Major differences over school funding characterized a meeting Thursday night between the Sitka school board and the city Assembly.
The two groups met in a work session to discuss the school district’s budget. The city is required by law to send a portion of the property taxes it collects to the school district.
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How much the city sends to the school district is based on a formula, mostly made up of the taxable value of property in Sitka, plus some money from the state. The formula determines a minimum and a maximum amount the city can contribute every year. This year, the range is between $3.5 million and $7.1 million. The school district is asking the city to at least keep the funding where it was last year, at just over $5 million.
The school district is taking its reserve accounts down to about $250,000 to balance its budget. That’s the lowest it’s been in recent history. School Board President Lon Garrison says it was an uncomfortable decision for the board to make, but saving programs that benefit students outweighed the risk of pulling from reserves.
Assembly member Mike Reif said the district could face even worse financial trouble next year, perhaps to the tune of $1.5 million, and that he thought it was unfair for the board to, in his words, “wipe out” its reserves.
“All these programs that we talked about last year that were just critical, critical, critical – we couldn’t cut them – next year, when you come up with a $1.5 million (deficit, you’ll say) ‘These things are all critical, critical, critical, and we need the money now, because we don’t have any reserves,’” Reif said. “You’re setting this community up in a position that is very uncomfortable.”
Garrison said yes, the district will be in a challenging situation next year, as it has been every year. But he said reserves could build back up. And he took issue with Reif’s characterization of what the board is doing.
“We did not go into this with the idea that we’re going to stick it to the city next year because that’s what we want to do. I don’t want you to get that impression,” Garrison said. “That’s not been our philosophy from any board member here, that that is where we wanted to go. Our goal, and our job, is to try to make sure we provide the best education for every student, every single year that we can.”
The Assembly also zeroed in on the district’s enrollment figures. In the last 20 years, district enrollment has declined by nearly 575 students. That time frame included the closure of the Alaska Pulp Mill. Employees, though, have grown. Mayor Cheryl Westover questioned that, and perhaps illustrated a philosophical difference she has with the school board.
Westover: “So somehow that should be making up some of the difference for what’s going on. In any business. And this is a business…”
Garrison: “No, this isn’t. It’s not a business.”
Assembly member Phyllis Hackett: “Businesses don’t have federal mandates.”
Westover: “It’s about money. I’m not talking like it’s a business like a grocery store, but it’s a business where you’ve got to make figures work.”
Disagreements weren’t limited to those between the Assembly and the school board. Assembly member Thor Christianson cut in when Reif mentioned the difference between student numbers and employee numbers in the district. He said he understands there are new mandates on educators, and that he doesn’t mean it as a criticism.
Reif: “It is saying that our total number of employees have gone up 12 percent, and our student population has gone down 30.”
Christianson: “And that’s totally not fair, Mike.”
Reif: “Why is it unfair?”
Christianson: “Because for starters, look at the number of intensive students. Right there…”
The number of intensive needs students has grown in the last 10 years. In order to qualify for funding to support those students, the district must add one aide for every intensive-needs student. The number of aides has increased, but the number of regular classroom teachers has actually decreased in the last 20 years.
Last night’s meeting also offered a first look at what the city might cut as it begins its budgeting process. The draft city budget has not been released, but Municipal Administrator Jim Dinley said at the moment, the city is planning to cut the equivalent of at least six full-time employees which would be part of $1 million in cuts to the general fund. Some facilities could operate under reduced hours and Sitka will delay the purchase of a police cruiser.
“And to flat-fund the school as last year, every other entity that we support will take a cut, in addition to no raises in the city,” Dinley said.
Dinley says municipal employees haven’t had a raise in three years. Those cuts will happen without the city dipping into its reserve accounts.
Assembly member Terry Blake said the city and school district should work together to make cuts from both their budgets.
Blake: “The city employees, they are all families as well. If we can at least face the community and say, ‘Let’s have a compromise here.’ If you can work with Jim (Dinley) and Jay (Sweeney) I think it would be much easier to answer to the community at large, and say we’re all making cuts in these difficult economic times.”
Mim McConnell: “I think you’re looking at it in the wrong way.”
Blake: “I’m not sure we are.”
McConnell: “I haven’t said anything here tonight, so I’d like to say something. … To me, you can’t compare the city budget with the school budget. They’re just two different things. They have two different mandates. You can’t compare them. The mandate that this governing body has – is to teach our children. There’s nothing like that on the city level. You cannot compare it. It’s priceless.”
Thursday night’s meeting was a work session, so the Assembly gave no indication what it might do, nor did it take any action. That all happens when the Assembly next meets, on April 24.
