Kenai Peninsula school board members heard hours of public testimony Monday from students and others opposing proposed budget cuts. The board hasn’t made any final budget decisions yet amid uncertain state and local funding. But the clock is ticking for members to pass a balanced spending plan – even as they don’t know how much money they’ll have to work with next year.
Even before school board members convened for their Monday meeting, President Zen Kelly had a sense of what was to come.
“It's going to be a long evening tonight,” he said. “I appreciate all your patience.”
While the board convened for its pre-meeting dinner, people packed the audience. After seats ran out, some stood in the hallway, sat criss-cross on the floor and hovered in the doorway. A few students propped handwritten signs against the board dais that read “Save our Electives” and “Save Quest!,” referring to the district’s gifted and talented program.
Most were there to protest budget cuts proposed by the board. The evening meeting followed hours of debate by the board committee over what cuts should be implemented to make up a forecast $17 million budget shortfall.
“It feels kind of Whack-a-Mole, you know?” said board member Virginia Morgan. She was one of many to describe how difficult it is deciding what to cut to save money. “As soon as we look at the possibility of another one, everybody's up in arms, because, you know, ‘don't take the program that I know about and that is important to me,’ and as the board, luckily, we can see how important all of these programs are to all of our families and students and communities.”
And advocating for programs important to them is exactly what attendees did.
District finance committee members spent the morning honing their three budget scenarios. Each one assumes full funding from the Kenai Peninsula Borough and different levels of funding from the state. Those levels include a $340, $680 and $1,000 increase to the base amount of money school districts get per student. The finance committee’s best-case scenario is built around a $1,000 increase.
None of the cuts discussed Monday are final. The district has until the end of the month to send a balanced budget to borough assembly members. In the meantime, students, staff and community members are making the case for why their program should be taken off the chopping block.
Kenai Central High School student Vail Coots was one of many students to advocate for Quest. The board is considering cutting all in-school Quest employees and district-wide Quest coordinators.
“In a world that’s increasingly interconnected, Quest offers our students the one thing every future innovator needs, the ability to think across boundaries,” he said. “We often say we want our students to be creative thinkers, problem solvers and leaders. But how do we expect that to happen? If we strip, excuse me, strip away the very programs designed to cultivate those skills.”
Nikiski eighth-grader Morgan Hooper shared similar thoughts.
“If we want to excel, the district needs to prioritize these programs and explore other solutions,” she said.
School board members also heard from students and staff at Kenai Alternative High School. The school’s at risk of losing 1.75 full-time positions. Teachers like Elizabeth Chilson say that’s a big deal in a small school like hers.
“We are not redundant anywhere in the building,” she said. “I teach every single history class, and there is no one else who does it. Our science teacher teaches every single science class. Allison teaches every single math class. Removing one of us from the building removes major educational opportunities.”
Kenai Alternative staff and students described their school as a family that provides a safe and welcoming environment for students who otherwise might not finish high school.
Stefany Montague, a student, said that was her situation. She says people sometimes look down on the school, but that cutting their program would be detrimental.
“We're seen as bad kids, and when we're seen as that, we don't want to try in school,” she said. “We don't - we kind of give up, but the staff at our school make us have an opportunity and see us for kids with opportunities and with potential.”
Quest and Kenai Alternative got a lot of attention Monday. But they weren’t the only programs attendees were concerned about.
Christy Jordan is an elementary school counselor for the district schools in Seward, Cooper Landing, Hope and Moose Pass. The board is considering eliminating her position and the other five counselors. She says counselors are more important than ever and students have come to rely on that support system.
A couple of parents called in from Nikolaevsk, where the K-12 community school is at risk of being closed. District staff told families there last week that boosting the school’s enrollment could help keep the doors open. But board members Monday said budget cuts should minimize student impact as much as possible. And right now, Nikoalevsk is serving less than two dozen kids.
Here’s Kenai representative Sarah Douthit, who said she’s reluctant to wait for the community to get enrollment up.
“I 100% respect the Niko school culture and those families, but we are affecting a lot of students with these other changes. So I'm having a very hard time adding on the school. They have had, you know, five years – since ‘18, ‘19, to do this. And I'm having a hard time with giving them more time.”
Kelley Cizek said she and other board members are in a no-win situation and asked those protesting cuts to come up with alternative ideas for saving money.
“I'm kind of at a loss as to what exactly is the path forward and I know that we're not going to be able to do this cut without really hurting groups of people that will have long term effects,” she said.
The school board will meet for a special meeting April 23 to vote on the version of the budget they’ll send to assembly members. Kelly, the board president, says he will hold separate votes on any proposed school closure. The full list of budget cut proposals is available on the school board’s online document hub.
