CAM Academy
The location of Battle Ground Public Schools’ CAM Academy is now under question after the building owner decided to sell, according to a letter from the district sent out last week.
BGPS Superintendent Mark Ross wrote to district families to inform them that the current owner of the CAM Academy building, located at 715 NW Onsdorff Blvd. in Battle Ground, is intending to sell the property. Ross added the district made its own offer on the building, which according to the Clark County Assessor’s Office is valued at about $3.1 million.
BGPS has been leasing the building from Gary Albers, a teacher at CAM Academy, for about $513,000 for the 2020-2021 school year, Ross’ letter read. The lease is set to expire Aug. 31.
Ross wrote no decisions on where the school, which has students from third through twelfth grades, would move following the end of the lease. The district’s board of directors will seek input from the school’s families and the community at large.
Ross wrote the district was “surprised” at the sale, adding the school had been at the location for 25 years.
“The district is especially disappointed considering that it has been negotiating with the building owner and adjacent property owners for more than 18 months to purchase the building and an additional parking area and recreational field to support the school,” Ross wrote.
The BGPS board previously considered moving some of CAM Academy’s operations onto the district’s Maple Grove campus two years ago, though currently all students who attend in-person classes are instructed at the Onsdorff building.
“We realize that this news is disappointing and raises concerns about the future of CAM,” Ross wrote. “The district is surprised and disappointed as well, and will work with our community and CAM families as we move forward and explore options.”
