It’s been eight years since the state last increased its per-student funding formula for public schools — a 0.5% nudge that year — and years of stagnant funding have caught up with districts statewide, including Wrangell.
“We have to count on funding this year,” Schools Superintendent Bill Burr said. An increase in the state formula “is essential to us.”
The state’s K-12 foundation funding covers almost 60% of the Wrangell district’s $5.3 million operating budget for the 2023-2024 school year, with borough funds filling about 30% and mostly federal aid covering the rest.
The school board will start working on the district’s 2024-2025 budget later this month. It needs to adopt a spending plan by spring, which is a challenge as the Legislature usually does not pass a state budget until mid-May. Even then, the budget is subject to the governor’s veto, such as last year when Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed half of a one-year 14% increase in state funding for K-12 public schools.
Inflation has totaled about 27% since the Legislature and governor last approved a permanent increase in the funding formula for the 2016-2017 school year.
Districts statewide have been pushing legislators and the governor for an increase in state aid, and an increase in the funding formula will likely be a big part of this year’s budget debate in the Capitol.
Despite inflation and the static state funding formula, the Wrangell district has managed to balance its budget the past few years with federal pandemic relief aid. But that money is in its last year. The district has used the grant funds to cover the salaries of its two principals, and will have to find another way to fill the gap, Burr said.
The district has tightened its spending over the years, particularly as a sharp drop in enrollment during the COVID-19 pandemic cut deeply into state funding based on the per-student formula. Wrangell has counted about 260 students the past couple of years, down almost 50 from 2019 as some families have left the community and others have turned to homeschooling their children.
“I would like to offer more electives” for high school and middle school students, but it’s hard to manage with limited funds, Burr said. “Something has to give.”
Students need choices beyond core subjects, particularly for students looking to enter the workforce after high school graduation, he said.
In addition to relying on federal aid the past few years, the district started the 2023-2024 school year with about $572,000 in reserves. “Our reserves are healthier than most of our neighbors in the state,” Burr said.
The reserves are essential to help cover unexpected costs, such as $40,000 in building repairs this year, he said.
Though school districts have been lobbying hard for an increase in state funding, former Anchorage School District Superintendent Deena Bishop, who left that job and went to work last year as commissioner of the state Department of Education, said recently that she did not support a boost in the formula.
“There’s only so much money in our state. Already, the budget is at capacity, and every time that we increase one area of our budget there’s an opportunity cost in others,” Bishop said in an interview with the Anchorage Daily News in December, days after the governor introduced a budget draft that leaves the formula unchanged.
Bishop’s opinion has changed, however. When she was head of Anchorage schools, she repeatedly called for more state aid.
The commissioner now says she supports targeted funding for things like teacher pay and reading tutors, rather than an overall increase.
Bishop said districts should considering closing buildings in response to declining enrollment. “It is expensive to close a school, but that’s what’s needed.”
The Anchorage Daily News contributed to this report.
Reader Comments(0)