MARYSVILLE — New Marysville School Board members Vicki Gates, Carol Jason and Michael Kundu will plunge into a thicket of thorny issues when they take their oaths of office tonight.

They say they could seek some outside help to put it all in perspective.

There’s a $2 million shortfall in the $82.25 million budget adopted in August, declining enrollment and tension between school district leadership and the teachers.

Due to the 49-day teachers strike, there’s also a proposed school calendar that has yet to be adopted, with two Saturday classes, shortened vacations and an end date in mid-July. There’s a troublesome state audit to learn about and unresolved labor contracts, including one that led to the longest teachers strike in state history this fall.

They will also be introduced to new federal mandates under the "No Child Left Behind" law that increases accountability for student achievement with possible sanctions for schools that don’t make "adequate yearly progress" if they can’t improve fast enough on test scores and other measurements.

"It’s not the ideal way to enter into a board position at all but we know that going in and we knew that when we decided to run for these positions," Gates said.

The three new members, whose names appeared together on many campaign signs, will make up the majority of the five-member board, joining Helen Mount and Ron Young, who did not face re-election but who could face a recall attempt.

New board members are likely to bring in a consultant well versed on how school districts should operate to assess how Marysville is performing and where money can be saved, Kundu said.

Among other things, Kundu wants to look at the central administration — "its size and its efficiency."

With the majority comes some power. The new board members are likely to choose a new board president from within their ranks.

"The three of us are going to work together," Kundu said. "Now it’s a matter of seeing whether Ron and Helen are willing to change their course and cooperate with us."

Gates and Jason spent time discussing school board issues with Mount and Young at a recent Washington State School District Directors Association conference. All four said it was time well spent.

Gates said the new board members may not always agree with the incumbents but they should be able to work together.

"It’s a change of people," Mount said. "It may be a change of attitude with the people. But the mission stays the same. It is improving education for students in the Marysville community."

While the incumbents have steadfastly supported Superintendent Linda Whitehead, new board members say they are frustrated that the previous board extended her contract a third year during their final meeting. All three criticized the administration during the strike. They argue the decision of whether to extend the contract should have been left to the new board after an evaluation.

Most superintendent contracts in Washington are for three years with annual extensions and have "just cause" clauses for legal protection. Such is the case in Whitehead’s contract.

For now, the new members say they will work with her and evaluate Whitehead’s job performance under specific goals they set.

"I believe she is due a year to prove herself under the new board’s direction," Jason said. "They (goals) have to be not only specific but measurable."

New board members say they expect to improve the offer to teachers in their contract talks but must first learn more about the district’s finances. For instance, they say they will drop a proposal that would require teachers to adopt a state salary schedule instead of a locally bargained one, which was a sticking point in previous negotiations.

They also say they do not know what, if any changes, will be made to the district’s negotiating team but promise the tone of the talks will be different.

"There will be a philosophical and moral compass in how these negotiations are handled," Kundu said.

"My bottom line is there will be some parameters being changed," he added. "We want to move toward a ratification. … We don’t want to play some kind of waiting game over the next couple of months."

Gates will work her final shift as a substitute educational assistant in the Marysville district today before taking her oath of office this evening. She said she understands it could be a conflict of interest to continue.

The job has given her a perspective that while there are state academic standards to meet, teachers need some independence in how to get their students there.

Young said the new board members received plenty of support from members of the teachers’ union in their campaigns but now must represent "the entire district — employees, taxpayers and the students." He said his biggest concern is that a short-term fix of a new teachers’ contract could hurt the long-term financial stability of the district.

Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.