Finance committee recommends directing April levy to reduce class‑size increases, fund ~80 teacher positions

The Anchorage School District finance committee on Feb. 12 recommended that an upcoming one‑time operational levy on the April 7 ballot be targeted to reduce projected student‑to‑teacher ratio increases and restore classroom teaching capacity.

"The school board directs that the administration shall allocate $662,000 of those additional revenues towards charter schools as required and toward 80 classroom teacher positions," Kelly Lesson, the board treasurer and finance committee chair, said while describing draft amendment language and materials the committee reviewed. Lesson said the proposition being presented to voters is an ordinance (AO 2026‑14) that asks whether Anchorage should levy a one‑time tax to collect not more than $11.8 million to fund teacher positions and student programming.

Why it matters: district leaders say the levy is designed to blunt forecasted class‑size increases caused by a $90 million budget gap. Committee discussion centered on how specific the ballot‑language amendment should be — whether it should name PTR reductions and a number of positions or use broader wording such as "classroom instruction." Several board members said clarity will help win voter trust; others warned that overly specific language could limit flexibility.

Administrator and municipal input: an agency official who worked on the proposition said the core community message should be simple and teacher‑centered. "If we can be clear and say that we need these dollars so that we can hire as many teachers as possible for the Anchorage School District, I think that's something that people can understand," the official said. Lesson noted the mayor's office has circulated messaging that the levy would retain more than 80 educators and reduce projected PTR increases from "plus 4" to "plus 2."

Numbers and tradeoffs: the ballot measure caps the levy at $11,800,000. Committee materials and Lesson's presentation show a $662,000 share for charter schools required by law, leaving roughly $11,138,000 for district allocation. Lesson said that allocating all available funds toward PTR reduction could restore about 80 classroom teacher positions (and an estimated 3.5 paraprofessional FTEs), though different mixes (for example, restoring middle‑school programming or sports) would change how many positions could be funded and could exceed the levy total.

Debate highlights: some members favored concise language — "classroom instruction" — to keep the ballot ask clear for voters. Others, including Lesson, argued for explicit commitments (for example, naming 80 classroom teacher positions and the charter share) to provide assurances to legislators and the public. Members also discussed restoring the middle‑school model and whether that approach would materially change class sizes or simply add adults in different schedules.

Next steps: Lesson said she will workshop amendment language with President Jacobs and present a finance committee recommendation to the full board on Feb. 17. She reminded members that formal amendment submissions are due by the end of business the following day, and that amendments should be posted by 5 p.m. to allow staff review and public notice.

The committee did not take a formal board vote at the meeting; Lesson characterized the outcome as committee consensus to support allocating available levy dollars toward class‑size reduction and teacher positions.