Higher than expected enrollment will allow the Juneau School Board to ask the City and Borough of Juneau for more money during an assembly finance committee meeting Wednesday.
The district is already guaranteed more state funding after about 180 unexpected students showed up for classes this year and because the district is getting more money from the state, the City and Borough of Juneau is allowed to increase the amount it gives.
“It’s kind of a double dip Sunday if you will, and I like that,” said Juneau School District Superintendent Mark Miller.
He said the district will ask for $650,000 dollars. That’s in addition to the near $25 million appropriation the assembly has already agreed to give for this fiscal year ending in June.
Miller said there’s plenty to spend that on.
“We have about … $300,000 worth of facility repairs that (we) need done,” he said. “Hot water heaters, boilers, things that keep us warm and dry, and allow us to wash dishes that are wearing out. We’d love to replace those this year.”
Miller said the district also needs to buy supplies as early as possible for a new science curriculum it’s launching, and they want to pay for IT upgrades. In all, he said the list would cost over a million dollars.
“We know we can’t do it all, but we just ask them to do the best they can so we can do the best we can, and (we) appreciate that they do that year after year, after year,” said Miller.
He said the CBJ usually chooses to give the district as much as state law allows.
The school board is also discussing the list of issues they want legislators to consider in the upcoming legislative session. Miller said those priorities are mostly related to funding, but they will also ask legislators to “clean up” language in some bills that already passed.
He said those priorities will be finalized during the next school board meeting on Jan. 10.
In the meantime, he’s hoping the Juneau Assembly will be in the spirit to give.
