The Anchorage School Board passed a budget Feb. 25 that cuts $43 million in programs and staff. Facing a $111 million deficit, the board opted to cut popular programs, all middle school sports, high school swimming, gymnastics and hockey and increase the student to teacher ratio by four across all grade levels. The board also voted to spend the district’s savings down to the lowest amount allowable by state law. But all — or most — of those cuts could be reversed if Alaska lawmakers pass a significant increase to the state’s per-student funding formula and Gov. Dunleavy signs it into law.
Why did the Anchorage School Board pass a budget before they know how much funding they’ll receive from the state?
The board is required to get a balanced budget to the assembly by the first Monday in March, and many school districts across the state are facing a similar timeline.
Unlike other districts though, the Anchorage School Board did not assume any increase to the BSA when they built their budget. Board President Andy Holleman said administrators and finance staff do their best to provide a realistic revenue projection when building the district’s budget.
“We’re driven by the legal requirements to do a budget at this time when we can only guess at what our actual revenue is going to be,” Holleman said. “So the hard part is, we don’t have real numbers to go on, but we have always tried to pick numbers that you could say had some reasonable basis in fact. And this year, really the BSA is the only thing we see. So, I do think that we’re in a situation where there could be a dramatic increase, or there might be a moderate increase, or I could also see a scenario where it kind of blows up and nothing happens.”
What will ASD do if the legislature and governor agree on new funding?
It depends on how much funding, if any, lawmakers and the governor decide to add.
The school board unanimously passed an amendment that details exactly how they want the administration to redistribute that money if a BSA increase of at least $1,000 passes before May 15, the district’s deadline to issue layoff notices for the next school year. The amendment includes a list of 15 ways the money would be spent in classrooms. All of the cuts to programs and classroom staff would be reinstated. The amendment also calls for reducing the student to teacher ratio to 2016 levels, which could decrease class sizes by about six students for every grade. The full list of classroom-specific expenses would cost about $60 million, and another 10 items that cost $10 million would be directed toward instructional supports including nurses, librarians, middle and high school sports.
However, none of that would occur unless a $1,000 BSA increase passes.
How likely is a $1,000 BSA increase?
That’s up for debate. The majority caucuses in the House and Senate both listed education funding as a priority and Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, I-Sitka, introduced a bill that would increase the BSA by over $1,000 this year and adjust it for inflation moving forward. But Gov. Mike Dunleavy has indicated he doesn’t support her bill as it stands today. Staff from his office have been in negotiations with House and Senate leadership to reach a compromise on education funding that would also incorporate some of Gov. Dunleavy’s priorities around educational reforms. Last year, the legislature passed a $680 increase to the BSA that was vetoed by Dunleavy. Lawmakers failed to override Dunleavy’s veto, but added back the $175 million in one-time funding at the end of the session. Educators and school board members say a permanent increase to the BSA is needed to sustain education funding, as opposed to one-time appropriations. The state has not boosted the BSA significantly since 2016, except for a $30 increase with the passage of the Alaska Reads Act in 2022.
What happens if a BSA increase passes, but it’s less than $1,000?
In that case, the school board would bring amendments forward to add back what they could. The sooner a funding increase is passed, the more deliberate the board would be about adjusting the budget. If the legislature passes an increase in the next month, Holleman said members would likely hold a work session and hear budget amendments as non-action items to allow for more time for members of the public to give their input to the board, then vote on the amendments at the next meeting. The later a funding increase is passed, the faster the board would move to reinsert that money.
Anchorage School District Chief Financial Officer Andy Ratliff said the district didn’t get an idea of what funding they would receive from the state until June 28 last year. In that scenario, the board may call a special meeting and vote on budget amendments in less than a week.
As time passes, school officials are increasingly worried that it could be too late to bring back educators from programs that were cut. Sports would be easier to reinstate, but the IGNITE program for gifted students and language immersion programs would be tricky to re-hire for, especially because many immersion teachers are in the country on school-specific work visas.
Holleman made no prediction on how likely a funding increase would be, and said he’s asking parents and teachers to talk to their legislators.
“We've got good support in both the House and the Senate, and I do think a bill that really makes some significant increases is likely to get through both of them, but then we have Gov. Dunleavy, who, I'll say is somewhat unpredictable on this,” Holleman said. “I would urge everybody, more than ever, make sure your representatives and the governor know how you feel on this, because it clearly has their attention.”
Legislators in Juneau have until May 21 get their work done, unless they vote to extend or call for a special session.
