The Juneau School District released a budget simulation tool on Wednesday that allows people to build and submit what they think the district’s budget should look like.
Balancing Act focuses on building the district’s operating budget. That includes funding for student instruction, including teachers, administrators and school supplies.
The district originally planned to also send a budget survey to families earlier this month. But Juneau School Board Vice President Elizabeth Siddon said during a budget work session last month she was concerned that the community might not see its responses reflected in the budget.
“I don’t want to put a survey out that is not real clear to the public how we used it later, especially in our budget,” she said. “So this all needs to have clear line of sight, what we’re going to do with the feedback we get in the budgeting process.”
The board unanimously decided to set the survey aside this year after board member Steve Whitney brought up the idea.
The budget tool starts off with a preliminary budget that maintains all of the district’s current services going into the next school year. It gives the public options on where they can add or cut teachers and funding. But there are some limits.
Some funding is required by law and can’t be changed. Other services can’t be cut by more than 10%. Information in the tool states larger cuts “would likely result in the inability to maintain compliance.”
The initial budget begins with a $5.3 million dollar deficit and assumes the city will contribute $35.8 million – the maximum it’s legally allowed to. Even when making all the cuts possible within the tool, the district is still left with a $1.1 million deficit. That could be covered with the district’s savings.
There’s an opportunity within Balancing Act to write comments on every source of revenue and expenditures.
Juneau School District Chief of Staff Kristin Bartlett said in an email the tool will likely close between the first and second reading of the budget, which is currently scheduled between Feb. 19 and March 10.
This isn’t the first time Juneau residents have been able to build their own budget. The city released its own version when building a budget in 2022.The next budget related meeting is Saturday at 8:30 a.m. at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. Community members can also submit written feedback by emailing budgetinput@juneauschools.org. The board is expected to approve a budget by March 12.
