The Sitka Assembly says it will continue to fund the Sitka School District to the cap, or the maximum allowed by state law. The group signaled its support for funding local schools when the assembly and school board met for a work session on Thursday (1-16-25).
The assembly also plans to continue to provide non-instructional funding– that’s money it can provide to the district beyond the cap that could be used for things like student activities, the Performing Arts Center contract, and managing the Blatchley Middle School pool. All-in-all, city funding adds up to over $9 million.
The school district is anticipating another major budget shortfall this year. Even if the state raises its per-student funding, called the Base Student Allocation, or BSA, and the district keeps its budget status-quo, it will still have a sizable deficit to contend with, which could mean some tough decisions, like shuttering a school.
School Board President Phil Burdick told the assembly that the board’s funding request does not cover their needs– if they asked for what is needed, the request would include another $4 million.
“This actually shouldn’t be on your shoulders. It should be on the state’s shoulders. It should have been on the state’s shoulders for 20 years,” Burdick said. “So any support you have over there [in Juneau] would be greatly appreciated, because that’s who really needs to hear it.”
There’s uncertainty about whether the state will raise the cap, and by how much. That could mean that down the line the assembly could contribute more money. Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz said they should budget another $300,000 anticipating the cap could be increased. Then, if it isn’t, they can reappropriate the extra money.
“I’d like to be a little bit cautious at this point,” Eisenbeisz said. “And by cautious, it’s spending more money, that way we know we have it on the onset as opposed to trying to scramble for it later.”
Whether “Secure Rural Schools” will come through this year is another unknown. The federal funding is usually split halfway between the school district and the city, but as assembly member Tim Pike noted, the assembly could elect to give the full amount to the district and it wouldn’t count towards the cap.
While assembly members said they didn’t have much more wiggle room to contribute more, a relatively new tax brought some unexpected good news. Sitka voters approved an additional tax on cannabis products in 2022 to go toward student activities. Municipal Finance Director Melissa Haley said the tax was generating more revenue than anticipated, meaning the district will get another $50,000 this year, plus $60,000 more in the activities fund budget than the school board requested next year [$360,000 total for FY26].
While the assembly and school board agreed on a funding level at Thursday’s work session, the budget work is far from over. The school board will be lobbying the legislature for more funding this spring, but likely won’t know exactly what funding level it can expect from the state until the end of the school year. The assembly’s budget process wraps up in May, so adjustments are expected down the line.
