After months of back and forth between administrators, staff and school board members, the Juneau School District approved a budget for the next fiscal year on Thursday.
Still, the budget is based on uncertainties that could put the district in the red. It’s built on a $400 increase to the state’s base student allocation that has not happened yet. Alaska state Senators are considering a proposed $1,000 BSA increase that has been approved by the House.
And Superintendent Frank Hauser said a proposed regulation change from the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development could shake things up as well. It would modify what counts as a funding contribution from local governments and reduce how much money the district could receive from the City and Borough of Juneau.
“That DEED regulation change could have an impact of about $2.1 million for non-instructional funds,” Hauser said.
He added that the district is also in contract negotiations with three unions representing teachers, administrators and support staff. Contract changes could affect the budget, too.
Since its last meeting, the board removed anticipated savings from unfilled positions from its budget calculations, and found programs that can be paid for ahead of time with extra money in this year’s budget.
It also set aside funding for two teaching positions for the Tlingit Culture, Language and Literacy program. Those positions are funded by grants which expire this year.
While the district is working to get another year of grant funding for the program, they can’t apply for it until the fall. As a backup, Hauser recommended funding the positions through the district’s budget until grant money is secured.
Board President Deedie Sorensen moved to set money aside for the teachers, but not for the program’s principal – which is another grant funded position.
“The program has functioned for years without its own principal,” she said. “As we have more clarity on our budget, I am happy to pick that up again, but for right now and tonight, I want to make sure that we are funding the foundational pieces of the program.”
Jamie Shanley, an assistant education director for the regional Native nonprofit Sealaska Heritage Institute, spoke out during public testimony in support of funding the program’s principal.
“The principal plays such an important role in the support and all the extra that that team is doing. Taking her out of the equation adds even more to the shoulders of the teachers who are there,” Shanley said. “Not only are they teaching full time, they’re creating curriculum in their language while they’re learning their language and doing all the extra things that we know TCLL does.”
The board is expected to present the budget to the Juneau Assembly Finance Committee on April 5.
