The Anchorage School District released a draft budget on Friday that makes significant cuts to programs and staffing to make up a $111 million shortfall.
The proposed budget cuts all middle school sports, the IGNITE program for gifted students, some high school sports and increases the pupil-to-teacher ratio by four students across the district. Those changes would push third grade classes to 30 students, and sixth-through-12th grade classes over 35 students.
In an email to parents, ASD Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt pointed to a decade of flat funding from the state and inflation as the primary causes for the deficit. The district has also seen a steady decrease of students over the last decade through a combination of outmigration and more families choosing to enroll their students in charter and correspondence programs.
The budget assumes no increase to the Base Student Allocation, the per student formula that determines school funding. School Board President Andy Holleman said he’s worried about teachers being able to focus on curriculum in their classrooms with so many students.
“If there's not a significant increase outside of BSA funds or an increase to the BSA this keeps happening every year, and it gets worse every year that we don't adjust to the BSA,” Holleman said.
The Anchorage School Board will discuss the budget proposal during a budget work session at 5 p.m. and school board meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
The proposed budget calls for a draw of nearly $50 million from the district’s savings account, drawing it down to the lowest amount allowed by state statute.
High school hockey, gymnastics, swimming and diving would all be cut, as well as over a dozen nurses and librarians from elementary schools. Holleman said there isn’t a magic number to increase the BSA that would make the cuts unnecessary. He supports Sitka nonpartisan Rep. Rebecca Himschoot’s House Bill 69, which would increase the BSA by over $1,200 next school year and adjust the figure for inflation yearly after 2028.
First-year Rep. Ted Eischeid, D-Anchorage, said the number one issue he heard about on the campaign trail was education funding.
“If we don't change what's happening here in Juneau, those cuts are going to continue, and to me, it's a crisis. I think we are in a crisis situation,” Eischeid said. “This is going to continue, and it's going to get worse until we at the state level, put our big boy pants on so to speak, and fund education to do our constitutional duty to establish and maintain a public education system.”
Gov. Mike Dunleavy in a Friday press conference introduced education legislation that included some additional funding for schools but no increase to the BSA. The Legislature failed to override a veto from Dunleavy last year that would have significantly increased the BSA for the first time since 2016, but later passed a similar one-time funding boost.
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