Anchorage school district proposes splitting $32 million in one-time state money

Anchorage schools are getting about $32 million in one-time state money — and the district wants to spend a little more than half of it now while banking the rest against a deficit it expects next summer.

Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt told the Anchorage School Board on Tuesday that the state confirmed the money the day before. Anchorage's share comes out of a $110 million statewide pot the state set aside from oil revenue. The district's proposal would use part of it to restore tutoring, credit recovery, transportation and other services cut in the last budget, and hold the rest in reserve for the 2028 fiscal year.

That reserve is the point of contention. "This proposal would reduce the deficit from around $40-ish million for FY28 down to roughly $26 million," Bryantt said — and the tradeoff is stark. "We're getting to that point where we're literally choosing between school safety, security in buildings, versus class size reduction relief."

The district is already deep in a hard year. Its current budget closed a roughly $90 million shortfall through cuts, reserves and the elimination of almost 500 positions — and staff say the strain is showing. "It is day 10 of school and we are burnt out," said Harper Kushner, a special education teacher at William Tyson Elementary, describing paraprofessionals covering teacher absences without extra pay after building substitutes were cut. Dan Whitfield, a band teacher at Goldenview Middle School, said losing a part-time band director left him teaching 330 students a day in classes averaging more than 50.

Where the money should go is now a live question for the community. The board's ASD Listens effort has made the projected 2028 deficit its first topic, and Bryantt said a one-question poll of about 1,000 residents found people leaning toward guarding against next year's deficit rather than restoring services now — though the wording and margin of error weren't given. The board will debate the spending plan before voting at its second October meeting. A separate, larger decision on how to handle the 2028 budget is expected in February.