Anchorage officials propose one-time $11.8 million school levy to cover teacher positions and programming

Anchorage municipal staff on Thursday outlined a proposal to send Anchorage voters a one-time special tax to raise roughly $11.8 million for the Anchorage School District, a stopgap intended to fund teacher positions and student programming.

Chie f Administrative Officer Bill Paulsey told the Assembly Budget & Finance Committee that state law sets a required local school contribution at 2.65 mills and also sets a capped additional local contribution tied to the state’s base student allocation (BSA). Paulsey said recent increases in property assessments raised the municipality’s required local contribution from about $127.7 million last year to an estimated $138.9 million this year, a roughly $11.2 million increase that reduces state aid dollar for dollar. He said a separate change to the BSA enacted last year also raised the optional maximum the municipality could contribute by about $11.8 million.

"What can the municipality of Anchorage as general government give to the school district? The answer is it is all set by state statute," Paulsey said, summarizing the statutory formula and the recent BSA-driven change.

Under the proposal being discussed, municipal leaders would ask voters to approve a single, one-time levy to raise the roughly $11.8 million so the district could be funded at its traditional maximum level. Paulsey said the school district has told municipal staff the money would be used for teacher positions and student programming; he cited the superintendent’s estimate that the amount is roughly equivalent to about 90 teachers and could reduce class sizes by about two students per classroom.

Assembly members pressed for enforceable budget language and specificity. "Is there anything that gives teeth to that statement that it is going to go to classrooms?" one member asked. Andy Rallif, chief financial officer for the Anchorage School District, said the superintendent and school board have stated that intention and that "we anticipate something similar along the lines of, if this special levy is passed, here's exactly what we're going to do with that money and have it baked into an amendment" to the district budget during the February process.

Rallif also described ongoing teacher contract negotiations. He said the last public offers showed the teachers’ association seeking increases of 8%, 7% and 6% over three years while the district had offered 3% each year; as a budgeting reference he noted that 1 percentage point in the contract equals roughly $3 million for the district. He said arbitration is scheduled if a settlement is not reached before that proceeding.

Municipal staff clarified the measure under discussion is a one-time levy rather than a permanent expansion of local taxing authority. Paulsey said the one-time approach is a stopgap while the state’s school-funding conversations continue and while the municipality explores longer-term, non–property-tax solutions.

A work session on the question is scheduled for Jan. 23 at 10:15 a.m. Municipal staff said they will bring draft ballot language and a proposed amendment showing precisely how the funds would be allocated if voters approve the measure. The Assembly did not take a vote on the proposal during Thursday’s briefing.