Anchorage School District finance panel backs $560-per-student interim plan to restore staff

The Anchorage School District Finance Committee on Wednesday signaled support for a plan that would revise the district's proposed FY26 budget to allocate $560 per pupil — approximately $39.8 million under current enrollment projections — to restore teaching positions and student supports if state funding in House Bill 57 is realized.

The plan is designed as an interim, targeted response to staffing shortfalls in schools and would reverse many of the cuts in the district's proposed budget. Committee chair Kelly Lessons said the document presented at the special meeting is “a first look at what we might do” with the state money and described the proposal as an initial attempt “to stop some of the bleeding.”

Why it matters: The committee framed the proposal as immediate triage to reduce harmful classroom disruptions and to limit layoffs or displacements for educators while the state operating budget and elements of HB 57 are finalized. Members and district leaders repeatedly cautioned that the proposal depends on uncertain state revenue and could require revision if the final enacted budget differs from current legislative action.

Key elements and scale - The committee’s working plan centers on $560 per student (referred to repeatedly as “$560 BSA” in the meeting). At that level the district estimates allocating about $39,800,000 in new revenue to restore staff. Kelly Lessons described the figure as a proportional trimming of an earlier $1,000-per-student amendment the board passed in…