope to contribute by first listening and learning so I speak from a place of understanding vs assumption. I will leverage my nearly 20-year career in data, analytical, operational, strategic, and leadership roles to help the committee ask the right questions, seek the best answers, and solve the right problems.

My wife and I have three children. Our oldest is a freshman at Boise State, we have a freshman daughter at CHS, and a son in seventh grade at Liberty. The two youngest also attended Helen Baller.

Mindy Stadtlander: I just moved to Camas with my family last summer, and we are really excited to be a part of this community! I am on my second year serving on the Citizens Advisory Committee and have found the opportunity to get to work with smart, committed committee and staff members has been awesome.

In times of big change that require complex decisions, it’s important to understand our community values and make sure that whatever decisions we make support those values. In my day job, I work in community collaboration and hope to bring those skills to the group, represent the views and priorities of the larger CAC, and be a thoughtful group participant. I have 3 kids in the Camas school district – a third grader and kindergartener at Helen Baller and a preschooler at CSD and have relatives that work in the district!

Alicia Brazington: I come to this group as the chairperson of the 2017 Camas School District levy campaign and the co-chair of the 2016 Facilities Advisory of Citizens, Teachers, Staff & Students for the 2016 CSD Bond campaign. A parent of two teen boys, I’m the current Skyridge PTO president and PTA/PTO Leaders of Camas coordinator; a former board member of Grass Valley PTA, MOMS Club of Camas, and C-W Parent Co-op Preschool; and a previous member of the CSD Citizens Advisory Council and CSD Boundary Transition team. Outside of my volunteer duties, I am a copywriter and communications consultant. I will strive to ensure the wishes of all Camas residents are represented in our work as a budget committee.

Mark Klein: My wife and I have been in the Camas community for 22 years. Our three children went thru the Camas schools, K-12, then on to college and beyond. I am serving on the Superintendent’s Budget Committee representing our community.

I have worked in the private sector for over 35 years as a manager, then as a Senior Manager in a larger company. I now mentor newly appointed Presidents and CEO’s in the small business space. My experience with generating budgets, seeking out efficiencies, and maximizing the investments while helping the employees lead a successful work life should help me provide some insight for this CSD budget effort.

I am a huge fan of the teachers, administrators, and operations folks in the district. Since our kids enjoyed an excellent experience here, I have tried to give back by working on and chairing several school bond and levy campaigns. I truly want to see the success in this district continue at this high level.

Ken O’Day: My family has lived in Camas for 5 years. I am on the committee as a representative of Camas community members. We moved to Camas because of the quality of the schools. Over the past few years, we have been impressed by the quality of education and community support for schools. However, we are very concerned about the potential impact of budget constraints on the district and I want to do whatever I can with my background in economics to help.

We have a child attending Odyssey Middle School. My wife and I have been active in volunteering in our child’s schools to support the students, teachers, and our district.