Mount Baker Monthly Update

Hello Mount Baker Families!

I hope this message finds you well! While the rain continues to fall, we officially welcome spring at 2:01 a.m. tomorrow. Here’s to sunnier days ahead and the fresh energy that a new season brings!

As we transition from the second trimester to the third, now is a great time to reflect with students on their progress and growth. This time of year presents an opportunity to celebrate achievements, recognize areas for improvement, and set new goals for a strong finish to the school year. Encouraging students to take ownership of their learning and personal growth can make a meaningful impact as they head into the final stretch.

Next week, we will be holding elementary conferences, a valuable time for families and teachers to come together in support of student success. These meetings provide a chance to review progress, discuss strengths and challenges, and collaborate on strategies to help students continue thriving. Strong communication between home and school is key to fostering a positive and productive learning experience, and we encourage all families to take advantage of this opportunity.

If you have any questions about the upcoming elementary conferences, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher. We appreciate your ongoing support and partnership in your child’s education.

Sincerely,

Interim Superintendent

Thanks to a generous donation from an anonymous donor, the Mount Baker elementary library team was once again able to host an author visit at all three elementary schools.

Last week, Kirby Larson visited students to discuss her experiences as an author and share some of the books she has written.

Kirby Larson is the acclaimed author of the 2007 Newbery Honor Book Hattie Big Sky. Her distinctions include Bank Street College Best Books, American Booksellers Association Best Books, ALA Notables, New York Public Library Best Book, Teachers’ Choice Award, Junior Library Guild selections, and an Edgar Award nomination. Her books have garnered 37 State Young Readers Choice Awards. Kirby is a popular visiting author at schools and conferences across the country.

A special thanks to Anne Skelton, Nicole Kent, and Bridget Rossman for their work in organizing this fun visit. Please see pictures below from Kirby's time at Baker.

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

The Mount Baker FFA booster club hosted their annual fundraiser auction on Saturday, March 8. Please check out the pictures below. A special thanks to the hard working families involved with the booster club, all of the gracious donors, and to the attendees for supporting the great work of FFA!

The District is moving ahead with the preparation of our annual budget for the 2025-2026 school year. At this point we are working on the staffing plan and projecting our operating costs. We are still operating as lean as possible, looking at every cost, and most of our current costs are fixed as necessary staff to educate our students and unavoidable operations costs such as utilities and insurance. We are currently on track with our budget for this school year- set to break about even, but with a low fund balance.

The calendar for the budget development can be found here, you will see that the School Board has a work session on the budget on May 22nd and the first public advertisement of the budget is in June. We hope to have the budget adopted by the end of June.

Between now and then, we are still closely monitoring several bills that are moving through the legislature. We began this State Legislative session with a lot of hope for increased funding to the cost of transportation, Special Education (SPED) and Materials and Operating Costs (MSOCs), see this flyer for the current amounts that the state is underfunding those programs.

There is little hope for meaningful change in Transportation, but there are still bills alive in the Senate that could help with SPED and MSOCs. We will be unable to finalize our budget until the final Washington State Budget is determined and signed by the governor in early May. The District is committed through our Binding Conditions to budget for an increase to the fund balance next year and many of the decisions that need to be made in the budget simply depend on what the State is able to provide for our district.

Brian Fraser, Director of Finance

• Tuesday, March 25 through Friday, March 28: Elementary early release at 1:00pm for conferences. Regular dismissal time for JH/HS.
• Wednesday, March 26: No late arrival. Because of elementary conference early release, all schools will begin at their regular time.
• Thursday, March 27: Regular Board Meeting at 6:00p
• Wednesday, April 2 through Friday, April 4: No preschool (preschool conferences)
• Monday, April 7 through Friday, April 11: No school (spring break)
• All athletic schedules can be found on GoBakerAthletics.com.