Base Student Allocation
Dear Editor: Hello, my name is Todd Gebler, current vice president of the Sitka School Board. This is now my third year on the School Board and before I became a board member, I was simply a husband and parent of a 7-year-old boy.
I knew very little about school budgets and the finance part of educational funding for our schools. But quickly, over the past few years, I have learned much more about the process. I got involved with the School Board because I wanted to help our kids. I want to help make sure my son and all the other students in the district have what they need to succeed.
I would like to talk to you a little about something called the BSA and how important it is when it comes to building our school budget. The Alaska Base Student Allocation, or BSA, is an important part of how our state funds education. Think of it as the amount of money the state provides for each student in a school. This money is meant to cover the basic costs of education, like paying teachers, getting textbooks, and making sure there are enough resources for our kids to learn effectively. The specific amount of BSA can change, and it’s decided by our state’s government through the budget process. So, when we talk about the BSA, we’re essentially talking about how much financial support our schools receive for each student.
Now here is a very important part about the BSA and why it’s so critical for all in Sitka to be involved. Whether you are a parent of a child in the district, a grandparent, aunt or uncle, we all need to be aware and get involved to ensure the future of our students and help them strive for success. The amount of funding from the state has not increased since 2016! Meaning the BSA has not increased with inflation for over eight years now. The BSA currently is $5,960 per student despite inflation for that period being 27.6% per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. If the BSA had just kept up with inflation, the current state funding contribution to the Sitka School District would be more than $4,100,000 above what it currently is now.
Sitka is a beautiful island community, and we are all aware of the added expense of living in Southeast Alaska. Arguably we in Sitka have some of the best teachers in the country. For us to provide them with a livable wage we need the BSA to at least be up-to-date with inflation. More often teachers are forced to rethink living in Sitka or moving away to make a better salary.
Losing some of the greatest teachers is not only a growing possibility but it has now become a reality for some already. Competitive salaries are needed. Not only to keep the great teachers we have now but to also recruit new teachers when needed.
The state provides roughly 62%, well over half of the total amount we use to build our budget. And with the amount currently provided by the state, budget cuts are not a possibility, they are a certainty. An increase to the BSA is long overdue and critically needed to prevent the number of school programs and staff positions from being cut.
So, what do we do? The BSA has been an ongoing problem and one that most in state government are far too aware of. When I first became aware of this issue one of my first thoughts was, why is something like this happening? Surely, our representatives are aware of this and working hard to deliver a solution. But sadly, that doesn’t seem to be the case. This has been an ongoing problem for eight-plus years now and has been slowly taking its toll.
Advocating for a fair BSA and adequate educational funding is what’s needed. Contacting our state legislators to inform them that we support our schools and teachers. And that we need the BSA to be inflation proof to meet our current level of need.
Thank you.
Todd Gebler, Vice President,
Sitka School Board
