North Sound school districts agree to transportation mutual aid in case of emergencies

The Arlington, Lakewood, Marysville, and Stanwood-Camano School Districts have entered into agreements to establish joint transportation support in the event of a student evacuation. During an emergency where students would need to be evacuated, the evacuating district would contact the participating districts if they need buses or vans to transport students. The agreement will be in effect for five years but can be renewed.

Lakewood Superintendent Dr. Erin Murphy said, “We know that the time to prepare for an emergency is before we have one. This agreement will allow our districts to provide immediate support and cooperation if we are ever in the unfortunate situation of needing to evacuate our schools.”

“Partnerships to support the safety of students is essential,” said Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Chrys Sweeting. “There have been emergencies in our district where we’ve had to evacuate and relocate students to a different location, such as an incident that took place at Arlington High School in October of 2019.”

Dr. Zac Robbins, Marysville Superintendent, stated, “The Marysville School District is proud to enter this agreement, fostering a collaborative effort to strengthen safety measures for students across Marysville and neighboring districts, in preparation for potential emergencies."

“This agreement strengthens our schools’ ability to ensure student safety by creating a collaborative network of support with our neighboring districts,” Stanwood-Camano Superintendent Dr. Deborah Rumbaugh said.