Educators cite ‘targeted retribution,’ ‘stealth raid’ on budgets as state’s effort to limit municipal funding is delayed
- Mark Sabbatini
- Oct 9
- 4 min read
Education board OKs Dunleavy administration request to allow further consideration of proposal; accusations of misinformation traded by school district and state leaders
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Public school leaders accusing the Dunleavy administration of "targeted retribution" and "stealth raid" on their budgets got a temporary reprieve Thursday when a proposal imposing strict limits on funding municipalities can give school districts was put on hold by the Alaska Board of Education and Early Development.
The change to "local contribution" rules remains under consideration by state education department leaders, who have said their goal is to implement it by next July 1 in order to comply with federal rules involving such funds. Education Commissioner Deena Bishop responded to the harsh accusations against her department by declaring local school officials are spreading misinformation that is causing undue alarm.
"I think just the stress about school funding, a lot of trust isn't there," she added. "The department wants to earn that trust back."
Juneau School District leaders have said the change could cost about $8 million a year — equal to about 8.5% of this year’s budget — by cutting city funding toward non-instructional functions such as student transportation, meals and activities. District Superintendent Frank Hauser said the proposal is a "ruse to undermine public education," with Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) officials providing false justifications during two attempts so far to implement the policy.
"You are being asked to return this effort to the department to develop version 3.0 of this regulation," he said, referring to Bishop’s request for a delay to allow further review. "I am terrified of version 3.0 of this regulation. Each subsequent attempt at this regulation change has had exponentially more negative impacts, impacts beyond what the department realizes."
"Instead of enacting the oft-quoted definition of insanity — doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results — I ask you today to take a different direction and ask the department to stop with this effort altogether," Hauser added.
The dispute involves a federal disparity test — currently used only by Alaska, due to its large amount of federal land that is untaxable — which limits the gap between the state’s highest- and lowest-funded school districts on a per-student basis to 25%. If the threshold is met, then federal payments to districts unable to collect sufficient tax revenue are calculated as part of the state’s funding for local schools.
Alaska failed the test in 2021 and again this year, but successfully appealed the first instance and is in the appeal process on the latter. The state will have to pay $80 million to districts considered underfunded under the federal requirement if the appeal is unsuccessful.
One area of agreement among all stakeholders is the issue is complex and confusing — and thus subject to inadvertent or deliberate misinformation by officials seeking to steer matters of education funding in their preferred direction.
"There is no interest in stopping innovative and flexible options for districts," Bishop told the state education board on Wednesday during a work session leading up to Thursday’s meeting. "We just want to understand how can they be innovative and flexible within the means of the law."
But reassurances expressed by Bishop on Wednesday about trying to avoid harsh financial impacts on school districts don’t match the written language of the proposed change, said Katie Parrott, senior budget director for the Anchorage School District, during Thursday’s meeting. Furthermore, Parrott said, a post Monday on DEED’s Facebook page with an image of a dumpster fire "essentially called district leadership and elected officials liars by name, accusing them of manufacturing misinformation and eliciting unjustified concern."
"To see that post — which in a lot of people's minds was unprofessional and unbecoming of leadership, and really quite chilling — (is) to have a state department targeting individuals for good-faith advocacy based on what the actual regulation is right now," she said.
Megan Gunderson, director of technology at Valdez City Schools, told the state board she’s provided informative feedback about the proposed changes to DEED, but the Facebook post indicates the "breakdown of an essential partnership."
"This was not just unprofessional, it was harmful," she said. "Our districts are not dumpster fires. Moreover, districts should not hesitate to communicate with their communities for fear of targeted retribution or mockery from DEED."
Among the counterarguments by school district officials is federal officials have stated Alaska can achieve compliance by changing its accounting methods, rather than altering local contribution rules. Furthermore, opponents of the change argue, the change itself fails to consider the specific needs and potential impacts that vary widely by district.
"These regulations would directly reduce the food we can provide for our students, something no community should have to accept," said Jason Weber, superintendent of Valdez City Schools. "Additionally, these regulations represent a troubling shift away from local control of schools. Each Alaskan community has unique needs and challenges. The decisions about how to support and operate schools should be made by those who live and work closest to them, not through a one-size-fits-all mandate from the state level. Undermining local authority threatens the very foundation of community-supported education in Alaska."
State education board members unanimously approved Bishop’s request to delay consideration of the proposed change. Lt. Col. James Fowley, the board's military adviser, said he wants to see indicators of DEED working with school districts to address the specific concerns raised during the public comment process.
"I just think it, in my learning on it, is going to be incredibly complex and it's probably going to vary between every single one of the districts," he said.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
