As another school year comes to a close at Marshall Public Schools and we celebrate graduation weekend, I’m filled with pride and gratitude. Watching our seniors cross the stage is a powerful reminder of our mission to guide, support, and prepare each student for the road ahead. Every graduate has their own story of growth and determination, often made possible by the care and commitment of our staff, families, and community.

At the same time, we look to the students still filling our classrooms — those still discovering who they are and where they’re headed. Their journeys are just beginning, and it’s our responsibility to nurture their curiosity, talents and sense of purpose. That’s the heart of our work: helping every student grow into who they’re meant to be.

This year, we saw real momentum in the classroom. Test scores are trending up, especially in middle school math and science — two areas that took a hit during the pandemic. Our early reading support programs are making a measurable difference, with 91% of Kindergarten and 1st grade students in our Reading Intervention program improving at least one performance level this year.

We’ve also continued to grow our hands-on learning options. Enrollment at the Marshall Career and Technical Institute is up 18% for the 2025-26 school year, as more students take advantage of courses that connect them directly to real-world careers.

We’re also seeing improvements in school culture. Behavior-related incidents have dropped 35% compared to just two years ago, thanks in part to our use of the BARR (Building Assets, Reducing Risks) model, which has helped students build stronger, more meaningful relationships with their teachers and fellow students.

Our teachers and staff deserve full credit for their exceptional work this year to drive these improvements. Their willingness to embrace new instructional approaches and commitment to students of all learning abilities is remarkable.

As we celebrate the progress we’ve made, it’s important to share a growing concern: Our district is facing financial challenges that are only expected to get worse as the cost of providing quality K-12 education keeps rising while our funding fails to keep pace. For this upcoming year, our district cut $350,000 from the budget and will spend $800,000 in reserves. Looking ahead, we’re projecting a deficit of nearly $1.8 million, which means we are facing significant additional reductions in future years that will impact the classroom. The following years are expected to be even more difficult unless we see significant changes to our funding.

Over the past 10 years, inflation has gone up by 65%, but the state’s education funding formula has only increased by 47%. At the same time, the number of mandates — things our schools are required to pay for — continues to grow, often without enough new funding to cover them.

I want to be clear that we are not the only district facing these challenges. Across Minnesota, districts are making tough choices as rising costs collide with flat funding.

We are committed to retaining our talented faculty and staff, keeping class sizes down, and ensuring students have access to the services they need. But at the end of the day, even the best schools cannot cut their way to excellence.

Looking ahead, our school board will explore the possibility of a referendum that would ask voters to support new funding to prevent future cuts and protect the staff and curriculum that help our students succeed. No decisions have been made yet, but more information will be provided throughout this summer, and I encourage all to attend school board meetings to follow along with the discussions.

I look forward to working with our community to ensure we can keep delivering the high-quality education our students deserve.

— Jeremy Williams is superintendent of Marshall Public Schools