page background

Mount Baker Monthly Update

Mount Baker Monthly Update

Superintendent's Message

Hello Mount Baker Families and Happy 2025!


As noted in the December issue of our monthly update, the legislative session began this week, and our District is working closely with legislators to prioritize adequate school funding. At the January 9 board meeting, the Mount Baker School Board adopted a resolution formally urging the legislature to ensure sustainable funding levels. Alongside this resolution, the board also signed a supporting letter.


Our District remains steadfast in requesting that the state close funding gaps in three critical areas:

  • Special Education
  • Transportation
  • Materials, Supplies, and Operating Costs (MSOCs)


A graphic overview of these funding disparities is available on our website. These challenges also informed the development of Mount Baker School District's legislative priorities, approved by the board and also accessible online.


We are fortunate to have strong engagement in the advocacy process. On Tuesday, January 7, Mount Baker joined the Ferndale and Blaine school districts in a town hall meeting attended by all three members of the 42nd Legislative District. Representing Mount Baker were Board President Russ Pfeiffer-Hoyt and High School Senior Cailyn Jewell (Please see photos from the event below).


Mount Baker takes great pride in supporting our students and community. Renewed commitments to public education by the legislature are essential to continuing the excellent work happening at Baker.


Sincerely,


Nick Perigo

Interim Superintendent

MBHS Senior Cailyn Jewell speaks to attendees at the Janaury 7th town hall in Blaine.

Cailyn with Senator Sharon Shewmake.

Updates from the Schools

Mount Baker High School's ASB recently had the opportunity to meet with Representative Joe Timmons from the 42nd Legislative District. The students conveyed how state funding decisions made in Olympia directly impact students at Mount Baker High School.


Representative Timmons remarked that this meeting with the students was among the most impactful advocacy he has experienced. Special thanks to the students and their advisor, Mrs. Shpak, for their exceptional effort and dedication to this important discussion.


Here are some photos from the meeting.

Co-Curricular News

This section of the monthly update highlights many of the great co-curricular activities going on around the Mount Baker School District.

Mount Baker FFA Ag Mechanics

The Ag Mech team earned 1st place at the Meridian/Ferndale Ag Mechanics and Technology Career Development Event on Monday, January 13. Students competed in various categories, including welding, surveying, concrete calculations, electrical wiring, forklift manual reading, and a general knowledge math test.


A total of 12 schools and 128 individuals from the region participated in the event. Logan Klein achieved the highest welding score for Mt. Baker. Wyatt Freeman was the overall high individual, with Jace Gauf placing 3rd, Caden Mosher 21st, and Brady Bruland 24th.


Additional competitors representing Mt. Baker included Joe Abitia, Anthony Flones, Pepe McEvoy-Salgado, Brad Strom, Willow Cook, Wyatt Zender, Ben Brooks, Brodey Somerville, Mikele Fairbanks, and Nolan Jeretzky.


Mountaineer Band Fundraising for Disneyland Field Trip

The Mountaineer Band is preparing for an exciting trip to Disneyland and is actively raising funds. They will be hosting a fundraising dinner and silent auction on February 22nd. For more information, please contact Band Director Jon Ross at jross@mtbaker.wednet.edu.


Mount Baker High School Drama Update: A Weekend of Firsts at Thespys!

This past weekend, Mount Baker High School's Drama troupe made history by participating in Thespys, the drama equivalent of a district competition, for the very first time! Five talented students competed in four diverse categories: Musical Theatre Solo, Duet, Group, and Solo Acting, while one student attended as an observer.


Our students had the opportunity to perform and watch dozens of inspiring performances from schools across the state, gaining valuable insights and experiences. They will also receive written adjudication and scoring in the coming weeks, marking an exciting step in their theatrical journey.


This milestone is particularly special as our Drama Troupe was just chartered this past spring, making their debut at Thespys a remarkable achievement. Please join us in celebrating this momentous occasion and the dedication of our students.

Thespian Delegates:

  • Lizzy Farrell '25
  • Savanna Gooch '25
  • Gwen Pidgeon '26
  • Cambria Baker '26
  • Xander Smith '27
  • Kit Charles '27

We’re so proud of these Mountaineers for breaking new ground for Mount Baker Drama!

Mount Baker Senior High School Drama Presents: Little Women

Little Women by Kate Hamill, adapted from the novel by Louisa May Alcott.

Details on the poster below!

Congratulations to Jolene Baisden on being named the Northwest Conference's Person of Distinction

Mount Baker employee Jolene Baisden has been recognized as a Person of Distinction by the Northwest Conference. You can read more about this well-deserved honor here.


Athletics over Break

Our high school athletic teams kept busy during the break! Below are a couple of photos from the boys' basketball game on January 4th.

Finance and Operations

Now is the time of the year that we dig into creating the budget for the 2025-26 school year. Last year, through very challenging decisions and collaborative planning, we were able to adopt a balanced budget for this current school year, despite lower enrollment and the state lowering our funding by 3%. We are currently on track with that budget and if all goes to plan, the ending fund balance will be around $1 million.


We are still in Binding conditions from the State due to our financial challenges of the past few years. Binding Condition #7 states that we must adopt a budget for the 2025-26 school year that leads to ending that year with a fund balance equal to at least 4% of our expenditures, currently about $1.3 million. Without major changes from the state legislature, you can see that despite the reductions of the last two years, we have a little more to go.


While we have high hopes of a change from the state, we will not budget on hope. It is too soon to panic about what might be lost or how we meet that condition. The good news for Mount Baker is that so many other districts are losing money each year and counting on a change to balance their budgets. That is a problem that we have solved. Whatever change the legislature makes is simply more that goes to the fund balance, and then back to our schools and programs.


We say this because we want you to have accurate information about the District budget, the current status and planning ahead. A lot can change before the Board adopts the next budget in July, please join us in calling for positive changes to support our schools and students.

Upcoming Dates

  • Monday, January 20: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, no school
  • Thursday, January 23: School Board meeting at 6:00p
  • Thursday, February 13: School Board meeting at 6:00p
  • Friday, February 14: No School, professional development day
  • Monday, Februray 17: Presidents Day, no school
  • Upcoming dates for the high schools production of Little Women can be found here.
  • All athletic schedules can be found on GoBakerAthletics.com.
Nick Perigo
Nick is using Smore to create beautiful newsletters