Mukilteo School Board approves plan for staff cuts
Published 11:46 am Wednesday, March 25, 2026
EVERETT — The Mukilteo School District Board of Directors approved a plan Tuesday that outlines staffing cuts set for the 2026-27 school year as the district faces a decline in enrollment.
The district is now set to cut 41.1 full-time equivalent staffing positions, including 33.5 classroom teacher positions. About five paraeducators and two administrative staff positions will also be cut. The district also plans to reduce spending on materials and supplies.
Combined, the cuts would save the district about $6.2 million, according to a school board document.
It’s unclear how many layoffs, if any, will be necessary to meet the planned reductions, as some employees are expected to leave the district through resignation or retirement. State law requires districts to officially notify certificated employees, like teachers, that they are being laid off before May 15.
The board’s vote Tuesday was to approve a reduced education program, a document required by the state that outlines coming staff cuts. It passed unanimously.
“That’s a tough one,” school board president Kyle Kennedy said after the vote. “But required to be financially prudent.”
The district is planning for the cuts as the number of students enrolling in the district has continued to decline since the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2020, the district’s enrollment has declined by approximately 1,000 students. State funding distributions to local districts — their main source of education dollars — are largely based on the number of students in their schools.
In a previous interview with The Daily Herald, Mukilteo School District’s director of business services and safety, Jon Poolman, said the drop in enrollment was due to multiple factors, including an increase in remote work following the pandemic as well as a jump in homeschooling and private education. The district is taking steps to share information about its programs in an effort to bring enrollment numbers back up, he said.
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
