A surprise decision by the Anchorage Assembly will take away $15 million the Anchorage School District expected to have for running schools next year. If that decision sticks, the district will need to reconsider its earlier decision about how to use federal stimulus funds.
The school district will face a choice between cutting basic services or paying for new technology, maintenance and special student programs.
The Assembly directed the school district to plan on getting the same amount of tax revenue as this year. That amount would be $15 million less than allowed under the city's tax cap.
That impulse to hold down tax collections for next year is understandable. The local economy is wobbly and people are struggling. Neither the schools nor city government can escape closer scrutiny of their requests for local taxpayers' money.
But some of the squeeze on the school district is driven by jockeying over the city's part of the budget. The six-member Assembly majority is looking at taxes levied through the school district to help fill the gap in their plan for city government spending.
The Assembly is willing to give some of that $15 million in tax money back to the district -- but only if the district agrees to spend the money on expenses that are normally paid by city government. One example is the police-officers-in-the-schools program.
Given the Assembly's directive, some have suggested that the school district can use a portion of its federal economic stimulus money to backfill at least some of the lost tax money.
School Superintendent Carol Comeau says she and the board considered that option. But she says they are already putting the stimulus money to good use and they don't want to reprogram it. The funds are paying for one-time expenses, like training, urgent building maintenance, computers and other technology, along with pilot programs dealing with two chronic challenges: boosting student achievement and reducing the number of dropouts.
"It is the choice we made not to stop doing the projects we are doing with the stimulus funding," Comeau said Wednesday.
But she indicated that could change as the district figures out how to cope with the cuts.
It may be the case that "the cuts are so draconian ... and people say maybe we should revisit" how the district is using the remaining stimulus money. "That could happen," she said, "but at this point, we're not planning on it."
"This is time to make hard decisions about what to reduce ... and I expect those to be permanent reductions."
At least $19 million of the stimulus money is budgeted for computers, printers, network upgrades, wireless technology and things like "fire alarm systems, security systems, intercom/PA upgrades, lighting upgrades, VAV boxes, and HVAC repair." A much smaller share is going to pay for teachers and others who actually work with children.
As the district goes looking for ways to cope with the Assembly's decision to cut next year's tax revenue, the stimulus money that's not being used on front-line education -- teachers and counselors -- may be a good place to start.
BOTTOM LINE: Federal stimulus money might help schools cope with this surprise funding cut.