Downtown Palmer, with a map that identifies visitor desitnations, is seen on May 6, 2022. Palmer is one of the main communities in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Friends, from my view, it doesn’t look so good in the Valley these days…
Property tax assessment notices are up everywhere in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, even for swampy lots that have not increased in real value, while the school district considers school closures in the face of a $23 million deficit.
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District is proposing to close three local neighborhood schools to save $4.5 million next year.
What’s another solution? Cut administrative positions. A typical administrator makes well over $100,000 and with benefits the cost is between $150,000 – $200,000 for each position. When I was School Board President, albeit a while ago, I saw these numbers myself because I requested that I sign all administrative contracts over $100,000 — there were a lot! Cutting administrative positions, mostly by not filling positions, will make a huge difference.
The main problem with school budgets is that they are prepared by the administration… and we all know administrators, directors and assistant superintendents won’t cut their own positions. They cut teachers.
School Boards don’t generally change the budget that much. A lot is contingent on the amount of borough and state school funding needed to save the schools, so on we go with the status quo.
In the Valley, we appear to be drifting without a plan. Last year the school district and the borough got voter approval for $94.4 million of new school bonds with high interest rates. This year brings the possibility of closed schools, bigger class sizes, new bond debt payments and higher property taxes.
Taking on more debt to build new schools while closing traditional schools is an incredibly poor utilization of resources. Apparently, no one ran the numbers of future operating costs for our schools or thought about multiple-use of school buildings. No policy. No direction. It’s not rocket science. Elected officials should step up and think outside the box.
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Courtesy of Alaska Beacon
