The Marysville School District's full intent is to provide a thorough and transparent process of the current budget situation to communicate with staff, families, and the community.
The Marysville School District:
Has been good stewards of funds allocated to the district by the state and provided by local taxpayer dollars; has experienced flat enrollment for the past four years and anticipates a decline in enrollment;
Failed two consecutive levy measures in February and April 2022, which resulted in the loss of levy revenue for the 2023 - 2024 calendar year;
Will lose revenue from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds as they are non-recurring federal funds that expire in August 2023.
Binding Conditions: Current State of the Budget
On August 7, 2023, the Marysville School District Board of Directors adopted a resolution for the district to enter into binding conditions with the State. Binding conditions occur when a district must adopt a deficit budget meaning that its expenditures exceed its revenues. The proposed budget, later adopted on August 28, 2023, was done so with a $17.5M deficit due to the information listed above. The State approved the binding conditions on August 18, 2023. Since that time, the Superintendent and District leaders have been meeting regularly with representatives from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the Northwest Educational Service District (ESD) to hold discussions about the binding conditions.
Since the adoption of the budget, the district has taken steps to reduce the deficit amount. As of February 2024, the district estimated the revised total deficit amount to be approximately $3.2M, reduced from the previous month ($5.9M) and far from the adopted budget in August, showing a deficit amount of $17.5M.
