The Unalaska City School District has approved its budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, and is asking the city for about $6.14 million.
The school board unanimously approved the budget draft at its meeting earlier this month. The proposal has gone through various revisions and discussions, including a town hall and committee meetings. Now, it will head to City Hall where council members will decide how much funding they can spare for the island’s schools.
“The committee did decide that we have confidence the city will once again contribute to the maximum allowable contribution,” said Unalaska Superintendent Kim Hanisch at Wednesday’s meeting.
The City of Unalaska generally gives the district its full request. However, council members have recently said they’re worried they won’t be able to continue with such generous contributions, as budgets tighten across the island.
Still, with a predicted school budget deficit of about $1 million, the district needs all the help it can get, especially when state funding hasn’t increased to match inflation.
“If you notice the city's contribution, those numbers, both in real value and size, are getting bigger, while the state's contribution, both in size and real value, is getting smaller,” Hanisch said. “So our city does an awesome job of supporting us. We're hoping that that will continue.”
This year’s ask is about $147,000 more than last year’s. The district’s total operating budget includes almost $8.4 million in expenditures. After some staffing solidified and energy-saving trends continue to improve, the projected budget deficit has dropped by about $200,000, coming in at $1 million.
The school will also move some of its restricted funds over to its operating budget. Hanisch said the school has pools of restricted funds set aside for future needs. The district plans to pull from its major maintenance fund and debt reimbursement fund. She said that money is only moved when necessary.
“If we don't move these funds over, more cuts will be needed,” Hanisch told KUCB in an email. “The approved budget has up to $176,000 to be moved. $100,000 is for sure, the remaining depends on how we end this [fiscal year].”
Officials built the budget on an expected enrollment of 330 students and a predicted $450 increase to the Base Student Allocation (BSA) — the formula the state uses to determine how much money to give schools.
State legislators could bump that number up. The House approved a bill that would increase the BSA by $1,000. That still has to pass the Senate and get a signature from the governor before going into effect.
Without any confirmed increases from the state, the school has made some cuts to various areas, including the overall budget for certified teacher's salaried positions — due to attrition and a lower placement on the salary schedule for next fiscal year's teachers — budgeted overtime, library books and computer purchases, as well as student activities.
Hanisch reiterated that the budget, including many cuts, is not set in stone, but based on predictions and informed calculations.
“It's all estimates and looking at what's past and looking at what's ahead,” she said.
School Board President David Gibson also said that many of the cuts can be reversed.
“A lot of the things that are being cut, or being looked at being cut on here, can be replenished and replaced next year — hoping that puts people at ease a little bit,” Gibson said.
The school district is set to present its budget proposal to the city council at a meeting on April 8.
