On top of a flat-funded BSA, Juneau Board of Education considers loss of local funding and grants

Local school officials are worrying about more than the high-stakes battle at the Alaska State Capitol over education funding as they plan next year’s school budget. Also of concern is a policy change state education officials are considering that would significantly reduce the city’s ability to provide funds for student activities, food service and other non-classroom purposes.

Furthermore, some federal grants the district has counted on for the past few years are expiring, which could result in cuts to mental health and staff support for students.

Per-student education funding has been an ongoing worry for years, but new this year is a proposal by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) that redefines the funding municipalities can provide school districts for non-instructional purposes.

A DEED financial manager has stated that if approved, the proposal would likely not take effect until the summer of 2026, giving districts a year to adjust. But Juneau Board of Education members say there’s no assurance the delay will occur.

Cuts due to the policy discussed during a school board public budget forum Thursday night included high school and middle school activities, Learn To Swim, food services, student transportation, and Pre-K programming.

Juneau School District Superintendent Frank Hauser said one possibility is the services may no longer be available. The policy change would affect about $1.9 million the district uses annually for such purposes.

“Activities and food services are not required for free public education, although they have been included for so long that they are seen as an extension of education,” Hauser said.

School board member Emil Mackey emphasized the importance of athletic programs in schools.

“We’ve never properly funded education and we’ve never properly funded athletics, and I’d like to see both of them properly funded, and maybe they’re stronger apart,” he said.

Mackey tentatively suggested a broader conversation with other districts in the state around a city-sponsored youth sports association should the DEED regulations be implemented.

The broader funding fight remains the state’s Base Student Allocation, which at $5,960 per-student is nearly unchanged since 2017. A one-time increase of $680 per student during the current school year is providing an extra $5.7 million to the JSD, which is helping patch what was originally projected to be a multimillion-dollar deficit.

If the BSA is not increased, JSD will face a deficit of $5.75 million for the 2026 fiscal year that starts July 1, Hauser said. He presented different revenue projections on Thursday during a public budget forum seeking feedback from the community and principals.

The third scenario would be if JSD receives either an additional $1,000 through a BSA increase or through one-time funding, making the BSA $6,960. The $1,000 figure is based on House Bill 69 by Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, I-Sitka, that would also add $289 as retroactive inflation-proofing for a total BSA of $7,249.

Negotiations between Himschoot and other legislators are now ongoing with Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who is proposing an education package with no BSA increase, instead directing additional funds for specific policy-oriented purposes such as teacher bonuses and correspondence schools.

Educators, parents and students stressed how the BSA has not been adjusted for inflation during public testimony taken Jan. 29 on HB69.

Hauser said the district ended with an audited fund balance in the positive even after JSD confronted one of its worst financial crises in history last year. The surplus came at the cost of consolidating schools and the reduction of staff.

Another factor to consider in planning the FY26 budget is declining student enrollment. Hauser said based off last year’s numbers for FY25, a predicted reduction of 3.4% or 134 students aligns with the state’s population decline.

The JSD FY26 budget must be submitted to the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly by March 14.

JSD has a work session for the budget scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 11 at the TMMS Library prior to its regular meeting. The first reading of the FY26 budget is scheduled for Feb. 20 at 5:30 p.m. at the TMMS Library.

The end of federal grants could bring an end to more student support

At the forum only one member of the public testified, a stark contrast to last year’s discussions that at times stretched well past midnight as JSD confronted a nearly $10 million deficit. The concern on Thursday was also different, focusing on expiring federal grant funds.

“I think the Student Wellness Advocates are a key part of making sure that those students who are struggling have some kind of resource available to them,” Aaron Surma, executive director of National Alliance on Mental Illness Juneau and the Juneau Suicide Prevention Council, said.

In a letter to JSD, Surma emphasized the importance of mental health education and treatment programs.

His testimony came after Paula Casperson, principal of Juneau-Douglas High School: Yaada.at Kalé, told the Juneau Board of Education a federal grant paying for two Student Wellness Advocates ends this year.

“They are critical to our counseling department,” Casperson said. “They take on the majority of all the mental health crises and issues, which is allowing our other three counselors to focus on academic counseling as their priority. So losing them will lead to giant holes in that department and big holes in our students’ access to those services.”

The Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education (AWARE) grant also pays for a Student Wellness Advocate at Thunder Mountain Middle School.

TMMS Principal Shawn Arnold, Casperson and Surma requested JSD continue providing the services currently funded by the AWARE grant through the district’s FY26 budget. The grants are in their final year, Hauser said, and without replacement funding, the resources for the positions would no longer be there.

At TMMS, the Student Wellness Advocate is the only person providing ongoing therapeutic support services. Surma said they are speaking weekly with students having suicidal thoughts.

Surma said NAMI Juneau partners with JSD to offer mental health education and treatment programs, support for the Teen Health Center, mental health presentations, an advice column for parents, and programming at Johnson Youth Center. He said the Student Wellness Advocates are crucial in implementing suicide prevention planning.

His testimony touched on a larger issue in Juneau. Youth mental health services are few and far between following the closure of Bartlett’s crisis stabilization center and Juneau Youth Services.

The two Student Wellness Advocates at JDHS provide the same service to students. Unlike TMMS, JDHS does have a Teen Health Center, but Surma said the therapists in the center would be able to absorb only a small number of students currently receiving therapeutic services.

“If only one option exists for JDHS students, and none for TMMS students to receive ongoing mental health therapeutic support at school, I fear many more students will fall through the cracks,” Surma wrote.

Another grant that won’t be renewed at TMMS includes two classroom positions and an instructional coach for STEAM/CTE. Hauser said JSD is monitoring if some of the funds for a no-cost extension will be available through Sealaska Heritage Institute.

At the neighborhood elementary level, a grant expiring this year will cause the positions of literary paraeducators to disappear, a crucial position in helping meet the Alaska Reads Act requirements.

“In many of our schools, that has been a crucial position in helping meet the Alaska Reads Act because our special education paraeducators are dedicated to working with our special education students,” Stacy Diouf, the principal of Sayéik Gastineau Elementary School, said.

• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz.garrett@juneauempire.com or (907) 723-9356.