Anchorage School District Superintendent Ed Graff and the Anchorage School Board on Monday will review a preliminary list of potential budget reductions for the 2015-16 school year after the Alaska Senate approved deeper cuts to education funding.
Heidi Embley, executive director of school district communications, said she had not seen the final list Friday and could not say what specific cuts the School Board planned to consider. "Everything is up for discussion," she said.
In total, the district could see a reduction of $29.9 million from next school year's budget. That translates to a potential loss of up to 300 positions, Embley said in a statement.
Earlier this year, the School Board passed a 2015-16 budget that added 64 teachers. It bolstered the school district's $784 million budget by using $17 million from reserves.
The reserves grew this school year when the school district underspent its budget. It hired fewer teachers overall and more young, lower-paid teachers than planned. The School Board has said the unspent money drew attention to a larger hiring problem.
Some Alaska legislators and Anchorage Assembly members criticized the school district and School Board for the 2015-16 budget that did not include cuts to one-time funding proposed by Gov. Bill Walker.
In a rebuttal, the School Board said it based next school year's budget on current statute -- House Bill 278.
The Legislature passed that education bill last session after much debate. It included annual increases to the per-student school funding formula, or the base student allocation, over three years. It also added one-time funding outside of that formula.
But as legislators grappled with a multibillion-dollar budget deficit this session, education funding fell onto the chopping block.
The budget passed by the Senate on Friday cut 4 percent, or $47.5 million, from the per-student funding formula on top of the elimination of one-time funds in the budget approved by the House.
The 4 percent cut equates to a roughly $200 deduction from the $5,880 per-student funding, according to Sheila Peterson, an aide to Sen. Mike Dunleavy, R-Wasilla.
Last year's education bill added $150 to per-student funding this school year, increasing it to $5,830. It would increase $50 next school year and $50 again the year following.
The Senate is not changing statute with its cuts, Peterson said, but instead only funding the per-student formula at 95.9 percent.
Since the House did not touch the per-student funding formula, members from both chambers will have to reconcile the two budgets.
As the budget process continues in Juneau, the Anchorage School District has other deadlines to meet.
Under municipal law, the district must submit its budget for the next school year to the Anchorage Assembly no later than the first Monday in March. The date often falls before the school district knows what funding it will receive from the state. The Anchorage Assembly passed the school district's budget March 24.
If the school district plans to lay off employees, tenured teachers must receive notification before May 15, Embley said. Non-tenured teachers must be notified on or before the last day of the school term, she said.
Embley said the school district was already working on a list of potential budget reductions at the request of legislators and Assembly members before the Senate passed its budget Friday. However, it now must grow that list, she said.
The Anchorage School Board will discuss budget cuts at a 1 p.m. work session Monday at the ASD Education Center, 5530 E. Northern Lights Blvd. The work session is open to the public; however the School Board typically does not take public testimony at work sessions, Embley said.
Members of the public seeking to give input can attend the School Board meetings, held at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Monday, or email School Board members, she said.