Fairbanks North Star Borough School District board approves FY26 budget after failed attempts to restore Barnett magnet positions and lower K-5 PTR

The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District board voted 4-3 to approve its fiscal year 2026 recommended budget totaling $227,754,107 in revenues and $227,754,107 in expenditures after multiple rounds of debate and two failed motions to change staffing and budget assumptions.

The vote came after more than two hours of discussion that focused on class sizes, staffing at Barnett Magnet School and whether the district should rely on vacancy, transportation and administrative adjustments to preserve elementary pupil-teacher ratios (PTRs). School Board President Mrs. Burnett called the meeting back into session at 5 p.m. to finish the reconvened budget discussion from March 19.

Board members and staff framed the debate around competing priorities: keeping PTRs low, maintaining magnet-program staffing, and producing a balanced budget without additional state or borough revenues. District staff member Mr. DeGraw told the board the balancing tool showed a $28,000 surplus after changes made the previous night, and that the board had before it both the recommended-budget motion language and a memorandum outlining the changes between the proposed and recommended budgets.

School Board Member Missus Hardy moved to reconsider cuts to the district's magnet program with the specific intent of reinstating 2.5 full-time-equivalent (FTE) positions at Barnett Magnet School. Hardy argued Barnett is the district's fullest school, projected at 417 students, and said the board was "breaking something for no reason," warning that teachers were…