Palin’s stimulus decision irks educators

PALMER — With the school district facing a possible shortfall that could end up costing dozens of jobs, Superintendent George Troxel said Thursday he opposes Governor Palin’s move to refuse federal funding.

The money would have come to Alaska through President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus program.

Troxel, at the school board’s meeting Thursday, said the money was aimed at the district’s neediest children.

“The children of our state will not have access to the benefits of the stimulus funding,” he said.

In an interview prior to the meeting, board president Jim Colver said the district had hopes that some of that money could help offset costs at the district. Unless more money comes in that the district hopes for, 60 positions are facing the axe.

At the meeting, Colver retained his optimism that the money would come, pointing out that the Legislature still hasn’t had it’s say in the matter.

“I think our bridge over troubled water is going to be rebuilt. I think the Legislature is going to override this,” he said.

Board member Myrl Thompson echoed the sentiments of Colver and Troxel.

“I’m just a little miffed at the governor’s announcement today,” he said.

Thompson said that another avenue of funding — the borough — needs to be pursued. Last year, the Borough Assembly’s contribution to the schools was lower than the maximum allowed by law.

“This is going to be the year that we’re going to need to ask for 100 percent,” Thompson said.

For his part, board member Brian Sullivan disagreed with Troxel’s assessment that the lack of federal dollars would hit needy students hardest. He said he thought the board had done a good job funding special education. Families with moderate incomes, he said, would likely feel the impact more.

“Middle-class families in the Valley are going to notice that there are less teachers in the building,” Sullivan said.

At this point in the process, the board puts the budget together as a list, with different cut-off points. At each one, a certain part of the district — small schools, operations and maintenance, extracurriculars — would be funded to a certain level, be it a reduced from last year or increased.

The list offers quite a range. At about $237 million, the district would have basically the same funding it had last year, but since costs for many things have increased, most areas of the school would end up having to reduce costs by 5 percent. Funding at the borough’s legally mandated cap for schools would leave staffing levels steadier but put the budget into the range of $243 million.

The school district also puts together what is called an enhanced package, in which staff and parents coming up with budget packages are asked to break out their wish lists. If everything sought in those enhanced packages were funded, the budget would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $245 million. The board tacked on a $1 million placeholder for possibly bringing custodians back under its roof, rather than having the duties outsourced, bringing the budget total to more than $246 million.

The board also re-jiggered the ranking of the list and voted to send it on to the Borough Assembly. When the assembly decides on a number, the board will take another crack at the budget.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.