It’s budget season, and the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District and Assembly are sorting out their funding for the next fiscal year.
Following the passage of the state legislative budget in May, the school district is bringing back positions and programs it cut earlier this year.
At that time, while facing a $13 million deficit, the district cut some teaching positions, athletic directors and programs. It also cut school pool managers, effectively closing the pools, and theater techs, which drew public protest in March.
District officials emphasized that if legislative funding came through, they would bring back those positions as soon as possible. The state budget did not include an increase to the per-student funding districts get from the state. But it did include a $175 million one-time boost in funding for districts across the state.
Superintendent Clayton Holland said the district is currently operating as if that funding is guaranteed, even as the budget is still waiting on a signature from Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
“I was directed by the board to reinstate all of our cut positions, so we’re moving forward with all of the classified positions that were on the block: the theater techs, the swimming managers and student success liaisons, those are coming back, which means our pools will be open,” he said. “But we are taking a chance by doing this.”
Dunleavy still has the option to veto components of the plan. Holland said because of the one-time funding, the district is already thinking about dealing with the same issue next year.
The borough assembly also approved its budget last night, after weeks of work session discussions. It included the full amount of funding possible for the school district, and a balanced budget, thanks in part to increased property and sales tax revenue.
Mayor Peter Micciche lauded the budget as the first balanced budget in a decade. It represents only a 2.55% spending increase since last year, the smallest in many years. It includes no new job positions.
The budget also included $134,000 in funds for the Soldotna Senior Center, which the assembly approved even after former board members and employees of the center turned out to encourage the assembly to cut that funding, alleging financial mismanagement.
The assembly passed the budget unanimously.
