School board considers reviving free universal student breakfasts with extra $200 in BSA funds
- Mark Sabbatini
- Aug 20
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 20
Veto override by Legislature gives Juneau School District an extra $1.54M, but local leaders worry about costs of new teacher contracts and state’s attempt to slash local funding
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Restoring the universal free breakfast program using some of the $200 in extra per-student funding available due to the Alaska Legislature overriding Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of those funds was among the primary options considered by the Juneau Board of Education on Tuesday.
But district officials are also expressing concerns about other potential costs, including teacher contract negotiations — with the sides about $1.2 million apart when an impasse was declared in July — and a state proposal that could reduce city-provided funding by several million dollars annually.
Free breakfasts for all students would cost about $230,000 for a full school year, with the district expecting an extra $1.54 million from the $200 increase in the Base Student Allocation, Nicole Herbert, the district’s chief financial officer, told school board members during a work session. Board members opted in July to let the program end because federal funding for it had lapsed and other sources of funding were lacking.
Free breakfasts are still available for students qualifying for free or reduced-priced lunches.
A list of add-back items for the extra funds ranks the breakfast program eighth among the board members, but third-highest among school principals. A variety of staff positions are at the top of the board’s list, but members also acknowledged the district is having trouble filling existing jobs that are vacant — and thus there’s no assurance the additional positions can be quickly filled.
David Noon, a school board member, said restoring would provide a more certain and wide-reaching benefit.
"I would suggest that might be something worth considering as an add-back," he said. "It would certainly make a difference."
Superintendent Frank Hauser said reviving the breakfast program should be a simple matter of ensuring NANA Management Services can readjust its food service so all students can get breakfasts and alerting families about the change. He said the board can introduce the proposal at a special meeting that occurs before the next regularly scheduled meeting on Sept. 9, where public testimony and a vote on passing the change could occur.
The extra $200 is part of a $700 increase to a $5,960 BSA that has remained nearly unchanged since 2017, which the Legislature passed by a 46-14 vote during this year’s session. Dunleavy used his line-item veto authority when he signed the state budget to cut the increase to $500 after legislators failed to pass education policy priorities he was seeking.
The governor also called the Legislature into a special session starting Aug. 3, with education and other topics on the agenda. Legislators responded by overriding his BSA veto — and a veto on another bill — and declining to take up his requested agenda items.
A further effort by the Dunleavy administration that would reduce funding to school districts is underway, with the state board of education scheduled in October to consider limiting money provided by local governments. About $35 million of the Juneau School District’s roughly $80 million operating budget for this year is provided by the City and Borough of Juneau.
The change proposed by the state could cost the district more than $8 million annually, although $2 million of that is generated by student activities and therefore might be exempt, Herbert told the board.
An FAQ about the proposed change published by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development states it is being sought to comply with federal "disparity test" requirements that limit the difference between total per-student funding in the highest and lowest districts in a state. Juneau is singled out in the FAQ as a district well above the federal "cap."
The state also notes the change applies to "non-instructional" costs such as meals, transportation and student activities. It also states funds can continue to be raised "through community fundraising efforts such as bake sales, booster clubs, or donations from individuals and local organizations."
"These types of contributions are not counted as part of the local contribution because they do not come from a city or borough government," the FAQ states.
State education officials said the proposal, if adopted, is intended to take effect at the beginning of the next fiscal year that starts July 1, 2026. But Juneau school board members say they can’t accept that as a certainty — and in any event need to be planning now for the potential loss of such funds annually.
Options discussed during Tuesday’s meeting ranged from allowing the city to take over direct responsibility for some "non-instructional" programs to having municipalities statewide form their own student activity/sports association.
"I just want to state I'm not for getting out of the athletic business at all," said Emil Mackey, a school board member. "But I am saying that, to me, this is a game by the Dunleavy administration to further degragate the amount of funds that can go to education by basically strapping our funds artificially. This is a problem looking for a bigger problem. And so I just want to say that there's going to be unintended consequences and I just want us to be thinking as creatively as the administration is."
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindenendent.com or (907) 957-2306.
