EVERETT — After previous potential budget deficits, school closures and state oversight, the Marysville School District approved a budget for the 2025-26 school year one week before the start of classes.
On Aug. 18, the board unanimously approved a budget with a general fund expenditure of $199,484,992, according to Mike Sullivan, executive director of finance and operations for Marysville School District, during a public presentation before the vote.
The general fund balance will start the school year at about $4 million and end at almost $6 million, Sullivan said. This is 3% of the district’s total expenditures.
“OSPI’s goal for us is 5%,” Sullivan said in reference to the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
In August 2023, the district projected an $18 million budget deficit, forcing school officials to work with OSPI to resolve the shortfalls. Marysville was the largest school district in the state to face a ‘going concern’ finding from state auditors, meaning officials doubted its ability to operate into the future.
In May, state auditors said the district’s financial status still warranted significant oversight, but removed the ‘going concern’ status after seeing improvement.
This summer, district staff prepared the old Marysville Middle School building to host Liberty Elementary students. Marysville Middle School students will split between Totem and Cedarcrest middle schools.
Closing the schools saved the district $2 million, Sullivan said on Aug. 18. Layoffs at the district’s central office saved around $1 million.
To reach OSPI’s fund balance goal of 5%, spending for the 2026-27 school year needs to remain about the same as this year, Sullivan said, even though costs and salaries are expected to go up due to inflation.
The district will calculate the increased cost of instruction and professional development next year, Sullivan said, then decrease spending in other areas to balance the budget.
The district’s fund balance is expected to total around $11.7 million by the end of the 2026-27 school year, slightly over the 5% goal, Sullivan said. Then, the fund balance will total nearly $18 million at the end of the 2027-28 school year, or over 8% of total expenditures.
“Eight’s where I think we need to be,” Sullivan said during the presentation. In the 2028-29 school year, “We got to start saying, ‘All right, where do we need to start investing back into education in our communities?’”
“I appreciate the realistic, conservative approach we’re taking to the budget,” school board member Craig Hereth said during the meeting.
In Marysville, elementary and middle school started on Thursday. High school began Friday and kindergarten starts Wednesday.
Taylor Scott Richmond: 425-339-3046; taylor.richmond@heraldnet.com; X: @BTayOkay
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