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Fairbanks district proposes FY27 budget that restores class sizes, adds music and before-school care amid $11.4M fund-balance dispute
Summary
The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District presented a FY27 proposed budget that reduces K–5 pupil-to-teacher ratio to 23, restores elementary instrumental music, funds before-school care and a transportation subsidy, while highlighting an $11.4 million administrative transfer the borough may move from district reserves.
The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District on Feb. 3 unveiled its FY27 proposed budget, outlining investments to lower class sizes, restore elementary music and add before-school care while warning of a possible $11.4 million administrative transfer of district unassigned funds to a borough maintenance reserve.
Chief Operations Officer Andy DeGraw told the school board that the district projects enrollment at roughly 11,042 students for next year and built the proposal on three main assumptions: a Base Student Allocation (BSA) of 6,660, an enrollment decline of 158 students and a status-quo local contribution request of $62,780,000. DeGraw said those assumptions, together with a combination of recurring and one-time savings, make the reinvestments possible.
The most significant proposed investment is a reduction in the pupil-to-teacher ratio (PTR): lowering K–5 PTR from 26 to 23, which the administration says would fund about 21 additional elementary classroom…
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