This spring, schools throughout the state have felt the effects of ambiguous school funding for Fiscal Year 25. Although Wrangell Public Schools haven’t taken dismal actions, like laying off teachers yet, Wrangell’s Borough Assembly discussed their local funding contribution during last week’s meeting.
The City and Borough planned to contribute approximately $450,000 less than what the school requested.
David Wilson, president of the school board, said it’s a dire situation.
“We are asking for the cap because we can’t count on funds that may appear as if by magic,” he said. “The governor has already vetoed the $650 increase to raise the BSA this year and the legislature failed to veto or to override his veto.”
The maximum funding the school district could receive from the local government is $1.752 million.
“Our students are not hope. They are the future.”
Superintendent Bill Burr said that although they’ve been able to build their reserves over the last few years, the school district has been spending money out of their deficit. He said they increased the reserves through grants and paid more staff through them. But, the grants are coming to an end.
“We hope that the governor doesn’t veto,” he said. “We hope, except our students are not hope. They are the future.”
State lawmakers agreed on one-time education funding last week. Now the operating budget goes to Governor Mike Dunleavy for approval.
If the Governor vetoes the education funding, the Assembly agrees to amend the initial proposal and give the maximum contribution to Wrangell Public Schools. And if not, the City and Borough will give the initial amount of $1.3 million.
Borough Manager Mason Villarma said they want to support the school district but they only have one more year of contributing at the rate they’ve been giving– the maximum cap – until Congress reappropriates the Secure Rural Schools funding. This is funding for schools, roads and other municipal services from the U.S. Forest Service. He said there’s always trepidation on it not coming through. He also said that both the City and Borough and the school district are operating on really lean budgets.
Villarma encouraged the school board and the assembly to get together in the fall to plan ahead and figure out a way to become more economically sustainable.
“My job as manager is to propose sustainable solutions,” he said. “If they’re not sustainable, then they should be highly red flagged as not being sustainable, and caution the assembly and governing bodies to take appropriate action.”
If the governor vetoes the one-time funding for next school year, then Wrangell will have to hold off on infrastructure and road projects until later.
All assembly members voted yes to contributing $1.3 million to the schools.
As for amending it if the governor vetoes, only assembly members Anne Morrison and Michael Otteson voted against it.
