School district blindly balances budget

In less than a month Nome Public Schools will approve its budget for the 2025-2026 school year. The district is hoping for a funding increase from the state at a time as legislators are struggling to balance the state’s budget.
Last week, representatives from Nome schools traveled to Juneau where they met with lawmakers and explained how no increase in funding would hurt the district, which already has whittled down its budget in recent years to avoid firing staff.
“We’ve been quiet cutting for so long, just trying to keep everything status quo,” Superintendent Jamie Burgess said in a meeting with Rep. Neal Foster (D-Nome) on March 31.
Also present in the Capitol was Nome-Beltz Principal Teriscovkya Smith and teacher Holly Harlow. They met one-on-one with Foster, Sen. Donald Olson (D-Golovin) and Sen. Löki Tobin (D-Anchorage) as part of a statewide superintendents and administrators fly-in.
On Tuesday, Nome Public Schools presented the school board with its final draft budget for the 2025-2026 school year, budgeting a $680 (or 11 percent) increase to the state’s per-student base funding formula, which is uncertain until the legislature and governor finish their budget work.
Lawmakers are facing a deficit of several hundred million dollars, as state revenues fall short of covering existing spending, much less a larger increase in the school funding formula.
Even with the placeholder, the Nome district would have to take money out of reserves to fund a remaining deficit. The school board has made it clear they don’t want to cut teaching positions.
Each school district has a different budget deadline. The City of Nome requires it by May 1, which is likely before the legislature will take final action on the state budget.
“I’m fairly confident we’re going to get something. The question is, how much and when will we actually know what we’re getting?” Burgess told the Nugget.
Foster told the visiting Nomeites that education has been a priority for many legislators this year. House and Senate leaders are relatively aligned to understand the need for more money for schools, however, the challenge is getting Gov. Mike Dunleavy to sign on.
Last year, Dunleavy vetoed a permanent increase to the per student funding formula – the Base Student Allocation, or BSA – which has not been significantly increased in a decade.
Districts instead received a one-time formula boost of $680 per student; that number has returned this year as a possible increase option if the House-approved $1,000 doesn’t make it through.
Foster said it’s been difficult to work with the governor, who has remained steadfast that more money alone won’t fix Alaska’s education system.
The Alaska Council of School Administrators gave a presentation during a joint House and Senate Education Hearing, stating a $1,808 increase to the BSA was needed to keep up with inflation. No legislative leaders are pushing anything close to that large of an increase.
In an April 3 post on X, Dunleavy said the latest version of the funding-formula legislation working its way through the Senate falls short of education reforms families deserve, citing constraints on homeschool students and lack of policies to improve student achievement.
The $1,000 increase is what Superintendent Burgess has her eyes on. If legislators and the governor approve that amount, Nome Public Schools wouldn’t have to dip into district savings which are meant to go toward a long-planned housing project for teachers and local law enforcement.
The lack of affordable housing is part of the problem in recruiting new teachers. Principal Smith explained to Rep. Foster that she has an open position for a high school English teacher she can’t fill, because she can’t ensure they’ll have a place to live in the teacher dorms or their salary will be enough to rent or buy in town.
“Our children have increased mental, social, emotional needs and mental health needs. We don’t have funding to bring in the staff that we need to help these kids. We can’t even be competitive in what we can offer,” Burgess told Foster.
Another major struggle, which contributes to reduced funding, is declining enrollment.
This school year alone 81 students have withdrawn from Nome Public Schools; 25 of those have dropped out. The district ended the 2024 school year with 669 students enrolled.
Burgess explained how the district offers multiple alternative options to traditional public school: A homeschool program, a charter school and hospitality program. They also recently approved an ANSEP acceleration program which would have highschoolers dually enrolled in college courses, and they’re looking into creation of a tribal compact school.
“We’ve really tried to be responsive to what our community and our parents say that they desire,” Burgess said.
But more funding is what would really make a difference in the budget.
In the worst-case scenario, if no additional state funding comes through, Nome Public Schools will be staring down to cut 11 teaching positions, almost 20 percent of the classified staff. With a formula increase of $680, they can get by this time, but not for years to come.
 “That’s the reality of where we are,” Burgess told the Nugget. “And you can only cut non-instructional costs so much, the building has to be heated.”
Burgess said the district is advocating for the $1,000 increase, and the group from Nome hammered this home during their meetings with legislators.
Foster, who is co-chair of the House Finance Committee, told them he’s willing to compromise more than most to get the “biggest BSA number possible,” but it really comes down to negotiations with the governor, and how much the legislature is willing to give him.
Nome’s school board will meet in a joint session with the Common Council April 14 to discuss the final draft of the budget before adopting it in an April 29 special meeting.

This reporting from the State Capitol by Nugget reporter Anna Lionas is made possible by the Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism’s Legislative Reporter Exchange.