Katie Anastas

Ketchikan Rep. Dan Ortiz asked legislators to support an increase to the base student allocation at a House Finance Committee meeting Thursday. 

Ortiz told the committee that, in recent years, the state has spent more money on the Permanent Fund Dividend than on the base student allocation, or BSA — the amount of money per student school districts get from the state.

“I think that should say something to most people,” he said.

This year, Gov. Mike Dunleavy has proposed spending $2.5 billion on the PFD.

The BSA hasn’t increased since 2017. Last year, Gov. Mike Dunleavy approved a $30 increase to the BSA starting in July 2023 as part of the Alaska Reads Act. But many school administrators and teachers say that’s not enough to keep up with inflation, which has driven up costs of transportation, heating and employee benefits. 

Legislators are now considering a bigger boost. Ortiz said without it, districts may have to cut teaching positions and close schools to deal with their budget gaps.

School districts throughout the state are tentatively planning their budgets for next year. The Ketchikan School District has considered cutting 57 positions, or 15% of its staff. The Anchorage School District plans to close two elementary schools and increase class sizes. And the Juneau School District’s proposed budget relies on an increase to the BSA of at least $400.

Ortiz originally suggested a $1,250 increase to catch up with inflation. The version of the bill that passed the House Education Committee last week included an increase of $680 this year and another $120 next year.

Ortiz said that’s not enough to meet the needs of most school districts, especially those in rural Alaska.

“As this bill moves through the process in this committee, I would welcome an amendment that would increase the BSA [by] $800 rather than the $680,” he told the committee.

Some conservatives have argued that state funding for public education shouldn’t increase until test scores do. Last year’s statewide test scores showed more than half of Alaska students tested below grade level in reading and math.

Anchorage Republican Rep. Julie Coulombe said she wanted “to be sure that [her] constituents have appropriate expectations” about the proposed BSA increase.

“There’s no promise to increase test scores or student improvement,” she said. “This is a dire need of keeping it warm, water, and all the things that go into running a school.”

Ortiz said giving districts more money would help them implement requirements of the Alaska Reads Act this fall.

“Not addressing the needs out there due to heavy, heavy inflation that we’ve seen in the last number of years…that’s not going to help our outcomes,” he said.

The Senate Education Committee has proposed a $1,000 increase next year. The committee referred its bill to the Senate Finance Committee earlier this month.

The House Finance Committee will likely take up the bill again in mid-April. The 2023 legislative session is expected to end in mid-May.

In this newscast:

• The Juneau School Board announces their pick for the next superintendent of the Juneau School District.
• Advocates and insiders say the state’s fixes to its months-long food stamp backlog aren’t enough.
• Juneau Drag is scheduled to perform at the Southeast Alaska State Fair, drawing pushback from some Haines residents.

The Juneau School Board has selected Frank Hauser as superintendent of the Juneau School District.

“The experience that Frank Hauser brings in schools in Alaska was really valuable and really important to me,” school board member Brian Holst said in an interview Friday. 

Hauser has been superintendent of the Sitka School District since 2019. He was a finalist for superintendent positions in Anchorage last year and Fairbanks earlier this year. 

Hauser was previously a music teacher and principal in Anchorage, where he was named Alaska’s 2019 Principal of the Year. 

“It’s important to us and to our community that our diversity be embraced, and we reminded ourselves that the Anchorage School District is one of the most diverse in the nation,” Holst said. “Having experience in that district, I thought, was very valuable.”

At a public forum on Monday, Hauser highlighted his familiarity with the state’s education system.

“I’ve been coming to Juneau for almost 10 years now to speak to legislators on both sides of the aisle about Alaska schools and support for Alaska students and our educators,” he said. “These are the relationships I already have in place, and I think those are some of the supports and skills I would bring into the Juneau School District.”

Another skill he’ll bring to Juneau, he said, is budgeting. He said transparency was important to him during last year’s budget process in Sitka.

“There were no questions about where the money was, where it was going, how we’re using the funds to support our students and to make sure the staff have the resources they need,” he said. “It comes down to integrity and making sure the community, the assembly, knows that we’re being good stewards of those resources.”

Hauser was the only finalist based in Alaska. The other finalists for the job were Carlee Simon, who was superintendent of Alachua County Public Schools in Florida for two years, and Thom Peck, who has been superintendent of Lewistown Public Schools in Montana for six years.

Holst said Hauser’s three-year contract will begin July 1.Hauser replaces Bridget Weiss, who announced her resignation in October after five years on the job.

In this newscast:

• Alaska Congresswoman Mary Peltola speaks in support of the Second Amendment.
• The Alaska Marine Highway System doesn’t have enough crew to man all of its ferries this summer.
• In Homer, a virtual tour helps family and caregivers understand the experience of dementia.

School board members are set to choose the new Juneau School District superintendent on Wednesday.

On Monday night, the three finalists for the position answered questions from the school board and the public. 

Board President Deedie Sorensen moderated the forum, which was held at the Thunder Mountain High School library. Candidates were interviewed individually, and audience members submitted written questions.

Frank Hauser, who has been the superintendent of the Sitka School District since 2021, highlighted his familiarity with Alaska’s school funding system. He said he’s felt the effects of flat-funding from the state as an administrator in Anchorage and now as a superintendent in Sitka.

“Just last week, I sat on the phone for five hours waiting to testify in support of HB 65 – an increase to the base student allocation – because I understand how important increased funding is for the districts,” he said. “I understand because I’ve been living it.”

When asked about a time he faced opposition for a decision, Hauser spoke about bringing Sitka students back to full-time, in-person learning in the fall of 2021. He said he had to balance safety concerns with the risk of further learning loss.

“It was definitely a challenge, and I did take some heat for that decision,” he said.

Carlee Simon was the second candidate interviewed. She used her introduction to talk about her time as superintendent of Alachua County Public Schools, where she defied Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ban on school mask mandates.

“I lost that position because the governor removed one of our board members, put in an appointee, and 14 months after my position started, I was removed,” she said. 

When asked about supporting vulnerable students, Simon discussed working with organizations like Equality Florida to create a support guide for LGBTQ+ students. Florida’s Department of Education told the Alachua County district to remove the guide after the state passed its Parental Rights in Education Act, often called the “Don’t Say Gay” law.

She also spoke about her experience studying school finance.

“I’m very comfortable talking about budgets, I’m very comfortable talking about financial needs, and I’m very comfortable advocating,” she said.

The third candidate, Thom Peck, is superintendent of Lewistown Public Schools in Montana. He said Lewistown’s distance from bigger cities and its tight-knit community make it similar to Juneau.

“A superintendent needs to be visible,” he said. “Every school event, every spelling bee, every music concert, every activity, I’m there.”

When asked about how he would handle district finances, Peck said that his “first budget concern” was the fact that the City and Borough of Juneau owns district buildings.  

“That is weird to me,” he said. “I’m not used to that at all. I think where I would start is actually forming a really strong partnership with the city.”

The city has sent the maximum allowable amount of local funding to the school district each year for more than a decade. City leaders are considering contributing an additional $2.5 million this year.

The school board is interviewing the three candidates at the library on Tuesday. The board plans to make a decision on Wednesday and will announce its selection at noon on Friday.

This story has been updated to include the board’s announcement date.

The first cruise ship of the year arrives in three weeks, but the Juneau School District is already feeling the effects of the upcoming season.

District leaders told families Sunday night that a shortage of bus drivers due, in part, to an earlier than usual start to the cruise ship season would lead to delays in bus service on Monday.

Cassee Olin, the district’s administrative services director, said 11 of the district’s drivers were out on Monday because of illnesses, family emergencies and vacation. And four of the 11 won’t be returning – they’re set to resign at the end of the week to start work at tour bus companies.

“It’s actually sooner than normal,” Olin said. “Instead of seeing this in early April, we usually see it at the end of April.”

The first cruise ship is set to dock in Juneau on April 17. Last year, the first one came on April 25.

In a normal year, Olin said the district would have two or three extra drivers on standby to fill in for drivers who are out sick or on vacation. This year, they don’t.

First Student, the company the district hires for student transportation, has brought two drivers from the Wasilla area to Juneau for two weeks to help. That still leaves the district nine drivers short. It’s enough to cause 15 to 20 minute delays across all routes.

“We’re trying to not cancel any routes. That’s our main objective at the end of the day,” Olin said. “But unfortunately, if we continue to lose drivers any more than we already are and not get any new drivers from other places around the state, we may eventually have to cancel routes.”

For now, Olin said parents can check their email and the district’s website for updates on route changes.

The last day of school is May 26.