Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed Budget for the next fiscal year maintains education funding for K-12 public school systems at about the same level as this year.
Alaska school districts are expressing dismay at the insistence on flat funding. They claim it is leading to large budget deficits.
At a Thursday news conference, Dunleavy stated that his proposal was a starting point for legislators and that he believes the amount of school funding could rise as they discuss the issue.
He said, “For me to place a number in a budget, some people will say it is too little, others will say it is too much.” “So, what we did is we presented a budget here on December 15, to start that discussion.”
The base student allocation is the funding source for Alaska schools. It is basically a dollar amount per student.
Dunleavy proposes a $5,960 figure, which is only $30 less than the 2016 level. This is still a significant amount of money, but it’s far less than the inflation rate. The flat funding basically means that each year the money that school districts have received has been less. Dunleavy stated that he expects this to be a topic in the Legislature’s January session.
Dunleavy stated that “we do understand” and that they look forward to discussing with the Legislature how education funding will be structured moving forward. “We will understand that there are inflationary issues to be addressed.
Dunleavy stated that the current budget had forward-funded schools for next fiscal year. This was because oil prices were high at the time.
Jharrett Bryantt, the Anchorage School District Superintendent, stated that he was disappointed with Dunleavy’s proposal and looked forward to working together with the governor to find a solution.
Bryantt stated that while we were disappointed to see no additional funding for public education in the governor’s budget proposal, it is encouraging to know that he acknowledges the inflationary pressures on our District, our communities, and our families and wants to work together on sensible school funding solutions.
Flat funding for Anchorage would result in a $48million budget deficit for the next school year. On Monday, the school board will vote on preliminary cuts. These could include closing schools or cutting programs and increasing class sizes.
Senator-elect Cathy Giessel stated that she believes the Legislature will discuss school funding in the upcoming session. However, the funding formula is complex. She said Thursday that she doesn’t have a perfect funding amount.
She said, “It is so complicated that it will require a lot more attention and will take a long time for the Legislature actually to review it, understand and make the necessary revisions.” But we must do it.
Dunleavy’s total education budget is slightly lower than last year, probably due to declining enrollment in the state. January 17th is the first day of next legislative session.
Alaska Public Media’s Kavitha Georg contributed to this report.
