Dear ASD Families and Staff,

I am writing to provide you with an update on ASD’s FY25 budget development process. ASD faces a $98 million dollar structural deficit, largely due to unprecedented inflation, stagnant state funding, and lower student enrollment. Per Anchorage Charter requirements, ASD must submit a balanced budget to the Anchorage Assembly by the first Monday in March.

The School Board reviewed the Administration’s FY25 budget proposal during a special Board meeting on Tuesday, Feb, 27th. This meeting came on the heels of the historic passage of Senate Bill 140 (SB140) through the Alaska House of Representatives on Feb. 22 and the Alaska Senate on Feb. 26. SB140 addresses K-12 funding, charter schools, student transportation, correspondence schools, the Base Student Allocation (BSA), and support for reading improvements.

Hours before the special School Board Meeting, Governor Mike Dunleavy held a press briefing to discuss the education bill, where he expressed concerns about the bill as it is currently written. Regarding SB140, the Governor stated that “It’s a three-legged horse, meaning it’s not going to run very far.” He continued “But we can fix that. We have 15 days before it becomes law or before I veto. And I made it clear that if there are not certain elements in that bill… I won’t sign it into law. I’ll veto it.”

These developments added a new dimension of uncertainty to ASD’s budget development deliberations. Ultimately, the Board unanimously approved an amendment to the budget, which included reversing the elimination of 69.3 teacher positions and maintaining the IGNITE program. This amendment adds back $8.7 million to the budget, roughly the equivalent of a $100 BSA increase, to benefit student outcomes.

While the Administration and School Board members recognize that projecting a minimum revenue increase of $8.7M carries some risk, the amended budget proposal is also an acknowledgement that 93% of the legislature passed SB140, which would increase the BSA by $680 if signed into law. It is our hope that the legislature and Governor’s office continue their conversations to agree upon a path for this to occur.

These developments mean that, while the School Board has passed an FY25 budget, ASD depends on the State to increase funding for public education this legislative session. Should school districts receive no additional revenue this year, ASD will need to swiftly change course and make reductions that could impact your children’s classroom experience. While this worst case scenario is discomforting, I am committed to being transparent with you as we weather this storm together.

Years of flat funding have left us, along with other districts across Alaska, in a fiscal crisis. I encourage you to voice your support for investing in public education by contacting your elected officials. Your stories and perspectives matter, and they play a vital role in shaping our priorities moving forward.

Thank you for your unwavering dedication and commitment to our students' success.

Sincerely,

Superintendent Bryantt

Anchorage School Board President Margo Bellamy, Asa Utic (12th Frontier Charter), Colton Penetac (10th BDEAHS), Gwyn Eggleston (10th BDEAHS), Anchorage School Board Treasurer Kelly Lessens, and Maggie Cothran (11th Polaris & AMCS)

Chugiak High School Art Teacher Rachel Wall and Homestead Elementary School PTO President and Kindergarten Paraprofessional Erin Bodner joined forces to bring 20 high school arts students and two elementary students from each grade at Homestead together to create a mural inside Homestead that celebrates the students' I-Did-A-Read program. The Iditarod-inspired reading program encourages the elementary students to read at home to meet different checkpoints/reading minute goals. Thank you, Rachel and Erin, for bringing your communities together to celebrate reading through the arts!

Chugiak Art Teacher and Homestead Parent, Rachel Wall, far left, center row, led efforts with Homestead PTO President/Kindergarten Paraprofessional Educator, Erin Bodner, far right, center row, to bring these creative Chugiak High School students to Homestead for the mural project.

Lake Otis Elementary School students and staff participated in Read Across America Day and were joined by the University of Alaska Anchorage Volleyball Team, the Anchorage Police Department, and the Anchorage Fire Department.

We at North Star Elementary want to extend our thanks to Maintenance and Operations as a whole!

We have received great support from ASD BPO Supervisor Specialist Rob Galosich, with our North Star Elementary BPO Jay bee De Lara, supporting our night crew, as well as ASD Maintenance Supervisor Brad Thiesen and ASD Security Specialist Mike Ireland throughout the year.

This team manages so many sites and with all the added snowfall, extreme temps, and staffing, we greatly appreciate the support they give and the work they do.

They help us keep our school safe.

We love this photo simply because we all happen to be matching nicely with our teammates but we want to express our appreciation for Maintenance and Operations as a whole and the huge lift they do.

Margo Bellamy, President

Carl Jacobs, Vice President

Kelly Lessens, Treasurer

Dora Wilson, Clerk

Dave Donley

Pat Higgins

Andy Holleman