Anchorage School District says most of $121.6 million fund balance already committed, limits ability to restore staff

The Anchorage School District told its school board on April 22 that the $121.6 million in general‑fund unreserved fund balance reported at the end of fiscal 2024 is largely already committed or restricted, and is not available in full to avert staff reductions.

At a work session, Dr. Bryant, speaking for district administration, said the $121.6 million figure “is largely spoken for at this point,” listing $37 million the board dedicated to the current year’s spending plan, nearly $50 million set aside for the next year’s budget, and about $27 million restricted as a bond‑rating reserve. “That leaves about, you know, a little under $8,000,000 of actual spendable money,” Dr. Bryant said.

The statement came as board members and district staff responded to public statements and a legislative narrative that the district had unused one‑time state funds and large savings that could prevent any staff reductions. The district said that narrative reflected a misreading of financial reports and timing differences between state reporting deadlines and the district’s adopted budget.

Why this matters: Board members said legislators and the public have relied on an early July filing and other public numbers that did not reflect one‑time state money the district later incorporated into its adopted budget. Member Lesnes described the July 15 state report as a “snapshot” taken before one‑time funds were added, and district finance staff said many districts submitted budgets before receiving final state allocations.

Key figures and explanation: - Reported general‑fund unreserved balance (June 30, FY24): $121,600,000 (~18.45% of expenditures). - Amount dedicated to current‑year spending plan: $37,000,000. - Amount included in next year’s plan (drawn from unassigned balance): nearly $50,000,000 (reported as $49,800,000 in board materials). - Bond‑rating reserve and other restricted balances: about $27,000,000. - Unassigned/unrestricted funds remaining: roughly $7.5 million (district’s stated flexibility).

Finance staff also explained differences between state chart‑of‑accounts reporting and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 54 classifications; the district maintains crosswalks between the two because it must report under both systems.

On attrition and budgeted but unspent salary lines, staff described an ongoing budgeting practice of including an estimate for unspent salary/benefit funds (attrition) to avoid ending the year with large unplanned surpluses. The district said that estimate is about $41 million this year and represents positions that go unfilled during the year; administrators cautioned that if the district reduces positions, turnover — and therefore that attrition carryover — may fall, tightening flexibility.

Legislative context: Board members discussed a recent legislative override of a governor’s veto and a proposed education bill from the governor’s office. Staff summarized finance elements of the governor’s proposal as including a $560 BSA (base student allocation) increase (estimated at roughly $39.8 million to the district), a change in correspondence funding from 0.9 to 1.0 (about $1.2 million), and a reading‑proficiency grant estimated at $3–6 million depending on eligibility and implementation. Board members and staff emphasized that many details remain unclear — including which assessment years would tie to funding and how “improvement” or “proficiency” would be defined — and that the district has submitted questions to the legislature for clarification.

What the district will do next: Finance staff said they will provide more detailed analyses to legislative committees and answer outstanding questions about timing and eligibility for any new state dollars. Several board members urged district administration to send concise, deadline‑aware messaging to the Anchorage legislative delegation explaining the district’s timeline for staffing decisions and what additional funding could reverse recent displacements.

Ending note: Board discussion stressed that the headline number does not reflect immediately available cash to restore staff. “We are trying to get closer than that so we don’t have a lot of excess funding at the end of the year,” a district finance presenter said, and repeated that without new state action the district’s remaining unassigned flexibility is limited to the single‑digit millions the district identified.