The state legislature last week reversed Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of new school funding for this year – a funding boost Haines Borough School District officials say will help, but not solve, district financial struggles.
In recent months, district officials have warned of a dire financial situation, with increasing costs made worse by over a decade of stagnant funding from the state that has not kept pace with inflation.
The legislature’s recent veto override adds an additional $200 of funding per student annually, which should add roughly $135,000 in the school’s budget for this year, depending on the final count of students. That avoids a big drop-off in funding even from last year, when the legislature passed along a one-time funding boost to school districts.
Even prior to last week’s increase, the district’s $5,685,810 instructional budget had been balanced, with total spending equal to revenue for the year. That was thanks to a large infusion of borough funding and a series of staffing cuts planned for the upcoming school year, including reducing the school librarian position to half time and not hiring to fill vacant paraeducator positions.
But new district superintendent Lilly Boron said she wasn’t considering the new state funds to be extra.
“This is not a bonus,” Boron said Tuesday. “This is something that’s helping us tread water.”
For one, the district is currently spending down savings on non-instructional categories like school lunch and transportation. The new funding could go towards closing some of those gaps.
The district will also begin negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with its staff this winter, and Boron said she hopes to channel funding towards salary increases.
The district has struggled with staff recruitment and retention; for instance, lunch aide positions have been advertised but vacant for a year-and-a-half, Boron said. A salary bump, theoretically could help address those staffing struggles.
“Our classified and certified staff, their (salaries are) very low even comparatively within the town,” Boron said Wednesday. “It’s hard to compete with other workforce opportunities when we’re not even competitive locally.”
Still, even if new funding goes towards addressing these needs, the district’s finances will still be treading in the deep end. The district enters the school year with just under $300,000 in the bank. That’s enough to cover roughly one month of operating costs — far lower than the district is supposed to have saved, said district business manager Judy Erekson. The recommended benchmark is to have a general fund balance equal to at least 10% of total expenditures. The current savings would need to be nearly doubled to meet that standard.
Given that state of affairs, Boron and school board members said they would continue to search for savings – possibly negotiating new insurance contracts, for instance – but emphasized the need for continued funding increases. “Anytime something as momentous as this (veto override) happens, it’s really important to thank our legislators, who have been tireless advocates for us,” Boron said at a school board meeting Tuesday. “But it’s not the end all be all. I think the legislature knows there is work to be done, and we need more than the (veto override) to keep up with inflation.”