School district looks to budget cycle

WASILLA — The Mat-Su Borough School District wants to hear from residents on the preliminary fiscal year 2017 budget, and has planned several open houses for the coming weeks as well as an online survey to share information and take questions.

The first open house is Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Willow Elementary. Other open houses — each starts at 6:30 p.m. — include Feb. 11 at Mat-Su Central, Feb. 16 at Redington Junior/Senior High School and Feb. 18 at Valley Pathways.

The district also has posted an online budget survey, available through the end of the month, on its website at www.matsuk12.us. The current budget proposal can be found by scrolling to the bottom of the district webpage and clicking on “financial info.” Past budgets and the current proposal can be found on the right side of the page.

School district budgets are some of the first delivered during the year, and district officials are quick to point out the numbers are always in flux as the borough and state Legislature work through their respective processes. The borough typically allocates 3 percent annually for schools, and Gov. Bill Walker’s current budget proposal adds $50 to the state’s per-pupil allotment, bringing the projected state base student allocation to $5,930.

Still, the proposed MSBSD FY2017 budget outlines a current $8 million deficit.

“This year’s budget is similar to any other year,” said Superintendent Dr. Deena Paramo. “As always, we are going to do the best we can with what we have. We’re in the same boat as other districts in the state.”

Paramo said the current budget proposal — and the planned open houses — will provide a starting point for discussion.

“The cup can’t be half empty for kids as the state looks for cuts and other sources of funding,” Paramo said. “We will look for efficiencies and other ways where we can cut back.”

Despite the budget challenges, Paramo said the district continues to innovate with technical programs and new options for students with online resources. Those additions are not going to change, she said.

The district continues to grow, with a projected student enrollment of 18,819 for the next school year, an increase of 350 students over FY2016. The current 2015-16 year saw jump in enrollment of some 4 percent, or 708 students. By contrast, enrollment for the 2010-11 school year was 16,985 students.

School board president Susan Pougher encouraged parents and residents to attend the open houses.

“There is a deficit, but there isn’t going to be any talk of cutting teachers or programs. We will take things one step at a time,” Pougher said of the open houses. “We don’t want to panic students or parents.”

Contact reporter Steven Merritt at 352-2269 or steven.merritt@frontiersman.com