SPECTRUM: Fiscal responsibility in the Mat-Su Borough School District

Since becoming superintendent, I have made it a priority to attend community meetings and listen to input regarding the school district. Every conversation inevitably returns to the increasing costs of education. Your feedback has led to many internal conversations within our district that will continue to allow us to improve the quality of education while being fiscally responsible to our taxpayers. We have heard from many that before we engage in discussions regarding additional revenue, we must first share our efforts of cost containment. With this spirit, we have requested the Borough conduct a third party review of our expenditures and organizational structure.

A frequent question I receive in the community is the topic of energy management. Utility expenses account for 3.5 percent of the district’s operating budget. The district was an early adopter of best practices in energy savings, including automated controls with timing settings and data dashboards to monitor use. Some would argue that technology is a luxury in today’s fiscal climate. Yet, when harnessed correctly, technology can yield significant savings. The cost of the district’s standard student device is under $300; the cost of a single textbook can easily exceed $150. At some point in the future, it will simply become more cost efficient to use electronic devices than the traditional model of textbooks and consumable workbooks.

As a human resources organization, the largest expenditure in the district is salaries and benefits; it accounts for nearly 85 percent of the operating budget. A specific area of focus at the local, state, and national level is health care. Nationally, the average cost of health care per household is $14,630; in Alaska, the cost per household is $23,222. For a district with over 2,000 employees, health insurance is an annual expense of $40 million. As one of the largest cost-drivers, there is also the opportunity for significant savings. It should come as no surprise the school board has made this a top priority for the district leadership to find efficiencies.

However, it is not just a matter of simply shopping for a better rate or shifting costs to individuals. Price transparency is an expectation in today’s free market economy; yet the district’s insurance company, the Public Employee Health Trust, continuously refuses to share relevant health insurance information in order to evaluate and assess whether to propose a change in the district plan. This is an unacceptable practice that is a part of the larger problem with the increasing costs of health care. Finding cost saving programs while still providing adequate coverage is advantageous to both our district and our employees. As superintendent, I am committed to finding every efficiency we can to ensure dollars are directed into the classroom.

Despite year after year of budget cuts, our students continue to achieve with high levels of success. This year we celebrated a graduation rate of 81 percent, which is a nine percent increase over the past six years. While I believe the district employs many cost containment strategies, I am confident we can continue to find efficiencies in the ways we operate. My door is always open to our students, families, employees, and community members; your feedback is greatly appreciated and an integral part of our continued success.

Dr. Monica Goyette is the superintendent of the Mat-Su Borough School District.