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 already considering leaving for charters. The motion was seconded by Mr. Burgess and failed 3-4 (Yes: Missus Hardy, Miss Carol Hubbard, Mrs. Burnett; No: Miss Maple, Mr. Burgess, Miss Julian, Mr. Dorn).

Later, School Board Member Miss Julian moved to amend the main motion by (1) lowering the K–5 PTR to 25, (2) setting the vacancy rate assumption at 1 percent, (3) cutting district administration to $700,000, and (4) reducing the district's transportation subsidy to $1,628,000. Julian described the proposal as a "hail Mary" but said the package was balanced and aimed to protect elementary PTR. The amendment was seconded and discussed at length; it failed 2-5 (Yes: Miss Julian, Miss Carol Hubbard; No: Mr. Dorn, Missus Hardy, Miss Maple, Mr. Burgess, Mrs. Burnett).

After those failed motions, Miss Maple moved to approve the FY26 recommended budget as presented — revenues and expenditures in all funds of $227,754,107 — a motion seconded by Mr. Dorn. During a final round of comments, several board members reiterated disagreement on parts of the budget while acknowledging the board had produced a balanced document in a difficult funding environment. The final motion carried 4-3 (Yes: Mr. Dorn, Miss Maple, Mr. Burgess, Mrs. Burnett; No: Miss Carol Hubbard, Missus Hardy, Miss Julian).

Board discussion included several comparative and quantitative details about Barnett Magnet and another neighborhood K–8 (referred to in the meeting as LAD K-8). Members said Barnett is projected at 417 students, LAD K-8 at 386 students with a designed capacity of 553 (about 69 percent capacity). The district's foundation formula revenue figures cited in the meeting showed Barnett bringing in roughly $3.7 million versus LAD K-8 at about $3.5 million, a difference the board quantified as Barnett generating about $226,000 more. Board members also said eliminating exploration (elective) staff saves the district roughly $315,000 and that preserving exploratory staff at Barnett would represent a net investment of about $88,000 over the revenue Barnett generates.

Several board members pressed the limits of local authority and risk. Missus Hardy expressed concern that the budget assumed continued enrollment and that a likely charter application could cause unbudgeted revenue loss or legal costs; she characterized the budget as a "fantasy" if it ignored that risk. Other members, while critical of parts of the budget, said passing a balanced budget and then pressing state and borough officials for more funding would be the productive path forward.

Quotes from the meeting included: "We are breaking something for no reason," from School Board Member Missus Hardy on the proposed cuts at Barnett; Mr. DeGraw telling the board the balancing tool "showing the $28,000 surplus" after changes; and School Board Member Miss Julian calling her amendment "a hail Mary" and saying she had literally "brought a football with me tonight" to describe the risk she was asking the board to take.

The board also heard administrative clarifications: district leadership said "pink-slipping" teachers (issuing notices of nonrenewal) was not being considered under the recommended budget and that most contracts for both tenured and non-tenured teachers had already been issued.

The board concluded the reconvened session by approving the recommended FY26 budget and by scheduling follow-up work: several members said they will draft a resolution to press the state and borough for increased funding and that they expect continued discussion about prioritizing add-backs in future meetings. The meeting was adjourned after the budget vote.

Votes at a glance: Yes votes mean support for the motion as described; tallies reflect board roll-call votes recorded on the transcript.

- Motion (Missus Hardy) to reconsider cuts to Barnett Magnet and reinstate 2.5 FTE: Mover: Missus Hardy; Second: Mr. Burgess; Outcome: Failed 3-4 (Yes: Missus Hardy, Miss Carol Hubbard, Mrs. Burnett. No: Miss Maple, Mr. Burgess, Miss Julian, Mr. Dorn).

- Amendment (Miss Julian) to approve FY26 recommended budget with adjustments (K–5 PTR to 25; vacancy rate 1%; district admin $700,000; transportation subsidy $1,628,000): Mover: Miss Julian; Second: Miss Carol Hubbard; Outcome: Failed 2-5 (Yes: Miss Julian, Miss Carol Hubbard. No: Mr. Dorn, Missus Hardy, Miss Maple, Mr. Burgess, Mrs. Burnett).

- Main motion to approve FY26 Fairbanks North Star Borough School District recommended budget (all funds $227,754,107): Mover: Miss Maple; Second: Mr. Dorn; Outcome: Approved 4-3 (Yes: Mr. Dorn, Miss Maple, Mr. Burgess, Mrs. Burnett. No: Miss Carol Hubbard, Missus Hardy, Miss Julian).