District proposes FY26 budget with $16 million gap; trustees weigh school closures, staff cuts and class-size increases

Superintendent Dr. Luke Meinert and Chief Operations Officer Andy DeGraw presented the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District’s proposed FY26 budget to the board on Feb. 18, detailing a projected $16 million starting deficit and a package of reductions and limited investments to close the gap.

The administration’s proposal assumes a base student allocation of $5,960, a repeat of current-year supplemental funding equivalent to a $6.80 BSA increase, a projected enrollment of 11,626 (a decline of about 179 students from the district’s current projection), and a requested $2 million increase in local borough contribution. Even with those assumptions, the plan relies on multiple reductions to align spending and revenue.

At a glance: Administration proposed closing 2 Rivers Elementary, Midnight Sun Elementary and Pearl Creek Elementary, and reducing Salcha Elementary to a downsized model. The plan also proposes raising Pupil-to-Teacher Ratios (PTR): for grades K–5 from 25 to 27.5, and a similar 2.5-student increase for grades 6–12. DeGraw said the…