BUDGET

The City of Unalaska has a balanced budget for the 2024 fiscal year. On Tuesday, city councilors voted 5-0 to adopt the roughly $35 million general fund spending plan.

The Unalaska City Council has approved the Qawalangin Tribe’s full funding request for its annual summer culture camp.

Unalaska’s schools and nonprofits will receive the city’s full financial support in fiscal year 2024. On Tuesday, the City Council voted 4-0 to grant the Unalaska City School District’s nearly $5.5 million funding request, along with fully funding seven organizations through the Community Support grant program.

The Unalaska City School District has asked the city to increase its contribution to local public schools in fiscal year 2024, including dedicating $140,000 in new funding for student activities. Superintendent Jim Wilson made the nearly $5.5 million request to the City Council this month. Meanwhile, councilors are also weighing funding for the Community Support program, which awards grants to local nonprofits. Eight organizations have requested a total of $1.5 million.

The City of Unalaska is facing a nearly $7 million deficit under the operating budget proposed for fiscal year 2024. Officials said costs are up significantly in a number of areas the city can’t control, including staff pay increases that have already been negotiated and higher prices for airfare, electricity, and heating oil.

State legislators are discussing increasing student funding, leaving a lot up in the air for school districts around Alaska as they prepare their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year.In Unalaska, district officials are playing it safe — anticipating small increases to state funding and planning for some cuts to staff.At a recent board meeting, Superintendent Jim Wilson presented a first reading of the district’s FY24 budget and applauded the committee for making significant reductions this year.

The Unalaska City School district was in compliance with financial regulations, according to findings of an audit looking back at fiscal year 2022. Altman, Rogers & Co. — an Alaska-based accounting and auditing firm — performed the yearly inspection, which is meant to ensure the district is following protocol and properly handling public funds. The firm reported a total deficit of about $140,000 for fiscal year 2022, which is slim compared to this year’s projected deficit of more than half-a-million dollars.

Like many school districts across Alaska, spikes in energy costs have Unalaska City schools looking at a major budget deficit. In combination with flatlined state funding, enrollment drops and increased teacher salaries, the island’s deficit is predicted to take the shape of around a-half-million dollars. Superintendent Jim Wilson presented a budget update to the Unalaska school board on Oct. 19 that includes a $535,000 anticipated deficit. This is the biggest deficit he’s seen in his 10 years as the high school principal, and likely one of the largest deficits the district has ever seen, he said.

While Alaska’s lawmakers consider increasing public school funding, the Unalaska City School District prepares for a significant decrease in revenue due to a drop in enrollment. And with that, the district is looking to the city for about $5 million to cover its budget for fiscal year 2023. At a City Council meeting Tuesday, Superintendent Robbie Swint Jr. presented the Unalaska City School District’s proposed budget, which is based on an estimated enrollment of 345 students.

Unalaska's nonprofits have always relied on a mixture of tourism, city funding, and local donors to keep their coffers full. But the coronavirus pandemic…