MARYSVILLE — Many people probably have heard about the GoFundMe effort underway in Seattle to raise money to help pay debts for school lunches.

A couple in Marysville has one-upped that effort.

Thomas and Christy Lee went to the Marysville School District office Friday and donated $5,495 to pay off the entire debt for elementary school student lunches. The Lees are parents of a student who graduated from Marysville-Pilchuck High School in 2003. The Lees said that the school district has done so much for them over the years that they wanted to give back.

Originally, they went to pay off the lunch balances at Kellogg Marsh Elementary, where their son went, and then inquired about how much it would take to pay off all elementary school lunches. “In my thirty-two years in public education, it’s the first time I’ve seen something of this magnitude,” Marysville School Superintendent Becky Berg said.

When the Lees worked for Boeing, they contributed to the Employee Community Fund, which directs millions of dollars each year to charitable causes. After they retired, they continued to contribute to the Marysville Community Food Bank, Senior Services of Snohomish County’s Meals on Wheels program, and an international ministry.

Tom said one of the reasons they decided to donate now is for health reasons.

“My kidneys failed about a year-and-a-half ago,” he said, adding he started dialysis soon after.

The Lees then focused on improving Tom’s health to where he could qualify for a transplant. And they started looking for other ways to give back.

On Tuesday, the Lees went to Kent Prairie Elementary in Arlington, where their two grandsons attend school, and dropped off a check for $239.88 to wipe out all the kids’ lunch debt there.