The Anchorage School Board is debating what to do about next year’s school budget in light of the governor’s proposed funding cuts. Wrapped into the discussion is the future of the middle schools and literacy programs.
ASD’s administration is proposing a $784 million budget that includes 43 new full time positions with teachers for both charter and neighborhood schools.
But if Governor Bill Walker’s proposed budget cuts pass the legislature, ASD will be short about $12 million for next year. That means losing staff, not adding.
Superintendent Ed Graff says they could cut their pilot programs, like literacy coaches, pre-K, and professional development. That includes 36 positions. Or they could cut 120 full-time positions from the district overall.
“You know close to 90% of what we do in our budget is related to people and personnel,” he told the School Board on Monday evening. “And you can talk about a lot of things but it’s still going to come down to FTE [full-time equivalent], or people.”
Via alaskapublic.org
image credit APEonline
