The Sitka School Board at work during a budget visioning session on March 2. The board is taking a different approach to the budget this year, and focusing on information-gathering and collaboration, before making large cuts. (KCAW photo/Robert Woolsey)
Like every other program in local and state government, Sitka’s schools are looking for ways to make ends meet next year. The local district is projecting a deficit of $1.6-million — and that assumes both the city and the state contribute as much or more to schools next year as this year.
As part of its annual 3-month long budget process, the Sitka School board held a live public hearing over KCAW on Monday night (3-7-16).
The next school board budget work session will be at 6 PM Wednesday, March 9 in the District Office board room. The public is welcome to listen in, but there will be no opportunity for testimony. The first community budget hearing is scheduled for 7 PM Wednesday March 23 in the Sitka High School Library.
Listen to last Monday’s (3-7-16) live budget hearing here.
The hearing hadn’t been underway for more than 5 minutes when the board heard from one of its most vocal antagonists, Ed Gray, who ran unsuccessfully for school board last fall on an anti-standardized testing platform.
“The AMP test is a dead test — we all know that. And the district is going to pay $108 per student to take a test that’s corrupted. So we’re throwing away $1-million on a test that we know is corrupted.”
The AMP, or Alaska Measures of Progress, is a testing system designed to assess how well schools are teaching Alaska’s Education Standards, which were adopted two years ago.
The testing contractor stumbled, and failed to deliver the results on time. And they were confusing when they did arrive. Testing opponents like Gray have capitalized on these problems.
“Parents of Sitka, we can make up this budget tonight.”
Gray also asserted that there would be no consequences, if Sitka opted out of testing. Board president Tim Fulton disagreed.
“The research I’ve done, there are consequences for not taking the test, and those consequences are to our staff. And you can go to the ethical standards commission, and that’s one of the things for being licensed, is for our teachers and administrators to follow those rules. So those consequences are there.”
Superintendent Mary Wegner disputed Gray’s claim that eliminating the Alaska Measures of Progress would eliminate the deficit overnight.
“There’s no cost to the district to take the AMP test. I don’t know where Ed got that information, but that is not accurate. So far, we’ve spent $330 on testing this year, and it wasn’t even for the AMP. It was for our English as a Second Language students. The million dollars is just not accurate.”
The biggest unknown in the deficit right now, according to Wegner, is the anticipated increase in insurance costs. The district is assuming the worst, but it’s possible that about half of the deficit — or $800,000 — might be saved if insurance costs prove to be reasonable.
Still, one listener wondered why a small community like Sitka dealt in such large deficit numbers in the first place. It didn’t seem to add up for her.
Board member Tom Conley suggested that Sitkans look at their own finances.
“Essentially everything’s increasing. To say that it’s a small town and it shouldn’t cost so much — look at your own budget, and you’ll find that you are indeed paying more for everything.”
Conley added that it was more expensive to run a school district in Sitka than in Seattle — or even Anchorage.
Another listener wondered if Sitka’s teachers were overpaid, compared to the rest of the state, and unwilling to help defray some of the expense of running the schools.
The board members defended teachers’ salaries. Superintendent Mary Wegner wouldn’t disclose the results of a recently-concluded agreement with the teachers’ union, but she said that everyone was aware that state finances were in trouble.
“All of our staff, we’re having very reasonable conversations and negotiations. There are no unreasonable demands. Everybody understands the situation that we’re dealing with.”
At least two listeners asked questions about consolidation: Could Sitka squeeze its schools into one less building? Either by closing Baranof, or Pacific High.
Board president Tim Fulton didn’t think so.
“Our buildings are pretty full. I can’t think of any building that has any room to spare at this point.”
Tom Conley also strongly advocated for the benefits of keeping Pacific High — the district’s alternative school — in its own building. Moving that program into the regular high school, he said, would likely result in Pacific High students’ dropping out.
The hearing was an opportunity to clear up other misconceptions about the school’s budget, namely that it spends almost $20,000 per student. True, when you divide the district’s $20-million budget by the roughly 1,300 students enrolled, the result is about $15,000 — but the district doesn’t balance its books that way.
Superintendent Mary Wegner addressed this caller’s concerns.
Shawn – Per student K-12 we’ve done some math, and isn’t it true that $19,500 per child K-12. Is that the number you’re familiar with?
Wegner – I would love to have $19,500 per child! Currently $5,880 per child is what we receive. There are some multipliers on that, but it is not anywhere near the $19,500.
Multipliers indeed: The per-student multiplier for an intensive needs student — who may require a full-time paraprofessional to attend school — is 13. Sitka’s intensive needs population fluctuates around 35.
At the moment, the school district has enough in reserves — about $2-million — to cover its projected deficit, and it hasn’t opened a conversation about major cuts — yet. The assumptions about stable or increased funding from the state and the city could easily fall through, leaving Sitka’s schools with an enormous financial problem — one that could only be remedied by major cuts to programs.
That is plan B, said board president Tim Fulton. “We’re talking about that next.”
