Interim Marysville superintendent tells staff, families ‘this is about we’

MARYSVILLE — The Marysville School Board voted unanimously Thursday to sever ties with Superintendent Zachary Robbins and appoint David Burgess as the interim superintendent.

When the decision was made, audience members, who packed the board room for the expected announcement, cheered and applauded.

After school board President Connor Krebbs thanked Robbins for his service, some booed and laughed.

Burgess formerly served as the superintendent for the Lake Stevens School District for seven years and at the Grants Pass School District in Oregon for two years. A Tulalip resident for 19 years and former teacher, Burgess most recently served as interim human resources director for Marysville.

He spoke to the crowd in attendance following the board’s vote, telling them, “This is not about me, this is about we.”

“When I talked about the possibility of this with my wife, she said, ‘Are you crazy? They devour superintendents there,’” Burgess said. “I feel like, if you were walking through your neighborhood and you saw your neighbor’s house on fire, wouldn’t you try to do something? Our house is on fire. We’ve got to come together, because absent that, we are on the precipice of an immense gap, a possible another double levy failure. We’ve got to restore confidence in the district and each other, and I hope that together, we can build the teams that make this a reality. Our children deserve it.”

Attendees expressed relief over the separation agreement. Sonia Schei, who worked in the district for 35 years and whose children and grandchildren attended school in Marysville, was hopeful about Burgess’ appointment.

“It’s a relief,” Schei said. “We are in a lot of trouble, money wise. We know we still have a lot of work to do.”

Robbins was not present for the meeting.

In a statement Thursday night, the district said it had reached an “amicable severance agreement” with Robbins, less than eight months after the school board approved an extension to his contract. He was hired in February 2022.

“During his tenure, the District has had many successes, including a rise in student test scores across all subjects in state-wide exams, an increase in AP participation rates, safety measures to lower behavioral incidents, successful efforts to pass a school levy, securing state capital funds to help repair aging buildings and implementing a data management system to help schools access and use data on performance, attendance, graduation and behavior for better decision-making,” the statement read.

Thursday’s decision marks the end of the latest chapter at Marysville schools with Robbins as superintendent, as financial woes and internal strife continued to plague the district.

Burgess is committed to working as the interim superintendent until the end of the school year, he said, at which point he and the school board will “have a decision to make” on a replacement.

“Right now, I am passionately committed to K-12 education, and I hope you heard that,” Burgess said. “That’s the only reason why we take this on.”

Even though Robbins’ current contract expires in June 2027, the severance will be effective immediately, the district said. Robbins agreed to waive his full contract payout. Terms of the agreement were not immediately disclosed.

The school board notified staff of the meeting Wednesday.

“The purpose of the meeting is for the board to consider action on an amicable separation agreement between the school district and the current superintendent, Dr. Robbins,” the message read. “Through no fault of either party, both the school board and Dr. Robbins believe that it is in the best interest of the district and the superintendent to move forward with a change in leadership.”

“Oh happy day,” said district staff member Christy Tautfest on Thursday before the meeting.

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.

Michael Henneke: 425-339-3431; michael.henneke@heraldnet.com; X: @ihenpecked.