FIFTH OPENING – The Sitka seine boats Hukilau and Rose Lee pump herring aboard this afternoon at the end of Deep Inlet during the fifth opening in the Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery. The opening was being held in two locations beginning at 11 a.m. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
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Sentinel Staff Writer
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Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
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At 2:10 p.m. a man e [ ... ]
Big Rigs Sought
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Sentinel Sports Editor
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Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
March 25
At 7:48 a.m. a calle [ ... ]
Vietnam-Era Vets
Invited to Lunch,
Commemoration
American Legion Post 13 will host a luncheon 1-3 p.m. [ ... ]
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Sentinel Staff Writer
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Playing through the afternoon Sunday, City League volleyball teams faced off [ ... ]
Daily Sitka Sentinel
Sitka Chamber Hears School Budget Woes
By TOM HESSE
Sentinel Staff Writer
Faced with the possibility of being $2 million in the red this budget cycle, the Sitka School Board continued its push for legislative and local support at the Chamber of Commerce Wednesday.
Board President Lon Garrison broke down the pending budget and highlighted the revenue needed from the state, local and federal level. Gov. Walker submitted a state budget that didn’t include the $32 million extra for schools that was approved last year. Federal Secure Rural Schools funds have not been reauthorized in Congress, causing the loss of $500,000 that the schools have come to depend on.
Garrison said it’s the same uncertainty the board faces every year.
“We always come to this time of year and we are always in the same situation. No one knows what the heck is going to happen,” he said, adding that because of that, Sitka needs to play a bigger role in its own school budget.
“We need more control over our own destiny.”
That means a greater contribution from local taxes as well as long-term planning. The School Board has made it a goal to establish a five-year budgeting process and Garrison highlighted some ways to boost local revenue. They included a property tax increase, sales tax increase, tobacco tax increase or a long-term education endowment. He also said businesses could make individual contributions to the school district.
“We might have to get a little innovative here,” he said.
A big part of the board’s push is to lobby the Legislature, not for more money but for money that was promised last year. House Bill 278 in the last Legislature was supposed to provide a bump to districts in 2016 that would have been over $360,000 to Sitka schools. But after the state’s financial forecast came out, this funding was removed from the governor’s budget.
“We are hoping that we can convince the Legislature to go against the governor and say ‘keep that promise. Put that money back in,’” Garrison said.
Garrison and Jennifer Robinson, who is both the Chamber director and a member of the School Board, made a trip to Juneau earlier this month, and Garrison said the news from the Legislature isn’t good.
“We didn’t get a very rosy picture when we were there. As a matter of fact, I think most people were still in shock,” Garrison said.
Between that cut, an estimate of fewer students, and no Secure Rural Schools funding, Garrison said revenues in 2016 could be almost $2 million less than this current budget. And this current budget could be in trouble if authorization for Secure Rural Schools for FY 2015 doesn’t come through, because the city and the school district have already put it in their budgets as income. If it doesn’t come through the district could be dipping into reserves to cover the difference before even getting into the 2016 budget.
“I think we stand a decent chance ... but if it doesn’t happen that means we will have a $500,000 deficit in this year’s budget,” Garrison said.
As for reserves, the district has $1,347,792 undesignated in the fund balance. Garrison said the district would prefer to keep $650,000 in that account for cash-flow purposes.
Garrison estimated that the odds of getting the state funding put back in are about 1 in 4, and he said it’s a coin flip as to whether or not Secure Rural Schools funding goes through.
The School Board will be holding a number of budget work sessions in the coming weeks. Next Monday the board will hold a community budget work session at 7 p.m. in the Sitka High Library.
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20 YEARS AGO
March 2004
Matthew C. Hunter of Sitka recently returned from Cuba as part of a St. Olaf College International and Off-Campus Studies program. Hunter, a junior physics major at St. Olaf College, is the son of Robert and Kim Hunter of Sitka.
50 YEARS AGO
March 1974
Eighth graders have returned from a visit to Juneau to see the Legislature. They had worked for it since Christmas vacation ... Clarice Johnson’s idea of a “White Elephant” sales was chosen as the best money-maker; Joe Roth won the political cartoon assignment; highest government test scorers were Ken Armstrong, Joanna Hearn, Linda Montgomery, Lisa Henry, Calvin Taylor and David Licari .....