Anchorage School District
District
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School Board Recap: May 12, 2026
Key takeaways:
- School Board passes Resolution: FY27 budget revision direction based on a $920 Base Student Allocation (BSA) increase
The Resolution includes reduced class sizes, reversing the closure of Fire Lake, Lake Otis, and Campbell STEM, and restoring most cuts that impact classrooms, should the Alaska State Legislature approve a $920 BSA increase before June 1, 2026.
On Tuesday, May 12, 2026, the Anchorage School Board held a Special School Board Meeting at 10 a.m.
Board meetings are open to the public. Meetings take place at the Education Center and can be watched live or on demand on the District’s YouTube Channel.
Anchorage School Board Resources:
Special School Board meeting
The Special School Board meeting agenda as amended was approved by the Board.
Presenters:
Everett Masterman, Researcher at Alaska Survey Research
Ivan Moore, Founder of Alaska Survey Research
Andrew Ratliff, ASD Chief Financial Officer
The Special School Board meeting was called by the Board to vote on a Resolution directing the Administration to revise the proposed FY27 budget should the Alaska State Legislature approve an increase to the Base Student Allocation (BSA).
Superintendent Dr. Jharrett Bryantt introduced the presentation, saying the best-case funding scenario would be a permanent increase to the BSA. He explained that recurring funding would let the District address urgent short-term needs, especially restoring teacher positions, while also planning sustainably for the future and reducing the projected FY28 deficit.
He contrasted that with one-time funding, which would force the Board to choose between restoring programs and staffing for FY27 or saving money to reduce future cuts in FY28.
Chief Financial Officer Andrew Ratliff explained that if no additional funds are provided by the Legislature, the District will be facing a projected $44 million deficit for FY28. However, if the District received $50 million in supplemental one-time funds, and all those funds were used in the FY27 budget to support current programs & services, the FY28 deficit would grow to $97,220,443. ($97 million being the difference between projected revenue and planned expenditures to maintain current operations with an inflationary adjustment.) A third option would be to utilize half of a one-time $50 million supplemental funding appropriation for the FY27 budget and the other half to be saved for the next school year. This third option would restore some programs & services, and only increase the current projected FY28 deficit by a little more than $1 million.
Presenters from Alaska Survey Research shared polling data showing most Anchorage respondents favored a blended approach that restores some current cuts while reserving funding to reduce future deficits.
2026 Spring Alaska survey methodology:
- FIELDING DATES: April 16-19
- SAMPLE SIZE: 1011 Anchorage adults (18+), 718 who voted in the Municipal election
- MARGIN OF ERROR: +/- 5.4% at 95% confidence
- FIELDING METHODOLOGY: Omnibus Text + Panel survey
- WEIGHTING: Weighted to AK census + political demographics
Ratliff shared the details of the District’s proposed two-year plan that is detailed in the original version of the Resolution, ASDR# 25-26-02, as shown below, that was later revised by the Board in the meeting.
|
Detail of investments in student learning, safety, services and opportunities based on no less than a $700 statutory increase to the BSA for FY27 |
FY 27 Investment (million) |
# of FTE restored |
Fiscal year funded |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Decrease FY 27 K-12 PTR levels by 3 in order to partially reverse the adopted PTR increase of +4. This investment will reduce anticipated FY27 class sizes and restore the viability of high-success student pathway programs by restoring 126.4 Classroom Teacher FTE and 5.7 Kindergarten Paraprofessional FTE. Actual FTE shall be allocated by enrollment as indicated in Attachment B |
$17.540 |
132.1 |
FY27 |
|
Restore 5.5 Nurse FTE to return full-time nursing services to students at all schools |
$0.715 |
5.5 |
FY27 |
|
Restore 1 Special Education FTE to ensure students with disabilities receive legally required services and accommodations |
$0.152 |
1 |
FY27 |
|
Restore 1 school-based Indigenous Education FTE to ensure alignment with adopted Board Guardrails |
$0.123 |
1 |
FY27 |
|
Restore funds to retain the FY 27 contracts for the Dome and riflery programs ensuring accessible wintertime and early spring athletic programs for 20,000 secondary students |
$0.264 |
N/A |
FY27 |
|
Restore secondary sports and activities addenda for athletic supervision and coaching services |
$0.400 |
N/A |
FY27 |
|
Allocate statutory requirement to charter schools' share of FY 27 revenue |
$2.800 |
N/A |
FY27 |
|
Obligate funds to retain the 28.4 classroom teacher FTE needed to maintain the Middle School Model for FY 28 |
$4.140 |
28.4 |
FY28 |
|
Obligate remaining funds, less unanticipated costs, toward retaining nurses and highly qualified classroom teachers in FY 28, to offset the structural deficit increase of all other investments |
$23.866 |
170 (est.) |
FY28 |
|
TOTAL used and obliged during FY27 |
$50.000 |
338 |
|
Ratliff as well as Deputy Superintendent Sven Gustafson reviewed how reducing pupil-teacher ratios (PTRs) by -3 could allow principals to restore most of the classroom teachers, student supports and programs cut from the FY27 budget.
Gustafson explained this process, saying the District would first calculate how many additional teacher positions (FTE) each school would receive. Those staffing allocations would then flow directly to school sites, where principals would make local decisions about how best to use the positions based on their school’s needs.
Principals would determine how to use additional FTE allocations at their school sites, including creating new teaching positions, restoring programs and electives affected by staffing reductions, or returning part-time teachers to full-time status.
Once schools determine which positions to restore, openings would move through Human Resources for recall or hiring. The Administration also clarified that even with PTR reductions, not every program or staffing cut could be fully restored because enrollment declines continue to impact school staffing levels.
Presentation from this meeting
After several amendments, the Board adopted Resolution ASDR# 25-26-02 (S2) to revise the proposed FY27 budget should the 34th Legislature approve and fund an $920 increase to the BSA prior to June 1, 2026. The (S2) version changes costs and expands FTE allocation for FY27 to schools via PTR -4 (vs. -3 in original and S).
Amendments to the Resolution that were approved include:
- A pupil-teacher-ratio decrease of -4 (vs. -3 in earlier versions)
- Add language restoring the opening of Lake Otis, Fire Lake, and Campbell STEM Elementary Schools
- An amendment to the amendment that changes the BSA amount from $850 to $920.
- Change the effective date from June 30, 2026 to June 1, 2026.
|
Detail of investments in student learning, safety, services and opportunities based on no less than a $920 statutory increase to the BSA for FY27 |
FY 27 Investment (million) |
# of FTE restored |
Fiscal year funded |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Decrease FY 27 K-12 PTR levels by 4 in order to reverse the adopted PTR increase of +4 and align PTR for students in grades 7 and 8 with class size targets in state statute. This investment will reduce anticipated FY27 class sizes and restore the viability of high-success student pathway programs by restoring 175.2 Classroom Teacher FTE and 6.13 Kindergarten Paraprofessional FTE. Actual FTE shall be allocated by enrollment as indicated in Attachment B. |
$24.220 |
181.33 |
FY27 |
|
Restore 5.5 Nurse FTE to return full-time nursing services to students at all schools |
$0.715 |
5.5 |
FY27 |
|
Restore 1 Special Education FTE to ensure students with disabilities receive legally required services and accommodations |
$0.152 |
1 |
FY27 |
|
Restore 1 school-based Indigenous Education FTE to ensure alignment with adopted Board Guardrails |
$0.123 |
1 |
FY27 |
|
Restore funds to retain the FY 27 contracts for the Dome (less $0.077m discount offered via email to ASD Board 5/11/26) and riflery programs ensuring accessible wintertime and early spring athletic programs for 20,000 secondary students |
$0.187 |
N/A |
FY27 |
|
Restore secondary sports and activities addenda for athletic supervision and coaching services |
$0.400 |
N/A |
FY27 |
|
Allocate charter schools' statutory share of FY 27 revenue |
$3.642 |
N/A |
FY27 |
|
Restore gifted services including 21 Ignite FTE for high-needs students to receive equitable academic intervention services |
$2.900 |
21 |
FY27 |
|
Restore three bus routes for Highly Gifted students to receive equitable academic intervention services |
$0.420 |
N/A |
FY27 |
|
Revert the elementary art and music instructional model and commit to a thorough, equitable, and inclusive task force for FY28 specials programming, including participation from teachers, principals, and program directors, in order to assess whether a modified or reduced version of the model could be implemented in FY28 to help reduce the structural deficit |
$3.675 |
27.5 |
FY27 |
|
Restoring the operation of the Lake Otis, Fire Lake, and Campbell STEM Elementary Schools for FY27 |
$4.800 |
N/A |
FY27 |
|
Obligate funds to retain the 28.4 classroom teacher FTE needed to maintain the Middle School Model for FY 28 |
$4.140 |
28.4 |
FY28 |
|
Obligate remaining funds, less unanticipated costs, toward retaining nurses and highly qualified classroom teachers in FY 28, to offset the structural deficit increase of all other investments |
$19.659 |
140 (est) |
FY28 |
|
TOTAL used and obliged during FY27 |
$65.033 |
406 |
The Board voted 7-0 to approve the Resolution as amended.
Board & Administration Comments
The meeting concluded with School Board and Administration comments and communications.
This report is from the ASD Administration and summarizes what was presented to the Board during each meeting. We hope that you find these updates valuable. As always, we welcome your feedback and thoughts at TeamASD@asdk12.org.