MARYSVILLE, Wash. — The Washington State Auditor’s Office just released new details on the state of the Marysville School District. State Auditor Pat McCarthy says her findings were very jarring and that in her 17 years in the position, she’s never seen an audit of a school district like this.
“Well all school districts are in a financial concern, that is not the case for Marysville. They are way beyond that,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy says this is a cumulation of 3 audits which included a financial, accountability and federal audit. In the 82-page audit, McCarthy says the district’s financial condition has seriously declined, creating a substantial doubt about it’s ability to operate into the future. McCarthy also states the findings are ‘rare and alarming audit result.’ McCarthy worries if the district continues the path it’s on, the district won’t survive.
“You need to take action for you to help Marysville School District survive,” McCarthy said.
“As an old former school board member it is that they have not been taking or demonstrating or showing any actions to make cuts. To do what they need to do to right their ship,” said McCarthy.
Becky Roberts, President of the Marysville Education Association, says she wasn’t surprised by some of the audit’s findings.
“It was like a cold slap in the face to hear those words,” Roberts said.
Roberts says the issues of the district aren’t new. Roberts also believes if the district continues to operate the way it is and possibly not exist in the near future, it’s going to have a major impact on teachers, students, and parents.
“And for all of the staff who love their schools and love their jobs and love their kids…it would just be…it would be devastating,” Roberts said.
Despite the troubling results of the audit, Roberts says there are plenty of people in Marysville who aren’t giving up.
“But people care about this school district. They just want to see things get better,” Roberts said.
Update: On Wednesday the Marysville School District released the following statement regarding the audit:
On August 5, 2024, during a work study session of the Board of Directors, representatives from the Washington State Auditors office held an exit conference with the Superintendent and the school board reporting on the 2022 -2023 school year audit.
The audit consisted of a review of the district’s financial statements and federal awards for the audit period of September 1, 2022 through August 31, 2023. The auditors noted that seven major federal programs were included in the audit, which they stated was an unusual number; however, given federal dollars that districts received through COVID and other funding sources during the audit period, it was a federal requirement to look at additional areas.
The auditors shared, ‘The report describes the overall results and conclusion for the areas examined. In those selected areas, District operations complied, in all material respects, with applicable state laws, regulations, and its own policies, and provided adequate controls over the safeguarding of public resources.’
Overall, the district received a clean opinion on the district’s financial statements and federal awards.
Although the audit was for the 2022 - 2023 school year, the Washington State Auditor shared a press release that included statements about the district’s current financial state. However, the release omitted critical information about the district’s current financial state. Of note, although the audit period was for the 2022 - 2023 school year, a significant focus was placed on the district’s current financial state, which seems unusual.
In the press release, there is no mention of the district’s double levy failure, which resulted in a loss of $25M in funding for schools and the district. There is also no mention of the nearly twenty school districts across the state that are close to entering into binding conditions. Other districts are experiencing financial difficulty with passed levies. The loss of $25M in funding is significant and cannot be understated when trying to achieve a balanced budget. It would be difficult for any district to overcome this type of loss. The omission of losing $25M in revenue is glaring and odd, particularly in a report about finances and in a discussion of a school district’s fund balance. For example, It seems obvious that the absence of $25M would affect a school district’s fund balance. Again, such glaring omissions seem odd given the district’s circumstances, and we struggle to understand why there would be such omissions.
It is disappointing to read a press release and statements in the audit report that place the district in a position that leads the community to question its viability. The district has been working hard to address and correct past practices and solidify systems and structures to produce a balanced budget and eventually exit binding conditions. This type of negative public communication harms the district and undermines its ability to restore trust in the community, ultimately negatively impacting students, families, and staff.
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