At a special meeting of the Board of Directors held on October 3, 2024, the board approved a severance agreement between the board and Dr. Robbins and appointed an interim superintendent. Dr. Robbins has served the Marysville School District since July 2022. The agreement will take effect immediately.
The Marysville School District wishes to announce that it has reached an amicable severance agreement with its Superintendent, Dr. Zachary Robbins. Through no fault of either party, both the School Board and Dr. Robbins believe that it is in the best interests of the District and the Superintendent to move forward with a change in leadership. The Board and Dr. Robbins recognize that the District faces significant challenges, including financial problems that pre-date Dr. Robbins’s tenure. The Special Administrator for OSPI has approved this agreement.
The School Board would like to thank Dr. Robbins for providing high-quality service to the students, staff and community of the Marysville School District since Dr. Robbins began his tenure in July 2022. During his tenure, the District has had many successes, including a rise in student test scores across all subjects in state-wide exams, an increase in AP participation rates, safety measures to lower behavioral incidents, successful efforts to pass a school levy, securing state capital funds to help repair aging buildings and implementing a data management system to help schools access and use data on performance, attendance, graduation and behavior for better decision-making. Although Dr. Robbins’s current contract expires in June 2027, the severance will be effective immediately. The School Board thanks Dr. Robbins for voluntarily agreeing to waive his full contract payout.
In addition to approving the agreement, the board took action to appoint Dr. David Burgess as interim superintendent until June 30, 2025.
Dr. Burgess brings a wealth of experience to the Marysville School District. With over 40 years in education and educational leadership, he has served as a teacher, principal, superintendent, and consultant. This depth of knowledge will be invaluable as he provides leadership in the district for the coming months. Dr. Burgess served as the Superintendent of the Lake Stevens School District from 2004-2011. Since then, he has worked with multiple school districts in Washington State as both a School and Student Success Coach and Human Resources Consultant, most recently in Marysville this past summer.
As a Marysville/Tulalip community member, Dr. Burgess is deeply invested in our district's success. He's excited to work alongside the board of directors and staff and guide them through this interim period. At the special meeting, Dr. Burgess said in his introductory statement to the audience of parents, staff, and community members, “This is not about me, this is about we. What are we going to do to heal our community? We must all work together for our students. This is my community, and I am proud to serve in this capacity.”
Dr. Burgess’ time in the Marysville School District will be instrumental until a permanent superintendent is selected. Dr. Burgess will serve as interim superintendent through June 30, 2025.