MARYSVILLE, Wash. — The Marysville School District’s finance director is demanding that the superintendent be put on leave.
This comes as the district faces a $5.9 million deficit.
Parents and students tell KIRO 7 they are beyond frustrated, and are now asking for transparency.
“Open up your books, show us what you’re doing with our money… Where are all my property taxes going? I mean you doubled my property tax in one year because we passed a levy and now, you’re still millions of dollars in debt, I don’t quite understand, that makes no sense whatsoever,” said parent Ben Davis.
The district is considering closing three schools in the 2025-2026 school year to help alleviate the financial burden.
The schools on the chopping block are Liberty Elementary, Cascade Elementary, and Totem Middle School.
Families and teachers expressed their frustrations during the first meeting regarding the potential closures on Monday.
“Our community really doesn’t trust what is happening right now,” said J Hooman with the Marysville Community Coalition.
“It makes me feel like I’m not in the best school district,” said Ashely Davis, a student at Totem Middle School.
During that meeting, district financial director Dr. Lisa Gonzales passed out a three-page letter to parents outlining a list of issues.
KIRO 7 obtained a copy of the letter; which claims district leaders have hired and promoted people who are close to them without having proper experience.
Gonzales also suggests the school board place the superintendent and the director of Human Resources on leave.
“Not just put on leave I think they should be let go, honestly if they are not doing their job correctly, let’s pay someone that is going to do their job correctly,” said Davis.
In response, the district said, “In line with this commitment, an outside investigator will conduct an investigation to examine the allegations and Dr. Gonzales’s other comments thoroughly.”
“Let the investigation happen, open it up, let everything follow through, have them answer all the questions,” said Davis.
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