2006 Legislative Session

2006 Legislative Priorities

Foundation Formula

The Anchorage School Board, its administration, and staff accept responsibility for raising student achievement for all students and for the efficient and effective use of resources to fulfill our mission to educate all students for success in life. We are committed to accountability and doing our part to ensure student success. Meeting the needs of the Alaska Performance Standards, NCLB and IDEA requires us to protect and grow our investment in people, programs, and facilities.

Even after recent funding increases — with today’s student achievement challenges, state and federal mandates, and increasing achievement goals — escalating costs continue to outpace state funding. To do no more than “fully fund” the current education funding formula will require reductions in current education services.

The Anchorage School Board calls upon the Legislature to increase the education funding formula to allow all districts to maintain a rigorous and effective instructional program that continues to increase student academic proficiency.

 

Debt Reimbursement

Safe, efficient, and technologically up-to-date facilities are an essential ingredient in achieving academic success. The ASD has addressed this need largely through a successful partnership between the Legislature and local taxpayers.

The Anchorage School Board and Anchorage taxpayers are counting on the Legislature to continue this partnership by fully honoring past commitments for bonded indebtedness reimbursement. The Anchorage School Board also requests the Legislature extend the school debt reimbursement program to help meet current and future school construction and major maintenance needs.

 

Pupil Transportation

Pupil transportation is an important part of overall school funding and a major responsibility of the Anchorage School District. The new transportation funding mechanism adopted in July 2003 caps the per-student allocation at the FY 03 level with inflationary adjustments established at one-half the Anchorage CPI in FY 04 and FY 05. There is currently no adjustment for inflation in FY 06 and beyond. We have achieved substantial efficiencies, but have exhausted the opportunity for further savings. The existing formula is falling further and further behind general inflation, and rapidly rising fuel and other operating costs that are increasing at an unprecedented rate.

Getting students safely to and from school is a vital part of public education. The Anchorage School District needs adequate transportation funds to provide safe access to our schools and to ensure that we are not forced to use instructional funding to meet the cost of transportation obligations.

The Anchorage School Board requests that the State of Alaska fully fund pupil transportation by providing adjustments to the transportation grant program reflective of increased transportation mandates and operating expenses.

 

Funding for Intensive-Needs Preschool and Other Intensive-Needs Students

The cost to provide federally mandated services to a single intensive-needs child is often several times greater than for a non-special-needs child and greater than the amount currently provided by federal and state sources. Districts cannot be expected simply to absorb the costs of services for such children within budgets that already provide inadequate funding to satisfy this federal requirement.

Intensive Services funding within the block grant program of the Alaska School Foundation Program provides an inadequate level of support and has not reflected actual excess costs in comparison to other special education programs.

Preschool students with intensive-needs disabilities whose third birthday falls after the October count date are entitled to services under federal law, and at a level far above costs to the district typical of other students enrolling after the count date. Currently, districts receive no funding for these costly services. Other intensive-needs students who move into a district after the October count date pose a similar financial challenge.

The Anchorage School Board urges the Legislature to adequately fund intensive-needs student services separate from the existing block grant program. The Anchorage School Board also requests that the Legislature both increase the multiplier used to allocate funding to intensive-needs students and provide funding for all special education preschool and K-12 intensive-needs students who enter a district past the single count date.

 

Full Funding of PERS/TRS Employer Rate Increases

Last year’s passage of SB 141 does not resolve the current extraordinary budget requests for PERS and TRS. In FY 07, employer costs for PERS and TRS will increase for the third consecutive year at roughly the same rate as in FY 05 and FY 06. The state-mandated employer contribution increase to PERS and TRS for the Anchorage School District next year is approximately $13 million.

These dramatically increasing mandatory employer contributions to PERS and TRS have been absorbing nearly half of the recent funding increases to K-12 education funding. In addition, questions have been raised as to the actual amount of the PERS/TERS funding shortfall and the rate at which it must be made up.

The Anchorage School Board requests that a sound determination be made quickly as to the actual shortfall in PERS/TRS funding. The Anchorage School Board also supports a substantial lump sum investment directly into those funds to eliminate the shortfall and to take advantage of compounded growth of the new investment.

 

Improving Student Achievement through a Useful Decision-Support System

In this era of increased accountability, which the Anchorage School Board embraces, we must have access to information so that we can direct appropriate resources and tailor interventions to the individual needs of our students.

A Student Information System is the fundamental repository for all student data, which is necessary for effective program evaluation and subsequent school improvement efforts. Investment in this imperative need cannot be met within current budget parameters.

The Anchorage School Board urges the Legislature to provide the financial resources to implement a districtwide, innovative and effective Student Information System.