If the Alaska Legislature passes a budget with education cuts deeper than the governor’s, Juneau schools will see some essential programs disappear. That was the message the Juneau School District delivered to the Juneau Assembly last night.
Cuts could be made to cultural programs that help Native students graduate from Juneau schools. Superintendent Mark Miller said he testified in front of the legislature on Monday.
“I said, ‘Call heads or tails,’ and one of the senators said “heads.” And it was heads and I said, ‘Great, you graduated.’ I said, ‘Ten years ago the high school freshman who was an Alaska Native male graduating was 50-50. Now it’s 75 percent, 3 to 1. One of the key reasons for that is what these people do.”
Under the governor’s budget, they’d keep those positions, but they’re on the bubble. An elementary art specialist was prioritized above the cultural programs. Miller said the funding the schools receives from a Margaret A. Cargill Foundation grant is contingent on keeping that position.
“And the idea that I have to decide between a multimillion dollar art program or supporting our neediest kids with a program that we know works and has helped increase our graduation rate by 25 percent. Those are the kind of decisions that keep superintendents up way late at night,” Miller said.
The school district is asking the city for more money for next year. The school board will take public comment on its budget when it meets tonight. That starts at 6 at Thunder Mountain High School.
Final approval for the school district budget is expected at the end of March.
