Amid uncertain funding from state, Superintendent lays out budget proposal

During the March 5 Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District (MSBSD) school board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Randy Trani presented a budget proposal that, if adopted, could impact the number of teachers and support staff, reduce programs, lower service contracts, and even see cuts to bus routes. This all comes as MSBSD administration works to bridge a $12 million deficit gap.

“The one thing I can guarantee about this is that it’s wrong. None of us know what the funding level will be,” Dr. Trani said leading off his presentation. That is because his plan was laid out before the state had not yet unveiled its budget.

MSBSD Deputy Superintendent Katie Gardner acknowledged that the final budget the school board will likely approve in June will look different than the one proposed. “Unfortunately we don’t have the luxury of waiting until information is confirmed.” She said that the board does have to take action to establish a budget to pass onto the Mat-Su Borough Assembly.

The MSBSD budget for the 2024-25 school year is $278.1 million, while the $281.3 million proposal for 2025-26 is higher than the current school-year spending. It calls for reducing the district's overall staff by about 3.5%, cuts that would include teachers and support staff, beyond retirements and relocations as needed depending on final budget decisions.

In addition to staff reductions, the proposed budget would also cut districtwide non-personnel spending by 15% and school-specific non-personnel spending by 10%.

Gardner said that the school board will be able to decide on two versions of the budget at the next school board meeting, saying that both versions will require reductions to services, reduction in salaries and benefits, non-personnel and district managed contract budgets to be reduced, and that they are assuming that health insurance and property and liability insurance rates will be increased, but they remain unknowns that they will not know the answers to until April or May.

“We are gonna have to attack that salary and benefit area. That’s personnel, and that’s a major issue,” said MSBSD member Ole Larson in reaction to the proposal, adding that the MSBSD is lucky in not having to lay people off like Anchorage has had to do. “We’re gonna have to really seriously look at programs and other things, depending on what the state does.”

Further budget discussions are planned for the next school board meeting on March 19 at 6:00 pm.