Pick your cliché: Push comes to shove; between a rock and a hard place; money is tight; living within your means; don’t spend more than you can afford.
Children need a quality education to succeed in life.
Just because the cliches flow easily, don’t expect the answers to be as easy.
The school district is in its last year of federal pandemic relief aid, which it has used to cover the salaries and benefits of Wrangell’s two school principals. That means district officials and the school board will have to absorb those expenses into an already tight general fund budget, at a cost of about $300,000 for the 2024-2025 school year.
The district also faces the uncertainty that the Legislature may or may not approve an increase in the state funding formula for K-12 public education — which has been stagnant since 2017 — and whether the resistant governor will go along with an increase or veto it like he did last year.
Also factor in the reality that enrollment, while now stable, is down about 40 students from the pre-pandemic count, further cutting into how much money the state sends to Wrangell. The state provides about 60% of the district’s operating funds, based on a per-student formula, and that money is key to balancing the budget and providing a good education.
It’s important to note that the borough this past year contributed to the district budget at the maximum amount allowed under state law.
All in all, school officials, staff and students and parents should be concerned about next year’s budget.
It’s no surprise that the federal money is running out; the district has been planning ahead, knowing the day would come. It has been holding down spending to maintain its reserves to help fill in for revenue shortages.
Those reserves will not last forever if they become an annual funding source.
The district will have to juggle preserving healthy reserves and providing the courses, academic programs, activities and support that students need to succeed — while at the same time waiting to see if the Legislature, and particularly the governor, fulfill the state’s responsibility to public education.
There is a lot at stake as the school board works the next two months on the budget. The community should pay attention and support public education.
— Wrangell Sentinel
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