The school district and borough share a money problem. And it’s a community problem that needs an answer this spring.
The schools need more money to continue even the basic programs for Wrangell’s 260 students. The state funding formula over the past eight years has been flat, which is to say far short of keeping up with inflation, which is to say wholly inadequate.
The borough assembly has tried pitching in, but its check-writing ability is limited by two factors: A state law that puts a cap on local contributions to school district budgets, and the borough’s own tight finances.
That tightness was squeezed even more when the Republican-controlled U.S. House adjourned last session without extending a 25-year-old program that provides funding for rural communities with a lot of nontaxable federal land within their borders. Unless Congress restores the program retroactively, the borough could be out $800,000 that it had expected to receive.
That money would have gone to the school district budget and roads in town.
The borough can cover the loss this year by drawing on its reserves, but those savings will run out if Congress does not reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools program. And right now in Congress, anything is possible, nothing is certain and no one knows what will happen.
The school district has its own reserve funds, one of which it has been living on the past few years, taking it lower, while the other has stayed healthy.
The district’s operating budget reserve has filled the gap for day-to-day expenses left by inadequate state funding and a significant drop in enrollment. State aid is based on enrollment, and Wrangell’s pupil count is down about 15% from fall 2019.
But while the operating reserve is in steep decline, the district’s capital improvement fund weighs in at a healthy $1.2 million. It’s supposed to pay for repairs to the buildings.
And that is the shared problem between the borough and the district. The borough owns the buildings and is responsible for major repairs and maintenance, such as new roofs, boilers and siding. The school district is supposed to cover smaller repairs and upkeep.
There is, however, no written definition of major or minor maintenance, no firm agreement of who pays for what, and no consensus on how to use the $1.2 million.
The school board, borough assembly, schools superintendent and borough manager need to address the $1.2 million elephant in the room as they put together their budgets. They need to agree on when it should be used and when it should be saved for another need.
Answering those questions needs to be part of a long-term plan to fund the schools.
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