(The Center Square) – The Marysville School District recently announced it’s cutting staff as it faces a $28.7 million budget shortfall.
Marysville School District officials attributed the budget gap to decreasing enrollment while staffing levels continue to increase. According to the district’s 2023-24 preliminary budget, the total K-12 enrollment went from 9,857 budgeted for the 2022-23 school year, to a projected 9,750 in the district’s 2023-24 budget. While the decrease is minimal, the number of certified and classified employees at Marysville School District went from 1,151 to 1,215 in that same time span.
The dedicated funds toward teaching activities also increased 6%, from $117.6 million in 2022-23 to $125.2 million in 2023-24.
“We are taking these difficult steps to ensure the long-term health of our district,” said Lisa Gonzales, executive director of finance and operations, in a news release. “We appreciate the understanding of our employees, families, and the Marysville and Tulalip communities during this time.”
The district also blames a lack of federal and state funds available for services in the form of the end of federal COVID-19 relief money and inadequate state funding.
This includes the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds, which are also no longer available. Grant funding from the state of Washington is also no longer available for the Marysville School District.
The district is now preparing to enter into binding financial conditions, which allows it to borrow against future state apportionment payments. Officials also anticipate additional reductions further impacting employees.
The Center Square reached out to the Marysville School District to know what is being cut in response to the $28.7 million budget gap, but did not receive a response at the time of this publication. However, a spokesperson for the district told other media outlets, including King 5 News, that about 45 staff members will be cut.
Marysville School District is also exploring other ways to reduce costs, including reducing site and district-level budgets, reviewing all contracts, eliminating a majority of travel expenses that impact district general fund budgets and implementing other cost-saving measures, according to the news release.
District officials indicated they are “confident that these budget reductions will be temporary,” adding that it would still take time to improve the district’s fiscal health.
