Business & Operations

Technology Levy

For more than ten years, the technologies available to students and staff at Camas School District have been provided by the overwhelming commitment of voters. Beginning in 2005, the district will collect nearly $750,000 from property owners at a tax rate of an estimated 24 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation for three years (2005, 2006, and 2007). That equates to a cost of approximately $48 per year for the owner of a $200,000 home. Due to projected increases in assessed valuation in Camas, it is also likely that the cost per $1,000 will go down over the course of the three-year levy.

5,550 reasons why technology funding is essential

That’s the number of students, teachers, and staff who rely on technology every day to get their jobs and their school work done. More than 1,600 workstations are funded using technology dollars. All Camas students, from tiny kindergartners to high schoolers, access technology every day at school.

The levy serves three crucial areas:

Promotes Student Learning

Technology links students to online research sources that are critical for projects and assignments in all disciplines.
Whether it's studying historical figures, understanding current events, collecting primary sources for the required senior project or analyzing the qualifications and benefits of a particular career path, technology is the link to "must-have" information for today's students.

Computer-assisted instruction and tutorials in the basic skills (ex. Waterford Reading, math graphing software, Learning.com software, Vernier science lab software) expose students to both content and skills necessary for survival in the 21st century.

A Necessary Communication System

District staff and students rely on technology for communication that includes everything from e-mail to data processing to inventory control to student records management to tracking of academic performance to parent communication. All school districts in our state are now encouraged to use standardized communication systems. These systems are a necessity, not a frill, in our business.

Increases Productivity

Through wise use of technology, we can maximize the way we: track expenditures, improve the home/school communication loop, use productivity tools to accomplish different work tasks, manage student records, monitor student learning and growth, coordinate construction/maintenance projects, provide the latest instructional information to teachers, link employees who need to work together, and increase access to a wider variety of instructional tools.