By Dave Carpentier / Herald Forum
Concerned citizens have been writing to The Herald about what might or could happen if Feb. 14’s Marysville School District levy doesn’t pass.
Fifty years ago, the town faced a similar situation as it suffered through a lengthy series of levy losses that forced the school board and administration to make deep cuts.
Among their decisions:
Boarding up Liberty Elementary and cram those students into other already crowded schools;
Severely limiting transportation, custodial maintenance, counseling, library and support staff services;
Combining Marysville High and Pilchuck High at the Pilchuck campus;
Dramatically slashing funding for athletics, activities and field trips;
Ceasing purchases of textbooks, classroom equipment and even paper and chalk;
Shortening the secondary school day from six periods to five;
How did those decisions impact the school system and the town? At the hyphenated high school, many teachers belonged to “the 200 Club,” those who averaged 40 or more students each period. Similar class loads could be found in Marysville’s remaining elementary schools.
District-wide, young, enthusiastic teachers without the protections of seniority were “riffed” (reduction in force), and sent on to productive careers elsewhere.
Large numbers of seniors graduated early, due to new, lower credit requirements. The high school eventually had its Washington state accreditation revoked, meaning that its graduates were viewed with skepticism by potential employers and college admission officials.
Fundraising campaigns kept the athletics program from folding completely. One that comes to mind was a vintage pickup truck supplied by Roy Robinson and raffled off by Athletic Director Ward Sayles.
During those levy loss years, property values stagnated, and a palpable municipal inferiority complex seemed to permeate the town.
Levy passage finally occurred through the herculean efforts of visionary Superintendent Dick Huselton, his amazing campaign chair Don DeMarco, and a host of community-minded volunteers.
To paraphrase an old history teachers’ axiom, “Those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.”
Dave Carpentier lives on Camano Island.
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