The Anchorage School District could eliminate more than 100 teacher positions, outsource sports, cut pre-K classes and remove funding for additional programs and staff to close a potential $29.4 million budget gap next school year, administrators told the School Board on Monday.
Ed Graff, school district superintendent, presented a list of potential cuts at an afternoon work session in response to a budget package passed by the Senate that, if passed into law, would cut per-student funding on top of eliminating other school funds.
The School Board made no official decisions Monday on what it would cut first and what it would not cut if faced with a budget gap.
Eric Croft, School Board president, said the board wanted to "hold the classroom harmless as much as possible." He said the work session helped answer the question, "What does the magnitude of $30 million look like?" Graff said the discussion was part of an ongoing conversation.
"I think there's a significant amount of concern around the idea that we're having to make this kind of cut to public education," Graff said.
In February, the School Board passed a $784 million budget for the 2015-16 school year. The board did not account for funding cuts that might come out of Juneau. It based the budget on a bill passed by the Legislature last year that funded schools for three years. It also used $17 million in reserves to shrink a projected budget gap and added funding for about 64 new teacher positions.
As the School Board worked through its budget process, the Alaska Legislature discussed big cuts to close the state's multibillion-dollar shortfall caused by falling oil prices. On Friday, the Senate approved deeper cuts to education than the House had included in its budget. In total, the budget passed by the Senate would reduce the Anchorage School District's funding by $29.9 million. About $500,000 of that is grant money for specific programs, said Mark Foster, school district chief financial officer.
Graff said that over the weekend administrators compiled the list of potential budget reductions based on cuts discussed over the past three years. The cuts amounted to $40.45 million and the elimination of about 277 staff positions.
Croft said the total exceeded the projected budget reduction because he wanted School Board members to have options so they could prioritize cuts.
Some School Board members asked the administration to provide more information on individual cuts.
School Board member Natasha von Imhof said the school district had to refocus on its core mission: teaching students math, science, social studies and language arts. She said it should look to other school districts for advice on navigating financial hardships.
Board member Kameron Perez-Verdia said all the programs on the list mattered. Of the budget cutting process, he said, "It sucks. And none of us want to do it."
Potential cuts and their financial impacts presented Monday included:
• Eliminate 4 pre-K classes, cut 8 teachers and teacher assistants: Save $1.38 million
• Have private sports organizations take over school district sports: Save $4.5 million
• Eliminate team planning time for middle school elective and core teachers, cut 50 teachers: Save $5 million
• Cut 48 elementary school teachers, 13 additional middle school teachers, 21 high school teachers, 5 alternative program teachers: Save $8.73 million
• Eliminate funding for new staff computers: Save $1.15 million
• Cut 26 early literacy coaches and early literacy classroom teachers: Save $2.6 million
• Reduce school building safety/security staff by 4 percent, cut 3 positions: Save $240,000
• Reduce school administration support staff by 4 percent, cut 17 positions: Save $1.7 million
• Reduce central services by 4 percent, cut 12 positions: Save $1.26 million
• Reduce instructional support staff by 3 to 4 percent, cut about 52 positions: Save $4.9 million