Residents talk class sizes and other needs at school district budget meeting

Nicole Wery is really hoping class sizes and school counselors aren’t affected by the school district’s budget for next school year. She has three kids in Juneau schools: two at Juneau-Douglas High School and one at Glacier Valley Elementary.

“PTR (Pupil-Teacher Ratio) is over 30 kids in classes. It’s so hard to be able to teach because we have kids that come from all facets of the world,” Wery said. “Some people are really advanced and some people aren’t, so just the knowledge base that a teacher has to teach to is large.”

Wery said it’s also critical that the district can bring drug and alcohol counseling into schools, and keep the regular school counselors it has on duty. She believes they play a huge role in preparing kids for the future.

School Board President Brian Holst, left, and other audience members listen during the meeting.
School Board President Brian Holst, left, and other audience members listen during the meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. (Photo by Quinton Chandler/KTOO)

The Juneau School Board is working on a months-long budget process and board members decided to give the public a chance to comment. Almost a couple of a dozen people attended one of two school district budget meetings on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

Seven people spoke during the meeting. Nearly all of them said they were most worried about class sizes.

Superintendent Miller, left, and Director of Administrative Services, David Means, right, during the budget meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2016.
Superintendent Mark Miller, left, and Director of Administrative Services David Means during the budget meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. (Photo by Quinton Chandler/KTOO)

District Superintendent Mark Miller said he doesn’t think class sizes will grow for the 2017-2018 school year.

“Well, we’ve been financially conservative. So what I’m expecting is that we will have enough in carryover and what we get from the state to not have to make cuts for the first time in years,” Miller said.

He said in the last couple of years, cutting administrative positions and increasing class sizes were the only ways to balance the budget. But, he says it’s a balancing act.

“As I say, ‘When you find yourself at the bottom of a hole, stop digging.’ So we’re going to work really hard this year, I believe, to make sure that we don’t make the problem any worse,” Miller said.

He added that there is a little bit of money that the district might be able to use to reverse past cuts, but he stressed that compared to the overall budget, it’s a very small amount.

Some people attending the meeting also asked for more counseling staff, electives and vocational classes. Several said the district should pay for renovations at Mendenhall River Community School right away. They complained about plumbing problems and accessibility for special needs students.

Two women with the Mendenhall River Community School Parent Teacher Organization speak to the school board during the budget meeting.
Two women with the Mendenhall River Community School Parent Teacher Organization speak during the budget meeting. (Photo by Quinton Chandler/KTOO)

While Miller doesn’t think the district will have to make cuts, he said there’s probably not going to be money for big renovations.

He said, “right now we’re in Band-Aid mode and we’re going to continue in Band-Aid mode until the state helps, comes back and helps us out with major bond debt reimbursement so we can afford major repairs.”

Last June, Gov. Bill Walker vetoed more than $30 million for school construction debt reimbursement and over $10 million for rural school construction funding from the state budget. In 2015, the Legislature also decided not to reimburse schools for any new construction debt until July 2020.

Four principals and a volunteer from local schools also spoke at the budget meeting. They all said one of their top priorities was lowering or maintaining class sizes. They asked the board for more special education specialists, pre-school programs, resources for electives, building renovations for Mendenhall River Community and Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School and counseling staff; including career counselors, drug and alcohol counselors.

And almost all of them asked for special teacher training ahead of implementation of the district’s new science curriculum.

The school board will send a budget to the City and Borough of Juneau at the end of March. Miller said a lot will depend on the solutions the state finds for its own financial dilemma.

And Nicole Wery said she’ll be watching the Legislative session to see whether the district will get the money for those counselors she’s rooting for.

Sign up for The Signal

Top Alaska stories delivered to your inbox every week

Site notifications
Update notification options
Subscribe to notifications