On Tuesday, Ethan Chessin’s principal came into his classroom with his latest award. The Camas High School choir teacher was handed a Stanley thermos cup embossed with the phrase “CMA music teachers of excellence.”

“I never thought that I would be a Stanley owner, but all of the 16-year-old girls in my treble choir were really excited that I was joining their club,” Chessin said.

It’s the second time Chessin has received the award from the Country Music Association Foundation. Last December, he was also named a finalist for the Grammy Music Educator Award by the Recording Academy and the Grammy Museum.

Over the years, Chessin has introduced his Southwest Washington choir students to music from South Asia, Ukraine and Morocco. They sang original Jewish music with Portland musician Alicia Jo Rabins, and they later performed with her at Portland’s Revolution Hall and in New York City.

Chessin is lucky. Because of his 14 years in the district, he will likely dodge a wave of staff cuts at the Camas School District planned for next academic year. With funding from grants and awards like the CMA Foundation, his work is expected to continue even in the face of a dramatic budget gap in the district.

A constellation of financial problems is causing the Camas School District to reduce its overall spending by 10-12% or around $13 million to $15 million. It’s just one district among many in the Pacific Northwest trying to close a financial gap in the 2025-26 school year.

“This is the largest budget reduction we’ve ever seen, in history,” said Doreen McKercher, the district’s communications director.

The money problems come from insufficient funding for special education and state funding that’s not keeping up with rising expenses for food, transportation and utilities, according to the district. Camas is also down about 400 students from pre-pandemic numbers, and it has used up one-time COVID-19 relief money.

All told, district leaders say the equivalent of 36 full-time teachers from across the district will be cut. They’ve already reduced the administrative staff by 29%, including deans and associate principals from elementary, middle and high schools.

“There’s so much in flux right now,” said Michael Sanchez, the Camas Education Association vice president and a music teacher in the district. “Those numbers are changing on an almost daily basis. When you move one piece from here, another piece gets jostled over there.”

Classified teaching staff will be notified on May 15 of additional cuts for the next academic year. Any class with fewer than 30 students was scrutinized, according to McKercher.

One music teaching position will be cut, based on seniority, she said. It’s unlikely that Chessin will be affected since he’s been with the district for over a decade.

As part of his CMA award, Chessin received a $5,000 stipend. He plans to use some of it to teach his students Brazilian music. Next year, they’re planning to work with another Portland fixture, Lizzy Ellison of the bands Cardioid and Radiation City, and study samba music and do the dance-martial art capoeira.

“I know every element of education is precious. I think music is super precious,” Chessin said, adding that he doesn’t want any one program to be cut more than others. “I’m going to fight for career and technical education, I’m going to fight for sports teams, I’m gonna fight for lab science classes; all the wonderful things that happen in our schools.”

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/05/09/camas-school-district-teachers-education-layoffs-cuts-budget/