MCSD’s Budget Crisis Escalates Beyond Initial Projections
Cuts to positions in the Marathon Central School District are deeper than initially proposed.
Sarena Eaton · 2026-05-31
In April, the Marathon Central School District Superintendent presented a challenging budget scenario to anxious parents and staff. The district would need to eliminate approximately 24 positions to address a $3 million deficit.
Two months later, the reality has proven more devastating than initially represented. The “2025-2026 Budgetary Reductions of Personnel” memo released by the district revealed it is not 24 positions being eliminated, but 29. Teachers, teaching assistants, aides, counselors, nurses, and SROs are all affected by the cuts. The cuts span the elementary and high school, the arts, physical education, and core academic subjects.
In the earlier press coverage, the cuts were framed by the Superintendent as difficult but targeted: positions would be eliminated strategically to recover the $3 million that had been mismanaged or carried over from previous budget years. The memo conveys a different story. Five additional staff positions were cut, with no additional communication to the staff or the public.
Parents and community members learned about the broader cuts primarily through a single memo released as an attachment for the upcoming board meeting on June 3. This is notably the last board meeting before the reorganization of the Board of Education in July.
The cuts affect every department and specialized support services.
The Marathon Central School District faces a significant fiscal challenge.
The next board meeting is set for June 3 at 7:00 PM and is open to the public.
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Note: The publisher of NNT has been elected to the Marathon BOE and will take office on July 9. This article has been written, reviewed, and published by the Editor and, as such, is independent from the publisher.
Note: This article has been corrected for a grammatical error at 3:35 PM 5/31.