Public school educators in Alaska are still awaiting the governor’s response to a bill that would increase per-pupil funding in the state by $680 next year.
In February, Senate Bill 140 passed both houses of the Alaska legislature by large margins, but the governor has signaled a reluctance to increase education funding. Last year, the legislature passed a one-time boost to education funding of $680, but the governor vetoed half of it. The current Senate Bill 140 would be a permanent increase in the so-called base student allocation, which advocates say is necessary to catch up with inflation over the last seven years.
Still, $680 is only half as much as school districts like Sitka will need to balance the books. Interim superintendent Steve Bradshaw told the Sitka School Board last week (3-6-24) that even if the governor doesn’t veto the funding, Sitka will have to cut seven to nine positions. If the governor vetoes half of it – as he did last year – Sitka will have to shed 11 or 12 positions, which would have a direct impact on the district’s PTR, or pupil-teacher ratio.
Bradshaw painted a picture of what that would look like.
“Think about what 11 or 12 positions in this school district means,” Bradshaw said. “ It means basically one teacher from every grade level. And folks, you’ve worked hard to get the PTRs down where they’re at. You’ve worked hard to get the things in the district that we have in the district. And I would just hate to see those things starting to go away. As public educators, we get accused every once in a while of trying to be everything to everyone. And we do care about kids. And so we try to make as many opportunities available for kids as we possibly can. It seems like we’re always crying that we don’t have enough money. But everyone here knows what the food prices are in town, how much they’ve gone up in the nine years that I’ve been gone from Sitka. I was blown away when I walked into the grocery store.”
Bradshaw came out of retirement in Montana to work under a one-year contract as superintendent in Sitka. The state has not increased the base student allocation since 2016. Bradshaw said it was taking a toll on the district.
“When I came back this year, I can honestly tell you, I have never seen a staff, as stressed out as this staff was,” said Bradshaw. “And I’ve got to believe that it was because of the COVID situation, the pandemic, while also just day-in and day-out, not having enough resources to help kids, when that’s their biggest passion.”
Bradshaw urged the board, and everyone in attendance, to contact the governor’s office and urge him to support Senate Bill 140.
There will be another regular board meeting on April 3, then a budget work session with the board on April 11. The final opportunity for the public to comment on next year’s school budget will be 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 17, at Harrigan Centennial Hall, when the board is scheduled to formally adopt a budget and present it to the Sitka Assembly.
