MARYSVILLE — The Marysville School District is serving layoff notices for up to 45 teachers before a Monday deadline, as it becomes the latest district to grapple with a multi-million dollar budget shortfall.
The notices affecting nearly four dozen teachers across all grades is one of a series of steps needed for the district to cut up to “$18 to $19 million,” to balance its budget ahead of the 2023-24 school year, according to district spokesperson Jodi Runyon.
Additional cuts for non-teaching positions are expected later this year, Runyon said Thursday.
The Marysville district blames the job losses on declining enrollment, inadequate state funding, twice failing to pass school levies in 2022 and the end of federal COVID-19 relief, according a press release.
Marysville School District celebrated the passage of a program and operations levy on Feb. 14 that will raise taxes almost $108 million over four years, including $25 million in 2024.
“Thank you to our community for that,” Runyon said.
The bad news? The district won’t see money from that levy until April 2024, she said.
Marysville has already reduced district level administration and education programs and has frozen spending in most areas for the remainder of the year, a press release from the district said.
Further reductions for the Marysville School District may mean larger class sizes and fewer elective courses. Staff will face layoffs and may be asked to make concessions.
Last May, 35 teachers in Marysville received layoff notices after the second of two levies failed that year.
“The school district will continue to explore all options and work hard to make reductions that do not negatively impact our students,” Superintendent Zachary Robbins said in the release.
Marysville is among at least six local districts — Arlington, Everett, Edmonds, Mukilteo and Stanwood-Camano — dealing with budget shortfalls for the next school year.
In Edmonds, roughly 50 teaching jobs were on the chopping block — all currently filled. So too are assistant principal posts at Oak Heights Elementary and College Place Elementary, health screeners at every school and a couple security officers. Paraeducator hours will be slashed.
Michael Henneke: 425-339-3431; michael.henneke@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @ihenpecked.
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