Proposed budget cuts would displace 24 assistant principals and threaten secondary programs, administration says

At the work session the Anchorage School Board heard specifics about staffing reductions and program impacts embedded in the Anchorage School District’s preliminary budget.

Administration said the proposed budget reductions would remove 24 assistant principal positions systemwide, 15 of them at the elementary level and funded previously by Title (federal) rollover. An administrator described the assistant principal role as broad and variable across school levels, covering discipline, evaluations, safety planning and instructional leadership. “At the end of the day, we are literally cutting 24 assistant principals right now,” an administrator told the board.

Board members and staff described how the loss of assistant principals could affect building operations, student safety and educator evaluation. Administrators said assistant principals often handle emergency action planning, discipline, supervision of athletics and activities, and instructional leadership duties that support principal evaluation of teachers. One board member and a former principal warned that removing positions at very large high schools could create coverage and safety challenges across expansive campuses.

Administration also confirmed a small number of security positions would be cut — specifically a recently added supplemental security position and potentially one other position — and that other security capacity would be affected indirectly when assistant principal time is removed.

Members reviewed a compiled list of secondary programs that principals said could be reduced or eliminated under the proposed staffing scenario. Administration emphasized that the list is a compilation of possibilities provided by secondary principals and not a guaranteed, districtwide elimination; impact would vary by school. Items principals identified included immersion offerings at some secondary schools, many world‑language courses (French, German and others), fine arts classes (choir, band, sculpture/drawing), student government and peer mentorship courses, some CTE and career‑pathway classes, yearbook, AP coursework, co‑taught special education classes and credit‑recovery opportunities.

Administration described sequencing: the district has paused broad staffing moves while awaiting legislative decisions, but it will notify affected elementary employees in the near term where Title funding drives the change; those meetings were scheduled to begin the day after the work session. Secondary employees would be notified after the board adopts the general fund budget. Administration said it will follow displacement and transfer procedures and noted timing affects the district’s ability to rehire; staff recalled that in 2017 a portion of briefly laid‑off teachers declined recall and left the state.

The board also discussed recruitment and retention costs. Administration reported the district’s current estimate of the average cost to recruit and replace a certified teacher is $29,375. That figure is an aggregate estimate and administration said it does not break the number out by role (teacher, counselor, nurse, librarian).

On visas and immersion staffing, administrators said visa processing and relocation timing are practical constraints: principals who must recruit educators who require J‑1 or H‑1B visas should begin those processes early because late spring hires risk arrival and certification delays before the school year.

Ending: Administration will meet with affected elementary staff in the near term and proceed with secondary notifications after budget adoption; the board asked administration to return with more specific staffing‑impact modelling and noted the district’s pause on hiring and internal placement would continue until the Legislature’s action is clearer.