The Battle Ground School District Board of Directors held a special work session Monday that focused on district programs that could be cut if voters do not approve future levy funding.

Superintendent Witten opened the session by saying the meeting’s purpose was to “talk about the programs that could be, continue to be impacted. They have been impacted, but could continue to be impacted should we not have sustained funding.” The board scheduled a follow-up discussion on levy options for Nov. 10.

Why it matters: district leaders said levy dollars are currently sustaining programs beyond the state-funded “basic education” requirement. Staff and community presenters described reductions already made after the district’s levy failed previously and warned that further reductions would reduce services families and staff rely on, including campus security, nursing, targeted reading instruction, counseling, athletics and CTE offerings.

Program leaders gave concrete examples. Prairie High School Principal Stephanie Watts said the presence of the school deputy is “immensely supported” and that reduced security staff has coincided with an increase in student fights this fall. School nurse Lindsay Ross gave statewide and district health-service figures, noting the district reported 42,540 health-room visits and 111 medically fragile students last year. Reading-intervention staff reported that 58% of students served in the district’s state-funded LAP reading lab made one year or more growth on reading assessments last year, and counselors described daily work to keep students engaged and ready to learn.

District and community presenters cautioned that some programs are flexible in how money is used but that flexibility often requires cutting one program to backfill another. “If we were to lose levy dollars, there are many programs that would be impacted because we would have to move money from x to y because there are other things that are gonna take precedent, like safety is number one,” a district administrator told the board.

Board members asked for a numerical proposal at the next session. The administration said it will present levy-rate options on Nov. 10, along with a clearer accounting of which programs the dollars would restore and how much each option would cost. The board and staff also flagged messaging and community outreach as priorities ahead of any ballot measure.

The work session did not include a formal vote; board members directed staff to return Nov. 10 with levy options and supporting materials for public communication.