Anchorage's required 2027 school contribution rises to about $138 million

Anchorage must send about $138 million to the Anchorage School District in 2027 under state required-local-contribution rules, the formula setting a city's minimum, up $5.3 million from 2026. The figure appears in the Municipality of Anchorage's 120-day preliminary budget memo, delivered Sept. 2, which credits recent district presentations for the number.

The memo estimates the maximum voluntary contribution for 2027, the ceiling on optional funding, at roughly $108 million, and says that ceiling depends on the 2027 session of the Alaska State Legislature. The administration writes that the size of any 2027 gap is not yet known with certainty, and that more clarity is expected as the district, the state and the mayor's proposed budget develop.

The School Board approved the FY27 operating budget on Feb. 24 by a 5-2 vote against a $90 million structural deficit, the gap between ongoing costs and revenue. A separate rightsizing plan, the district's term for closing and consolidating schools, passed 4-3 and closes Fire Lake and Lake Otis elementary schools.

Mayor Suzanne LaFrance and Assembly members put a one-time $12 million education levy on the April 7 ballot, which the mayor's announcement called a response to an $83 million shortfall for 2026-27. Voters narrowly rejected it. The memo says subsequent state action capped the required contribution and narrowed the gap to about $6 million.

On Aug. 18 the School Board resolved 5-2 that no school will close in 2026-27 primarily to reduce spending. Member Kelly Lessens voted no, after the board rejected her amendment 1-6 tying that pledge to full municipal funding. If the municipality does not fully fund schools, Lessens said, "the effect will be to find other ways to save $4, $5, $6 million. And you know what that looks like? It looks like student opportunities."

The memo presents the administration's account only, and contains no district response.

LaFrance is scheduled to deliver the 2027 proposed budget on Oct. 2, with introduction at the Assembly's Oct. 6 meeting. Public hearings are set for Oct. 20 and Nov. 4. Final action is scheduled for Nov. 17.