By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Assembly members will discuss and possibly make a decision Thursday on the level of city funding for schools in fiscal year 2021.
The special meeting is open to the public and starts at 6 p.m. at Harrigan Centennial Hall.
There is one item on the agenda: “Discussion/ Direction / Decision of local support of education to the Sitka School District contained in the proposed FY2021 General Fund Budget and other issues pertaining to the financial support of educational-related activities.”
“Based on what we have heard from the Assembly, staff is proposing funding schools to the cap as well as matching FY20 funding levels for additional items such as school maintenance and non-instructional items such as Blatchley Pool and Community Schools,” City Administrator Hugh Bevan said in a memo to the Assembly.
City support for schools was discussed at December 23 and January 23 Assembly meetings, with general agreement by the Assembly for an amount in line with Bevan’s memo, which amounts to $7,618,993 – a $333,293 increase over the current year.
The city expects to receive about $500,000 through the federal Secure Rural Schools program, which it didn’t receive last year. Funds from this program, formerly called “timber receipts” is traditionally divided between the city and school district.
State law places minimum and maximum levels on allowable local contributions for education, based on a number of factors, including the assessed value of taxable property in the community. For Sitka the minimum is $3,448,307, and the maximum is $7,053,234.
Four mills of the city property tax, $4.8 million, already is dedicated to schools, but last year the city allocated the equivalent of all $6.8 million in property tax to schools, plus an additional $500,000, the city finance department said today.
The Assembly is proposing:
– “funding schools to the cap” – the maximum allowable local contribution $7,053,234.
– covering non-instructional items at the same level as FY20 – $358,759, which includes such items as minor maintenance ($150,000) and direct in-kind utilities for the Performing Arts Center ($57,000).
City funding is divided into “instructional” (covered under the cap) and “non-instructional” (not covered by the cap) categories.
The city finance staff and administration started the city’s budget process early this year in order to avoid the stress of having to make late decisions, and giving the School Board more certainty.
“We’re hoping we can come to an agreement and finalize this so we don’t have a number that’s constantly changing,” City Controller Melissa Haley said. “Our goal, if things go according to plan, is to have this passed – to have our budget passed – before the School District is required to have theirs issued.”
State law calls for school districts to submit their budget, including a request for local funding, by May 1, and for the city to respond within 30 days.
If the city takes no action, the local contribution in the budget approved by the School Board will stand.
Bevan said he’s hoping to have the city’s general fund, enterprise funds and internal service fund budgets completed by the March 19 Assembly meeting. But he said the general goal this year was to incorporate the Assembly earlier in the process, and develop the budget with them, instead of handing off the budget to the Assembly after developing it in-house.
“I’m hoping when we get to the end, the Assembly will have a pretty good understanding of what’s in there,” he said.
School Superintendent Mary Wegner said today she was pleased with the process this year, including the discussion with city staff and Assembly members around what is and isn’t covered under the cap.
“I’m very appreciative of the advanced notice from the administrator and Assembly regarding our local contribution,” Wegner said. “I’m also thrilled we are getting back to a common conversation around the city funding cap.”
The School Board at tonight’s meeting will review a letter drafted by board president Elias Erickson supporting the Assembly’s funding plans for the district. He said he was also appreciative of the process this year.
“The Assembly is committing to an amount early on, and that makes a big difference,” he said.
