Marysville School District closes 2 schools to stave off financial crisis

The Marysville School District (MSD) will be closing two schools as it struggles to get back on track financially.

According to The Everett Herald, the district’s board of directors voted unanimously to close Liberty Elementary and Marysville Middle School, saving the school system more than $2 million annually. Some of the saved funds will be going into renovations of the surviving schools to support the student reconfiguration.

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The district estimated its budget shortfall was more than $3 million last February. A state auditor claimed it was one of the worst financial situations she’s seen a school district face in nearly two decades, according to KOMO News.

Last August, the superintendent of the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Chris Reykdal, stated he lost confidence that the district can resolve its financial issue on its own. His office placed MSD “under enhanced financial monitoring in accordance with RCW 28A.315.221.”

KOMO News reported the district lost 82 teachers and made more than $24 million in cuts during the district-wide financial crisis.

Marysville Middle School’s buildings will be repurposed for Liberty Elementary students, staff and programs, The Everett Herald reported. No teacher within the district is expected to lose their job.

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The district is also prepared to move to a K-6th grade model for its elementary schools, reconfiguring Cedarcrest Middle School and Totem Middle School to teach just seventh and eighth grade.

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest and producer of the Seattle Seahawks podcast, The Reset with Gee Scott. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.