While preparing a draft budget for the next fiscal year, Wrangell Public Schools superintendent Patrick Mayer was surprised to learn the Senate Finance Committee approved a four-percent decrease to Alaska’s Foundation formula late last week.
The adjustment would alter the formula for base student allocation, which is how the state allots money to its various school districts.
“None of this was ever discussed,” Mayer stated.
If implemented, the cuts would amount to about $47 million statewide and would mean $140,000 in cuts for Wrangell schools. This comes on top of planned cuts to one-time funding of $32 million, or $87,000 for Wrangell.
“This is going to directly impact the classroom,” said Mayer. In practical terms, the cuts could mean the loss of two non-tenured faculty members or adjustments in other programs.
The school system’s expected expenditures in its revised FY16 budget had already been trimmed some to $5.98 million, down from a previous $6.13 million. Coupled with uncertainty regarding the status of federal Secure Rural Schools funding and expected cuts to state ferry funding, the unexpected formula cuts would strike an additional blow to Wrangell’s schools.
The Senate approved its version of the budget, and as of Tuesday the draft has advanced to a joint committee to be reconciled with the House budget. The committee will have up to three meetings to reach a compromise.
Concerned, Mayer asks that community members voice their views to sitting members of the Joint Committee, which includes senators Pete Kelly, Anna MacKinnon and Donny Olson, and representatives Mark Neuman, Steve Thompson and Les Gara.
“This is a big deal,” Mayer stated. “This is about our kids.”
More information on the status of the state budget and contact information for legislators can be obtained at the local Legislative Information Office on Front Street or by visiting http://akleg.gov.
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