Parents, teachers, and school administrators will gather outside the Capitol Building in Juneau Monday night to demand more education funding.
Alaska funds school districts using a formula known as the base student allocation (or BSA). It determines how much money a district receives from the state per student.
Since 2017, the BSA has not seen a significant increase. Cheyenne Cuellar, a science teacher at Dzantik’i Heeni Middle school, stated that the BSA has not kept pace with urban Alaska’s consumer prices index which increased by 15.4% in the past five years.
She said that the font-weight of 400 ;”>” has only increased 0.5% since 2017. “Districts throughout the state are feeling the effects of this .”
Last year, the BSA grew by $30. The Alaska Association of School Boards calls for an increase of at most $860 this year. Gov. Mike Dunleavy did not propose a budget that would increase the BSA. However, he acknowledged that there are inflationary issues that must be addressed.
Mike Bucy, Dzantik’i Heeni’s music teacher, stated that flat-funding education has an impact on negotiations with teachers’ unions. Last month, the Juneau Education Association declared an impasse in negotiations with the school district. Fairbanks teachers and staff also declared an impasse.
Bucy stated that the formula funding is the key to all of this. All of this is related to the formula funding .”
The ability of a district to hire additional workers such as bus drivers and paraprofessionals who work alongside special needs students is also affected by state funding. Anchorage School District buses were shut down for several weeks due to a shortage in bus drivers.
Bucy stated that budget cuts can hurt students, particularly when class sizes are increasing.
span style=”font weight: 400 ;”>” I know a sixth-grade teacher who started this year with 43 students in his class,” he stated. These are 11-year olds. There were 43 of them, many with special needs. How is he supposed to help someone who’s having trouble in this class? It’s impossible.”
The Alaska Association of School Boards also supports a defined-benefit retirement plan for teachers. Juneau Senator Jesse Kiehl introduced a bill that would allow public employees, including teachers to contribute to a pension.
Monday’s rally is at 6 p.m. on the steps of Capitol Building.
