School board members prepare to vote on budget

  • By Kelly Sullivan
  • Monday, March 14, 2016 10:27pm
  • News

With less than a month from the vote, Board of Education members report they plan to approve the school district’s budget — though not without uneasiness.

Spending for next year has been reduced by $4.5 million from the current fiscal year, and further allocations or cuts from the state level are still uncertain.

“I think that what they have done is realistic,” said board member Marty Anderson. “You never want to lose programs.”

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Subjects like music and extracurricular activities like athletics have decisive value in developing social skills, critical thinking skills and hand-eye coordination, he said. However, sometimes it comes down to working with what is available.

“At the end of the day, you want the child to leave school and want them to be prepared for getting a college education or the workforce,” Anderson said.

Soldotna High School junior Brian Dusek, who fills the student seat and will offer an advisory vote at the April 4 meeting, said while future effects remain to be felt, he and his peers aren’t expecting any significant differences in the way daily schedules will operate next year.

Anderson said he is pleased with how administrators developed the budget this year, and added he has only voted against the proposed budget once in the dozen years he has filled a seat on the board.

Tim Navarre said the deficit, or lack thereof, is what sold him on this year’s budget.

The projected deficit now sits at $138,665, after some major slashes. The majority of the cuts, $3.1 million, are for 35.41 full time equivalent staff and certified staff, and the remaining $1.4 million comes from reductions to travel, supply, software and purchased services expenses. In 2015, staff and services were reduced by $1.25 million from the previous year, and by $1.38 in 2016.

The pupil-teacher ratio is set to rise, by 1 or 2 FTE, at all sites other than the school district’s two alternative high schools, Homer Flex and Kenai Alternative. Reductions in those two schools are not out of the question just yet. Board member Dan Castimore said he plans to make an amendment to the budget when it is presented in April to propose the board fund .5 FTE less for each school.

Aiming low early helps the principals, who are responsible for developing budgets for their individual schools, Navarre said. In terms of planning their year, is easier for site administrators to put a teacher back into their classrooms than remove one if more funding becomes available, he said.

By doing so the school district plans for a lower, more accurate deficit, Navarre said.

“You never spend all of your money,” Navarre said.

In early 2015 the school district projected between a $3.9-8.7 million deficit, and reported the actual deficit is just less than $1.5 million.

Making cuts ahead of time means sending a more conservative budget to the state and borough that also reflects the extensive reductions a school district made to achieve a balanced budget, Navarre said. Seeing those cuts on paper may have a real impact, and officials won’t question the school district later if the projected deficit varies from the actual deficit, he said.

Navarre is a longtime proponent of the state forward-funding education. He said if the school district knew, if even only one year, in advance what money they would be receiving from the state or borough, it would make budget development much smoother, he said.

Board member Liz Downing agreed that uncertainties cause uneasiness throughout the process.

“At this moment, we don’t know what the Legislature’s final budget will be, what the final borough budget will look like and we don’t know what the governor will do when it is time to sign the budget,” Downing said. “This always makes for some discomfort when passing the budget, but it is not a static document and we can and will make adjustments as needed.”

 

Reach Kelly Sullivan at kelly.sullivan@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Shrubs grow outside of the Kenai Courthouse on Monday, July 3, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai man pleads guilty to 2019 sexual assault

The man was arrested Dec. 4, 2019, after a person reported several injuries at a local hospital.

Economist and research analyst Andy Wink presents “State of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Economy” during the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District Industry Outlook Forum in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
KPEDD forum focuses on borough economy, vision for future

Where most economic indicators suggest fairly good health, housing appears to be a cause for concern, according to an economist presenting at forum.

State Sen. Löki Tobin (D-Anchorage) reviews an amendment on an education bill with other senators during a break in floor debate Monday at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Senate passes compromise education bill with $700 BSA hike by 19-1 vote; same-day House vote planned

Legislators agree to some policies sought by Republican minority, establishing education task force.

Member Tom Tougas speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Tourism Industry Working Group in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Tourism working group gets 2-month extension

In a 3-3 vote, the working group had earlier this month rejected a draft document with proposed recommendations.

Various electronics await to be collected and recycled during an electronics recycling event in Seldovia. (Photo courtesy of Cook Inletkeeper)
Cook Inletkeeper celebrates 20 years of electronics recycling

More than 646,000 pounds of electronic waste has been diverted from local landfills.

Liz Harpold, a staff member for Sen. Donny Olson (D-Golovin)​, explains changes to a bill increasing per-student education funding and making various policy changes during a Senate Finance Committee meeting on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Revised education bill with $700 BSA hike gets new policy measures, advances to Senate floor

Changes easing charter school rules, adding new district evaluations fall short of governor’s agenda.

Students of Sterling Elementary School carry a sign in support of their school during a special meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
District adopts budget with severe cuts, school closures

The preliminary budget assumes a $680 increase in per-student funding from the state.

A vote board shows a veto override attempt Tuesday by the Alaska Legislature on a $1,000 increase to per-student education funding falling short of the necessary two-thirds majority with a 33-27 vote. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Senate adds $700 BSA hike to school phone policy bill a day after veto override on $1,000 increase fails

Lawmakers say quick floor vote by Senate, concurrence by House may set up another override session.

The Soldotna Public Library is seen on a snowy Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna library advisory board hears update on federal funding cuts

The federal government’s dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Services could cause the reduction or elimination of some statewide library services as soon as July 1.

Most Read