Anchorage Montessori says September repairs passed its yearly budget as ACE capital grants face cuts

A break-in, a fire-code repair and a roof leak cost Anchorage Montessori School more than $21,000 in September, executive director Laura Rourke told the Anchorage Assembly at a Friday work session. The school's "entire repairs and maintenance budget for the year is $15,000, and in September we already passed that," she said.

Replacing failing door hardware and locks after the break-in cost more than $16,000. A fire inspection then required new exit lights. "That was nearly $5,000 and wasn't optional because we can't operate without passing fire inspection," Rourke said. Heavy rain on Sept. 30 exposed a roof leak and a second leak at a door; those repairs aren't included in the total.

The repair bill arrives as the fund that helps cover such costs faces a steep cut. The Anchorage Child Care and Early Education Fund, known as the ACE Fund, is financed by cannabis tax revenue; its capital grants pay for facility work like Rourke's. The board's fiscal 2027 proposal totals $5.2 million, down from $8.18 million in 2026. Its letter to Mayor Suzanne LaFrance says Anchorage School District pre-K and Best Beginnings early literacy were moved into the fund in 2025 as a one-time adjustment, and rollover resources are now depleted.

The board's preferred plan zeroes out those two programs and recommends returning them to the alcohol tax or another source. Board chair Trevor Sorensen said capital funding "would have to drop because we only have 572," apparently meaning about $572,000. A contingency plan that keeps the programs instead cuts worker subsidies to $1.4 million, reduces operational grants by nearly 43%, drops ASD pre-K to $750,000, zeroes out Best Beginnings and eliminates pilot and capital grants, which totaled $1.25 million in 2026.

Rourke said an ACE capital grant this year replaced 23-year-old classroom flooring at the nonprofit, which cares for 142 young children. "We would still be waiting on new floors," she said. "For a smaller center or a home provider, one month like our September could be the end."

Rourke urged protecting all three funding streams rather than directing dollars to the district or Best Beginnings. "I absolutely agree with Laura, there are, there was needs," Sorensen said. "We just don't have the dollars." In 2025, only 20 of nearly 50 applicants received pilot and capital awards.

Providers including Vicki Longleather of the Alaska Center and Cindy Ruiz have urged prioritizing operational grants instead, arguing they reach more providers.

The board's recommendations are advisory. The Assembly, which received the mayor's published budget the same day, will set the 2027 capital-grant allocation.