Kenai Peninsula schools will get at least as much local money for operations as they did last year. That’s after borough assembly members on Tuesday pledged to give the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District $62,359,080.
That amount matches the school board’s request. Last month, the board passed a budget with sweeping cuts and a list of what could be added back if more money comes in. With the additional $3.3 million, the district said it’d restore librarians and keep class sizes the same.
School Board President Jason Tauriainen told the assembly the district could reverse even more cuts with more money.
“This is what we're asking for, if things fall apart from the state that may change, and I know that you guys are willing to work with that, but I think we're going to get somewhere, and this is a good start, this floor right now,” he said.
The amount approved by the assembly is higher than what has been floated by Borough Mayor Peter Micciche, who generally favors a 2.5% year-over-year inflation adjustment in his budget proposal. On Tuesday, he said going over that amount reflects the borough’s commitment to supporting education.
“This borough is the most generous borough, and will continue to be as long as I'm here,” he said. “We're going to stretch it to the limit like we did this year, which is why I came in at 62 (million). That's $3.3 million more than we can afford. But we know that the school board is working really hard.”
About two-thirds of the borough’s catchall general fund goes to education, which receives all of the money the borough takes in from sales tax.
Eastern peninsula representative Cindy Ecklund unsuccessfully tried to adjust the funding amount to the maximum allowable under state law. Of roughly 250 people who weighed in on the funding proposal, more than 60% favored giving the school district maximum funding – about $6.3 million more dollars.
“Education should be the highest thing we fund because it's the most important,” she said. “It's our future, it's our kids.”
Ecklund was the only person to vote against the resolution setting the funding floor.
Tuesday’s vote isn’t the last word on education funding. The assembly still needs to pass the larger borough budget, which can be amended. Last year, assembly members amended the budget to give the district maximum funding. The assembly will hold public hearings on the budget at its next two meetings.
