School board approves budget as questions over state funding loom

Juneau School Board members Dan DeBartolo, Emil Mackey and Andi Story prepare to vote on the FY19 district budget at a special meeting March 27, 2018. (Photo by Adelyn Baxter/KTOO)
Juneau School Board members Dan DeBartolo, Emil Mackey and Andi Story prepare to vote on the district’s Fiscal Year 2019 budget at a special meeting on Tuesday. (Photo by Adelyn Baxter/KTOO)

The Juneau School Board passed its annual budget Tuesday night, approving an estimated $85 million to $86 million for next school year.

The board proposed some cuts but ultimately added to the budget during the four-hour special meeting. Director of Administrative Services David Means said he did not immediately have the final budget amount available, but would know Wednesday once he had a chance to run the numbers.

The district’s budget remains full of uncertainty. The state Legislature has yet to approve a spending bill. District staff built the budget based on the assumption that the Legislature would raise next year’s base student allocation, the amount of money the state sends school districts per typical student.

A bill currently in committee, HB 339, would raise the BSA by $100 per student to $6,030. That would mean an additional $1 million for Juneau schools.

The budget also assumes that the Juneau Assembly will spend the maximum amount it’s allowed to on local schools under state law. That has been the case in recent years. But the district will also ask for another $1 million for student transportation, food services and high school activities not subject to the cap.

The school district intends to submit its budget to the city by the end of the week. The Assembly then has until the end of May to determine its contribution.

Sign up for The Signal

Top Alaska stories delivered to your inbox every week

Site notifications
Update notification options
Subscribe to notifications