MARYSVILLE, Wash. — As students in the Marysville School District prepare to start school later this week, the administration is working through what it calls serious budgetary challenges. Parents say it is the students that will suffer from these budgetary challenges.
“The apprehension and the nerves from parents in this community has been quite heightened,” said mom J. Hooman. Hooman founded the Marysville Community Coalition last year in attempt to facilitate change within her district.
“We really need to realistically approach our numbers and approach our budget in a way that sets up for success in the next three years in order to have a viable school district moving forward,” she said.
The Marysville School District said in the face of this deficit, parents should expect larger class sizes. They say they’ve cut $37.5 million over the past two years, with $6 million more on the chopping block for this coming school year.
The Marysville School District did not respond to a request for comment. Dr. Zac Robbin, the district superintendent, released a video statement to parents earlier this week.
“Our school district is in a genuine fiscal crisis. Academics are our mission, but to deliver on that mission we must become financially sound and sustainable again,” Robbins said in a statement posted to the Marysville School District’s website.
The district putting part of the blame on two failed levees that would have yielded $25 million in funding. They add that they continue to see enrollment numbers dip post COVID and say they are struggling to maintain pay raises secured by teachers during the pandemic.
“It’s never been this bad. It’s never been this bad, ever,” said Becky Roberts, the president of the Marysville Education Association, a union that represents school teachers.
The union that represents the teachers said morale is low as the district has lost more than 100 educators in recent years.
“People stay here because they love Marysville, they love their schools, and they love their kids but they feel beat up they feel … the morale is very low with all of our staff, not just teachers, but all of our staff. We are hoping that things are going to get better,” Roberts said.
The Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction has formed a financial oversight committee that is supposed to advise with the budget balancing process. That was earlier this summer – later this week on Aug. 29, the school board will host a special meeting where they are slated to adopt a new budget.