It’s not unheard of for Alaska schools to build their budgets without knowing for sure how much the state will provide. In recent years, that contribution hasn’t been much, especially when compared to the growing rates of inflation. But many school districts across the state are facing deficits this year, forcing them to make hard decisions. The Unalaska City School District is no exception.
“If we budget status quo — and status quo would mean don't change any amount of spending than what we did this year, and don't expect any more funding from the state — if that's true, we have to figure out, as a committee how to conquer a projected $1.2 million deficit by the end of next year,” said Unalaska Superintendent Kim Hanisch.
The district’s fund balance has been drained from last fiscal year’s deficit. That means there’s almost no money to cushion that million-dollar plunge, and they won’t know how much funding the state will provide until well after they’ve finalized their budget.
One way the state could help cover the looming deficit would be to increase the base student allocation. That’s a formula the state uses to figure out how much money to give to each district. The BSA has been outpaced by inflation and there haven’t been any major increases to that base contribution since 2016.
The school district has to approve its budget in April, which is long before the state budget is finalized in June. That means the district will have to try to predict what funding increases, if any, will come from the legislature. Hanisch said it’s been tough in recent years to guess where the state will land.
The district’s budget committee held its final meeting last week. The twelve-person group is made up of administrators, teachers, parents, school board members and other community members. They make recommendations to the school board about balancing financials. But the board makes the final decisions on what gets cut and what doesn’t.
The committee discussed some cuts that the district can make now and reverse if more money comes in later. Hanisch said that while many cuts are reversible, choices like cutting a staff position aren’t. That’s because if additional funding does come, it would come too late in the year to hire someone new.
Hanisch said that even if they make cuts that can be reversed, she knows it can be hard on everyone in the school district.
“It's going to be tense. Humans are hurt when they know that things that they base their livelihood, or base how they go about their job, are going to be tight,” Hanisch said.
The district is currently watching two bills this legislative session that would boost the state’s contribution to education funding — House Bill 76 and House Bill 69.
The base student allocation would have to increase by at least $1,000 per student to cover the district’s entire deficit. The budget committee wasn’t convinced that the legislature would approve that much funding, and instead agreed to anticipate a $450 increase. They didn’t plan for any increase last year.
There will be opportunities for public comment at school board meetings later this month. The district is set to finalize the budget on March 19.
