A $700 increase in the base student allowance for schools was tucked into a bill containing some education policy reforms, including guidelines around the use of cell phones. A large majority of both the Alaska House and Senate passed the bill, but the governor has vetoed two previous efforts to increase funding for K-12 education. (Alaska Beacon photo/James Brooks)
The Sitka School District budget assumes an increase of $680 in per-pupil funding from the state next year. That’s the amount of one-time funding lawmakers agreed on last year. The current bill (HB57) on the governor’s desk – passed by large margins in both the Alaskan House and Senate – has a permanent increase of $700.
The vote in favor of the bill was 17-3 in the Senate, and 31-8 in the House, which advocates hope makes it “veto proof.” It also has some concessions that the governor asked for on education policy.
Still, Sitka Schools Superintendent Deidre Jenson is not counting on a $700 increase. And even if the latest bill survives the veto pen, she says she’ll just bank the extra $120,000 it would generate.
“If it was $700 I think we would just stay status quo for right now,” said Jenson, “because we know that there’s going to be extra funds needed next year. So we would probably just hang on to that and increase our fund balance, and just keep it as is, so that we can help with next year’s budget.”
The school district is taking its reserves down to three-quarters of a million dollars in order to balance the budget. That’s lower than usual for an organization with an annual budget just shy of $24-million.
If the governor vetoes the bill and the legislature fails to override – which has happened twice in the last two years – Jenson says the school board will have to start budgeting from scratch this summer, with whatever increase lawmakers finally agree on – if they agree at all.
Sitka has given four teachers letters of non-retention, as a hedge against the possibility that no extra funding will come from Juneau next year. Right now, it looks like those teachers have a good chance of keeping their jobs. Sitka Education Association president Joe Montagna says the Sitka District is holding its own compared to many other Alaskan communities, but after losing 14 teachers last year, Sitka doesn’t have room for additional cuts.
“Are we hurting? It’s relative,” said Montagna. “I think we’re in a decent spot, but it’s the fear of losing programs that keep looming in my head. I don’t want to have that fear. I don’t want families and students to think every year we might lose something. So I’ve got a close eye on where we’re going to go next year, but I can’t say we’re doing great. It’s relative to other towns in Alaska. But we’re at the bare bones right now. There’s nothing left to cut.”
The School Board passed its budget unanimously during a special meeting at Sitka High School on April 30, just one day before it was due in city hall.
