School district funding in Alaska: What BSA really means

If you've ever wondered how local schools are funded, you are not alone. In Alaska, and especially here in the Mat-Su Borough, the way schools get their funding can be confusing. By learning about this process, we can better understand how decisions are made and where there might be opportunities for improvement.

School district funding in Alaska comes from several major sources. The biggest chunk arrives from the state government through a system designed to make sure every student has access to education, no matter where in Alaska they live. The state provides this money to local school districts, which then use it to pay for teachers, textbooks, technology, building costs, and all the other things schools need to operate. In the Mat-Su, the Borough also provides funding from a dedicated portion of property taxes raised locally. The federal government adds some funds, mostly for programs like special education or support for military families. None of the three cities have school powers, so they do not provide funding directly to education delivery.

At the heart of Alaska's school funding is the Base Student Allotment, often called the BSA. The BSA is basically a starting dollar amount that the state gives to schools for each student. Lawmakers in Juneau set the exact figure for the BSA, and it can change from year to year depending on the state budget and decisions made in the legislature. Politics plays a very large role in its determination. The idea behind the BSA is to create a fair, simple starting point for funding, but the actual amount each school district receives ends up being a bit more complicated.

Here's where it gets interesting. The state uses a formula to figure out the exact funding for each district, not just multiplying the BSA by the number of students. That's because Alaska is a big state with schools in some very remote places, and it costs much more to run a school in a tiny bush village than it does in a city like Anchorage or even here in the Mat-Su. To account for these differences, the state uses several "adjustments" in the funding formula.

These adjustments consider things like how remote the district is, whether the students need extra help learning English, the number of special education students, and even the size of a school. For example, small schools get a higher amount per student because it's more expensive to operate with only a handful of kids. After considering all these factors, the state determines an "adjusted ADM," or Average Daily Membership—the adjusted student count for funding. The state then multiplies this number by the BSA.

Once that basic state contribution is determined, local governments add more local funds if voters are supportive and if budgets allow. Once all these funds are added up, you get the full amount the school district can spend each year.

If you'd like to research more, the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development has a website with lots of information and clear explanations. The Mat-Su Borough School District website also posts updates about budgets and funding. Residents can also contact their local school board members or attend school board meetings to ask questions and learn more.

Setting the Base Student Allotment is often a topic of heated debate, not just because it involves dollars and cents, but because it's about competing visions for how best to support Alaska's students with the resources available. Lawmakers weigh everything from local school needs and regional costs of living to the overall state budget. While the discussion can be contentious, it stems from a shared commitment to Alaska's future through education; just with different ideas about how to get there.

Christian M. Hartley is a 40-year Alaskan resident with over 25 years of public safety experience and public service. He runs a freelance business, Big Lake Writer, from home in Big Lake that he shares with his wife of 19 years and their three teenage sons.