Camas house - But different SD - boundary exceptions (Vancouver: custom home, neighborhood)

[AbhiA]

Hello,
We have finally decided to move to Camas from Hillsboro.
There is a lot of new developments happening near the Northern boundaries from Lennar, Pacific Lifestyle and DR Holton and while the postal address is in Camas, the schools are not under Camas SD but under Evergreen SD.
Infact, Lennar homes shares the boundary with Holt homes (which falls in Camas SD).
Question - While I have seen the boundary exception guidelines for Camas SD, in reality how easy / amenable is the Camas SD to these exceptions?
Thx, Abhi

[MtnSurfer]

If you look a bit closer, you'll find that the high school is still in the city of Camas and one of the best in the area which is Union High. So, while it may not be in the Camas SD, you're still getting a great school there. Which grades are you targeting? Elementary, middle, high school?

Regarding exceptions, I'm not sure how common they are or who gets priority, if there is a waiting list, etc... TexasDiver probably knows about that one.

Derek

[AbhiA]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

If you look a bit closer, you'll find that the high school is still in the city of Camas and one of the best in the area which is Union High. So, while it may not be in the Camas SD, you're still getting a great school there. Which grades are you targeting? Elementary, middle, high school?

Regarding exceptions, I'm not sure how common they are or who gets priority, if there is a waiting list, etc... TexasDiver probably knows about that one.

Derek

Hi,

While daughter is currently in 3rd, am worried about the middle school (Pacific Middle School) which seems to have a pretty poor (3-5) rating.

[texasdiver]

I wouldn't count on it. If you want Camas schools, buy in Camas school district.

Boundary exceptions tend to be on a case by case basis. If they have room for your child without needing to add more teachers then sometimes yes. If they are at the threshold for students at a particular grade, and adding more will require hiring an additional teacher then no. And they may change the policy from year to year.

Priority always goes to staff first. So Camas teachers or other district staff who live outside the district and want to bring their own kids into the district will always be first in line. That's usually one of the perks of working for a school district.

The other issue with attending an out-of-district school is transportation. You'll have to be driving them to school all the time because you won't have bus service to Camas schools from addresses in Evergreen school district.

Evergreen is a good district and the schools in the corner touching Camas are pretty good. Union HS is roughly comparable to Camas in demographics, facilities, and performance.

What happened is that they drew the school district boundary lines many many decades ago when that area was all just rural farmland. Since then the city of Camas has grown westward and the city of Vancouver has grown eastward and now they meet at about 192nd Ave. Except that the school district boundaries are old and don't match the actual city boundaries that are newer and the result of recent annexations.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by AbhiA

Hi,

While daughter is currently in 3rd, am worried about the middle school (Pacific Middle School) which seems to have a pretty poor (3-5) rating.

If Camas SD is really your goal, then you might want to do as TexasDiver suggests and just suck it up and buy there.

If you are considering other 'close by' schools and districts, everyone knows Union is excellent. Regarding middle schools, if you don't get a boundary exception, you still have a number options.

1. Take a look at getting into another Middle School in the 'same' district close by such as Shahala Middle School.

2. Consider private school for those couple of years. We have friends who live in Camas SD. But they've decided to send their daughter to a local private instead. And she's very happy there. So, you could do that as an alternative for a limited time.

3. Homeschool middle school. Or do 'partial' homeschool/public school. Washington provides a lot of flexibility here. You can pick and choose which classes to take in combination with online academies or at home classes.

You really do have a number of options. We've homeschooled our kids until moving to WA. We also partially homeschooled last year during our youngest daughter's last year of middle school. However, she attended Hockinson Middle School part-time as well. And that school is actually very good. This year both daughters are attending Hockinson High and are very happy there.

Derek

[182pilot]

We have kids at Lacamas. Right now it is at about half capacity but will quickly fill up as the Holt Homes development and a few others come online. I would not bet at all on getting an exception, especially if you are buying into a new development that is clearly outside the boundary.

[AbhiA]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

I wouldn't count on it. If you want Camas schools, buy in Camas school district.

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

If Camas SD is really your goal, then you might want to do as TexasDiver suggests and just suck it up and buy there.

I am intently looking at buying in Camas SD.. infact, not sure what is happening with the prices there even in Nov.. In the last 3 weeks, have given an offer to 3 houses (all in the range of 500-600k) and have quoted between 4-7% above list prices and others have given an higher offer and taken the house !
The search continues.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by AbhiA

I am intently looking at buying in Camas SD.. infact, not sure what is happening with the prices there even in Nov.. In the last 3 weeks, have given an offer to 3 houses (all in the range of 500-600k) and have quoted between 4-7% above list prices and others have given an higher offer and taken the house !
The search continues.

Wow! I had no idea the market was *that* hot right now.

I guess its good for homeowners looking to sell but not so much if in the market. I did hear the market is tighter now. This may be due to folks holding back due to Covid concerns, the election, recent fires, etc... There has been a lot going on recently and some may just prefer to wait for the dust to settle. I've also heard from local realtors that Spring is really when the market opens up more as other families begin their move process and have to sell.

How are the new developments in Camas? Are those going pretty quickly right now as well? Normally, if you get in there in time, you can pick your lot and design your home given someone else doesn't beat you to it. Are the new ones going fast with prices hikes like you described?

One additional thought. Take a look at western Washougal in the hills next to Camas. You get a lot of bang for your buck in a beautiful custom home neighborhood with views. It's actually in the Camas SD as well like this one, for example.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2...60381042_zpid/

Lastly, don't rule out Fishers Landing. Its one of the most desirable locations for families and very centrally located. We have relatives over there and they love it.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...49937194_zpid/

Derek

[AbhiA]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

How are the new developments in Camas? Are those going pretty quickly right now as well? Normally, if you get in there in time, you can pick your lot and design your home given someone else doesn't beat you to it. Are the new ones going fast with prices hikes like you described?

New developments around NE28th (Holt, Lennar, Pacific Lifestyle etc.) and around Woodburn (Holt etc.) are selling pretty quickly. They are priced all over (Lennar seems the cheapest, then Holt and then Pacific lifestyle) but all seem to be selling briskly. Range starts around 450k and goes upto 650k depending on whether the house is 1500st ft or 3000 + sq ft !

[MtnSurfer]

We 'almost' bought a Lennar home in the Union High SD. But the Lennar selling agent was totally inflexible and not at all customer friendly. It was like she was selling hotdogs. We were only asking for a 'small' change to the cookie cutter property (a retaining wall) which we were willing to pay for and she admittedly said NO DICE. There are *very* rigid and scripted when it comes to selling their homes. However, they also tend to offer lower pricing like DR Horton.

We eventually purchased a New Tradition instead which is a PNW builder like Pacific Lifestyle that we are very happy with. They are also excellent to deal with with great warranty customer service after the sale. We have a friend who is a building inspector who lives in Camas. He's told us that the overall quality seems to be better with the PNW builders as opposed to the national builders like DR Horton or Lennar. Between the two, Lennar is supposedly a bit better. Just an FYI.

Derek