First, we want to say thank you.

We appreciate the Alaska State Legislature and Governor Dunleavy for working together to pass HB 263. The law creates the possibility of additional one-time education funding if state revenues exceed a specified threshold. This reflects a shared commitment to Alaska's students, educators, and families.

But we'd like to ask for one more thing: timely information.

Under HB 263, the Commissioner’s determination of the availability of additional one-time education funding will be made “on August 31.” But across Anchorage, teachers will return on August 14 and students in grades 1-12 will go back to school on August 19-20. Preschool students and kindergarteners are scheduled to begin one week later. This means that every ASD student will be back in school by August 26. Fairbanks follows a similar timeline. By August 31, in other words, teachers across the state will be teaching, students will be learning, and the school year will be fully underway.

Students don't get to rewind the first days or weeks of school. 

A funding determination made on August 31 cannot help districts hire teachers before students arrive. It cannot reduce class sizes at the start of the school year. It cannot restore positions that had to be eliminated months earlier because school districts were required to build balanced budgets based on the information available at the time. Nor does a funding determination made on August 31 help districts hire teachers after students arrive, as reopening positions doesn’t mean they can actually be filled. History has shown that when funding arrives late, many districts are often unable to hire the qualified teachers they need because those teachers have already made employment plans elsewhere. 

That doesn't mean funding confirmed later wouldn’t be valuable. While it would be put to use, it would not have the same impact as funding districts could confidently plan around before the school year begins.

That's why the Anchorage School Board resolved to have President Jacobs and Superintendent Bryantt communicate the urgency of the situation to Commissioner Janelle Earls, the Legislative Finance Division, and members of the Alaska State Legislature.

The request wasn’t for an early decision. It was and is for earlier information.

If there are preliminary revenue projections, planning estimates, confidence ranges, or expected timelines that can be shared lawfully and responsibly before August 31, and ideally by mid-July, they would help school districts across the state make better decisions while there is still time for those decisions to benefit students.

We're not asking anyone to predict the future or bypass the process established in law. We respect that the final determination must be based on actual state revenues. We're simply asking for the earliest practical information available.

Earlier planning information could help districts determine whether additional funding might be available in time to hire teachers, reduce class sizes, restore student supports, or strengthen classroom learning from the very first day of school. If districts don't have that information until after students have returned, many of those opportunities will have already passed.

We know revenue forecasting involves uncertainty, and no one expects guarantees before the numbers are finalized. But there is real value in understanding whether current projections suggest the funding is likely, unlikely, or still uncertain. Even preliminary information, clearly identified as subject to change, would help districts plan more responsibly and communicate more honestly with their communities.

HB 263 created an important opportunity for Alaska's public schools. Our shared goal should be making sure that opportunity reaches classrooms when it can make the greatest difference.

 

-Carl Jacobs

President

Anchorage School Board

 

-Kelly Lessens

Vice President

Anchorage School Board

 

-Rachel Blakeslee

Treasurer

Anchorage School Board

 

-Bobby Burgess

President

Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board 

 

-Meredith Maple

Vice President

Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board 

 

-Loa Carroll-Hubbard

Treasurer

Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board