Steller Community,
I have heard from many of you about your concern with our fiscal position in Alaska Education and how it is affecting Steller. I am worried about the impact from an increase in state budget cuts and feel the result will include teacher lay-offs, less course offerings, thus a decrease in student opportunities.
Dr. Deena Bishop, Superintendent, has shared information about a possible reduction in force to ASD staff, as a 5% cut for which the State Senate is proposing would result in a $24 million deficit. This deficit would be on top of the $15 million ASD reduction addressed when the 2017-18 budget was approved by the Anchorage School Board in February. The district’s budget was built on the Governor and State House’s proposal of flat funding, which in these times the ASD administration considered acceptable, although troubling. If a further reduction does occur, programs may be affected — languages, gifted, Special Education, sports, district programs, personnel support, special schools, courses, etc. All aspects of ASD programs and schools will be reviewed for reductions if state funding is reduced. If you are interested in sharing your opinion on the fiscal issues affecting public education, contact information for legislative committee members is listed below.
Senate Conference Committee Members:
· Senator Lyman Hoffman – Senator.Lyman.Hoffman@akleg.
· Senator Anna MacKinnon – Senator.Anna.MacKinnon@akleg.
· Senator Donny Olson – Senator.Donny.Olson@akleg.gov
House Conference Committee Members:
· Representative Paul Seaton – Representative.Paul.Seaton@
· Representative Neal Foster – Representative.Neal.Foster@
. Representative Lance Pruitt – Representative.Lance.Pruitt@
Thank you for your time and concern,
Reed