District pins hopes on legislators

MAT-SU -- Before this session of the Alaska Legislature even began, lawmakers introduced several bills that could greatly help the Mat-Su Borough School District's budget.

The lion's share of the district's funding comes from the state -- about 67.5 million this year, said Eddy Jeans, school finance manager for the state's Department of Education. How the state determines what to give each district is based on a complicated formula that combines a flat amount per student with other factors such as school size, special education needs and the differences in costs between districts.

Put simply, the flat rate, called the foundation formula, is currently $4,010 per student (the adjusted daily membership, or ADM).

At least three bills would increase the foundation formula. House Bill 26, introduced by Rep. Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, would increase the amount to $4,128. Sen. Gary Wilken, R-Fairbanks, has introduced Senate Bill 1, which ups the amount to $4,090. Sen. Thomas Wagoner, R-Kenai, has introduced SB14, which increases the foundation formula to $4,110.

Another bill introduced in the Senate, SB 3 (by Sen. Bettye Davis, a Democrat from Anchorage), leaves the foundation formula at $4,010 but provides for increases every year based on the Consumer Price Index.

Mat-Su district officials have complained that the current formula leaves no room for cost of living increases. "Our salaries are inflation-proofed," said Kim Floyd, the district's public information officer. "The foundation formula is not."

Last year, the Mat-Su school district had an ADM of 19,475 students. "I don't know what we're projecting for this year," she said, but she noted that if the foundation formula increased by, say, $100, it could mean an increase of about $2 million for the district.

"Yeah, that would be very nice," Floyd said.

While other recent events may hurt the budget for next year (see related story on the Alaska School District Cost Study), district administrators see these bills as a ray of hope. "We look forward to working with our legislators on this issue," Floyd said. "We have a great connection with our delegation right now. They are very supportive, and just as concerned as we are on this issue."