Marysville High student body grows more diverse

The face of a typical Marysville High School student has changed from 66 percent white in 2002-03 to 50 percent last school year, says an annual report that also notes trends in attendance and graduation rates.

Jim Flurry, a Marysville Joint Unified School District trustee, said he doesn't pay attention to the racial makeup of the student body.

"To me, they're just all kids," Flurry said. "They need to have a good, safe school to go to."

Trustee Sandy Fonley said the report reflects Yuba County.

"The whole county has changed," Fonley said, "if you look at the demographics 20 years ago."

The report on Marysville High notes that 13 percent of students were of Hispanic or Latino heritage in 2002-03 and that last school year they represented nearly 20 percent of students.

"We live in a community that's ethnically diverse," Superintendent Gay Todd said. "It's a benefit to the school to have a variety of students."

"They bring their culture, their skills, their talents," Todd said.

The report is among matters before school district trustees when they meet Tuesday.

Marysville High's graduation rate last year was 95 percent, according to the report prepared yearly about the school. That's up from the 89 percent rate in 2007.

Ten of the 14 varsity teams at the school earned a cumulative team 3.0 grade point average or better, the report states.

Student attendance has also increased from nearly 95 percent in 2002-03 to last school year's 96.4 percent.

Trustees begin their meeting Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the board room at 1919 B St. in Marysville.