MSBSD explains need for bond

PALMER — It seems fitting the Mat-Su Borough School District is adding a financial literacy course in its high schools as it continues to struggle with budget issues and educate residents on the need for a $232 million facilities bond this fall.

On the positive end of the district’s financial picture, the state House of Representatives passed a bill this week that would funnel $2.3 million to the district for student expenses, which would keep 24 teachers employed and help keep class sizes reasonable.

And the Senate passed a bill that would allot $1.3 million for vocational education in the district. Although neither has been approved by the other legislative body, MSBSD bean counter Ken Forrest told the school board Wednesday he’s optimistic lawmakers will come through for Mat-Su.

“It’s looking pretty good at this point,” said Forrest, assistant superintendent for Business and Operations.

Board Member Neal Lacy, however, was a bit more skeptical of the district’s financial position. He told the board and administrators he’s been studying the budget over the last few weeks and believes the district’s priorities are backward.

“We don’t have a revenue problem,” Lacy said. “We have a spending problem.”

Lacy pointed to the $100,000 spent on a Colorado-based consultant to adjust attendance boundaries and $75,000 paid to a lobbyist to convince lawmakers to support education.

He said he believes hiring a pre-kindergarten teacher for struggling youngsters would be a better use of those funds.

None of the administrators present responded to his statements.

Most of the meeting focused on how the board can gauge residents’ perceptions about another bond issue and how to make a case for the need to replace and upgrade aging, over-crowded schools.

Forrest said he contacted the Ivan Moore polling agency about doing a phone survey in the Valley and was told it would cost about $10,000.

District Spokeswoman Catherine Esary told the board the polling agency would need a sample of at least 450 residents and that calling cellphones is essential these days for getting a representative sample. She also said it costs more to conduct a cellphone survey than it would if landlines were dialed.

Forrest said the Ivan Moore firm has the most experience with school district surveys.

Board members said they’ve been approached by constituents after a recent Frontiersman article about the district’s need for a $232 million bond and that it’s difficult for them to easily explain it.

Board President Mike Dunleavy, a retired social studies teacher, said people have stopped him in store parking lots wanting to know why the district suddenly needs so much money for its schools.

Dunleavy said people don’t seem to understand that because the district and Mat-Su Borough have put off needed maintenance on schools in favor of educational needs over the years when past bonds have been rejected by voters, the schools have now reached a critical stage for repair and replacement.

A recent district survey about school bonds also revealed that only 54 percent of those surveyed understood that the state covers at least 60 percent of the costs of such facilities bonds, which greatly reduces the burden on local property owners.

“Not everyone understands that not all the bonds are sold immediately. It would be over a five-year period,” MSBSD Superintendent Ken Burnley said.

If the state picked up 60 percent of the $232 million bond, the local share would be $92.8 million, Forrest explained, adding there would be a nearly 9 percent return on the investment that would add up to $825 million over five years.

“That doesn’t include the lasting economic impact of things like bringing people into the Valley because of our improved facilities,” Forrest said.

For homeowners, that would equate to either $80 or $107 per year for every $100,000 of assessed value, depending on whether the state picked up 70 percent or 60 percent of the cost. That equates to a monthly rate of either $6.67 or $8.92, district staff explained.

Forrest said state funding formulas actually provide less funding for schools with more than 750 students, so Wasilla High is getting $400,000 less each year it exceeds that enrollment. WHS currently has more than 1,300 students.

“The state has a unique formula that rewards smaller schools,” he said.

This is one of the reasons a new combined secondary school is needed off Knik-Goose Bay Road as soon as possible, Forrest said.

But some board members needed more convincing.

“I’m struggling as a taxpayer on this $232 million bond,” Board Member Lynn Gattis said. “I understand the educational aspect, but right from the get-go how do we ensure that the items we’re asking for … are the most essential.”

Maintenance staff reported to the board that school generators, over-burdened electrical systems, worn-out lockers, rusty bathroom wash stations, stained and ripped carpets, drafty windows, leaking roofs, cracked asphalts, worn-out fields and a myriad of other items that have reached the end of their life cycles must be fixed or replaced soon.

“Many things on the list are simply due to age,” Don Carney, district facilities coordinator, told the board Wednesday. “They’re just worn out. The longer we put things off, the worse the situation gets.”

The board decided to continue discussing the issue at its June 1 meeting in preparation of a possible vote June 15 on what it will request the Mat-Su Borough Assembly put on the Oct. 4 ballot.

Contact K.T. McKee at kate.mckee@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.