Marysville School District budget approved with close to $18M in cuts

MARYSVILLE, Wash. - The Marysville School Board just approved a new budget for the school district ahead of the upcoming school year. Cuts to staffing will need to be made to account for an $18 million budget shortfall. 

School board members passed the budget proposal during a meeting Monday night. 

Many in attendance were not in favor of the new budget, saying paraeducators and teachers will bear the brunt of the cuts, rather than administrators.  

Educators say the cuts will result in larger class sizes, and fewer students getting the attention that they need. 

Both educators and supporters rallied outside the budget approval hearing Monday night. Many will be impacted by the steep cuts. 

"We just feel we have been very disrespected by the district over quite a period of time," said Christy Tautfest, president of SEIU 925.  

"There is a lot of turmoil in Marysville," said Theresa Hart, a kitchen manager. 

Last Monday, the Marysville School District said they needed to cut between $17 and 18 million. At that meeting, SEIU local representative Ed Washington spoke out in favor of keeping union jobs. The situation was so tense that he said someone retaliated after the meeting. 

"Basically, I said, ‘Marysville is a union town. You know, you can’t bring non-union jobs here to Marysville,'" said Washington. "I get a call a couple days later from the Marysville Police Department saying I’ve been trespassed. So, I’m waiting for the trespass order to come. I haven’t received it, so with that, we are here." 

Washington attended the meeting Aug. 28 without anyone asking him to leave. The district blames the shortfall in the budget on falling enrollment, losses in federal funding, investment earnings, and the failure of a recent levy. 

With more cuts and lay-offs now expected, educators say students and parents can expect larger class sizes.   

"Some of our classes are already in what we call overload and so absolutely it’s going to impact classrooms," said Becky Roberts, President of the Marysville Education Association. 

Many argued in favor of cutting administrators instead.  

"Why are we cutting people who work with the kids, but every time I turn around, we are continuing to add administrators?" asked one woman during public comment. 

"Do we really need all of these directors? We just need to look at that," said another member of the audience.   

The board says they plan to scrutinize the cuts monthly.

"If we can do better, hopefully, we can find that way to do better, and give more to our students," said Paul Galovin, School Board President. "The budget only sets our goals, and we have the ability to do better every single day."

There isn't a total count yet on how many teachers or paraeducators might lose their jobs. Around 200 paraeducators were laid off in June, but many were called back. A spokesperson for the district says they will know more after the student enrollment period. The first day of school is Thursday.