Deep cuts, hard choices in store for Sitka schools

Almost nothing is immune from budget cuts in the Sitka School District this year.

That was the word Thursday night from the Sitka School Board, which took comments from the public on its 2013 operating budget.

The district faces a nearly $1.3 million deficit. The school board’s commitment of a half-million dollars from reserves has already pared that down. But that still leaves nearly $800,000 to cut.

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Any budget is an informed guess at how much money an organization will make and spend in a year. But for the Sitka School District, there are lots of unknowns.

The amount of money the state provides per student might increase, or it might not. It depends on what the legislature and the governor do by mid-April.

There might be more students, or there might not – that number isn’t known until the fall.

The amount the city contributes might change, or it might not. That depends on Assembly action that takes place after the district finalizes its budget.

And a federal bill that sends nearly half a million dollars to the district might get reauthorized or it might not.

In most of those cases, the school board is betting on not.

“It’s going to be really tough,” School Board President Lon Garrison said, adding that in years past, the district has closed deficits without much pain, but that this year is different.

“We always tend to get there, where we need to go, and it hasn’t hurt too much,” he said. “I’m afraid we’re at the end of the road where there is a big bump, and we’re going to fall off that bump, and it’s going to be a different set of rules that we’re going to have to go by. And we have to make some hard choices.”

That could mean cutting programs, or scaling back how much the district spends on student activities, among other things. Thursday night’s meeting was to solicit ideas on what to do – or what not to do – from parents and staff.

The board says it wants to hear from you. Link to contact information for school board members, along with all the budget numbers.

Kerry McAdams has a son in kindergarten this year. She said her number one concern is that class sizes will go up as the money into the school district goes down.

“If another teacher is not added to first grade for next year my child will have a class of 24 to 25,” McAdams said. “All of the research out there, as you guys well know, indicates that for young children, classes under 19, at the very highest. In Sitka, we’ve been fortunate that we can have those classes usually under 17 in those early years. I would really hope something can be done about that for first grade next year.”

A number of parents in attendance Thursday had students in early grades or entering kindergarten. They told the school board the same thing: Do your best to keep class sizes down.

The board appeared in agreement that low class sizes are a priority. Board member Tom Conley says that means the board will have to ask a difficult question: What are people willing to sacrifice in order to fund enough staff for low class sizes?

“I’m disagreeing with the district’s focus on technology,” said Susan Brandt-Ferguson, a teacher at Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary with children in the school district.

Sitka Schools is upping its tech spending by $75,000 next year, to about $427,000.

It’s part of a push over the last few years to improve tech offerings in the district and integrate them into the classroom.

“I don’t think that is the best use of our money. I am loving having the tools that I have, but it’s not how I get my job done by any means,” Brandt-Ferguson said. “It’s not how I connect with kids and it’s not how they learn what they learn in my classroom. It’s wonderful, but when push comes to shove, that’s not as important as the people in the classroom.”

In the past, board members have said that teachers will always be the most important thing to students’ experience in schools, but that improving districtwide technology is a top priority that must move forward. Board members didn’t argue the point on Thursday night.

Attendance at the public hearing was sparse. A handful of people occupied a few rows of chairs in Keet’s multipurpose room. While Garrison and the board appeared somewhat troubled by that, Brandt-Ferguson said it could be a good sign.

“If people weren’t so trusting of what you’re going to do, they’d be filling the house,” she said.

Garrison said he takes that as a compliment, “but I’ve been thinking about this a lot. This year, I’m more concerned than I’ve ever been. What we really need is people speaking out about what their values are, and what they value in this community.”

Garrison pointed out that the district can’t levy taxes, so the only way it can get more money is from federal, state and local sources. He urged those in attendance to write letters to state and federal lawmakers and asked them to talk to the Sitka Assembly, which will decide whether to keep the city’s $5 million annual appropriation at its current level.

He and the rest of the board will have a chance to do that as well. The board and the Assembly meet on Feb. 16 to talk about the district’s budget.