Skamania County adds and approves letter of support for local alliance seeking school funding

The Skamania County Board of Commissioners voted to add and then approve a letter of support for a group identified in the meeting as “1 Provincial Alliance” seeking help to close a funding gap for a school district program.

A board member asked to add the letter of support to the agenda; after a motion and second the board voted to add it. During discussion staff said the alliance requested a letter because they are “actively trying to find a solution for their funding gap at the school district” and are assembling materials to send to state decision-makers. The staff member said Karen Douglas had asked for the letter because the county had discussed possibly using opioid funds or other creative sources to cover the school district match for a student assistant professional.

Staff characterized the funding gap as “I that's I round numbers about 24,000, but it could be a little bit more or a little bit less.” The board subsequently made and seconded a motion to approve the letter; the chair announced the motion carried.

This was a formal board action to approve an advocacy letter. The board did not commit county funds during the meeting and did not direct staff to obligate opioid or other grant funds; staff described possible avenues the alliance could pursue and said the school district would need to submit a request for opioid funds if the state allowed that match.