The Marysville School District could cut the equivalent of eight administrative and teaching positions and nine nonteaching positions next year under a series of budget-reduction recommendations made Monday.
And that’s just the first of two rounds of cuts it must undertake in the next two to three months.
More reductions, based on projected declining enrollment, also are expected. They could exceed 20 teaching positions through resignations, retirements and layoffs, district officials said.
The Marysville School Board reviewed cost-cutting recommendations totaling $1.5 million in a work study session Monday. No action was taken.
"This is just the beginning," said Jim Baker, the district’s financial director.
It has been a tough year in the Marysville district, which weathered the longest teachers’ strike in state history last fall at 49 days and plummeting enrollment.
Among the cuts proposed Monday were two of the district’s eight executive directors. Those positions have come under fire in the past as being too costly, as each makes about $100,000 a year plus benefits. One is Jean Teague, the district’s director of assessment and staff development, who is retiring. The other was not announced, although board member Michael Kundu asked if the district should consider eliminating its community relations department and filling it on an as-needed contract basis.
The district also would cut staffs at Marysville-Pilchuck High School, Marysville Junior High, Marysville Middle School and Cedarcrest School by the equivalent of one teacher each and reduce some elective courses.
The equivalent of two positions — either by reducing hours or teachers — would be lost among specialist teachers at elementary schools. Specialists teach topics including music, art and physical education.
The district also would lose through attrition, layoffs or reduced hours positions in its security force, grounds crew, print shop, custodial staff and finance department. Clerical staff would see hours reduced as well.
The district also could delay buying new reading curriculum at four of its schools while earmarking less money for items such as materials, field trips and photocopies.
The district has no choice but to make cuts, Baker said.
It ended last school year with a carryover of $3.96 million. It is projected to end this year with $1.53 million — a $2.4 million drop. A district with an $83 million budget should have a $4.8 million to $5 million carryover, he said.
At the heart of the financial woes is lost enrollment. The district had the equivalent of 11,076 full-time students last year. Between families moving because of the sluggish economy or leaving because of the strike, enrollment fell to 10,673 as of March of this year.
The district is projecting to lose another 200 students a year in the next two years.
In the second round of cuts, the district will have to determine how many fewer teaching and nonteaching positions it will have next year based on those enrollment losses. Those cuts could come through attrition or layoffs.
The district will need to decide on potential layoff notices soon. State law requires school districts to notify teachers by May 15 each year if their contracts won’t be renewed.
Representatives from the district’s nonteaching unions offered several budget-cutting suggestions of their own Monday, including reducing and consolidating top administrative positions, reclassifying their job descriptions and cutting their wages.
Elaine Hanson, president of the Marysville Education Association, said she hopes most of the cuts can be made away from the classroom. The teachers union will vote on the district’s latest contract offer Thursday. It does not have a recommendation from union leaders.
It is tough to negotiate in tight times, said Vicki Gates, the school board president.
"We have given each issue due consideration and have kept both issues in mind while considering the other," she said. "In other words, we are looking at the whole picture, and we are making the best decisions that we can based on the facts."
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com
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