001e e at 6 PM I'm calling this meeting of the Anchorage School District board to order um we want to thank everyone for coming tonight attending and supporting the work of the Anchorage School District board thanks students parents teachers staff School business Partners in the entire Community for your investment of time and effort in our district um first on the agenda uh our roll call um all members are in attendance with the exception of member Wilson who is connected to us telephonically and I will ask um our student representative pack to lead us send a salute to the flag I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all and I would ask uh
002representative Pat to read Our Land acknowledgement we acknowledge that we gather here today on the traditional lands of the denina people of the upper Cook Inlet for thousands of years the denina people have been and continue to be the stewards of this land ASD is committed to diversity and inclusion and it is with honor and respect that we recognize all indigenous people who live and learn in our community thank you uh next is the approval of the agenda I could have a motion M chair I move to approve the agenda as listed and I have an amendment as well you'll go ahead and state is there a second second second uh go ahead and state your Amendment yeah thank you Mr chair I would move to postpone um agenda item C1 which is our student
003achievement um growth assessment goal monitoring session to our our next regular business meeting uh in the month of March um and then I would also ask ask the board um approve uh deviating from our typical process and allowing um all public testifiers to speak during the first opportunity early in the meeting if there's a second I can speak to that second mve in seconded if you'd like to speak to it yeah thank you Mr chair just briefly I think the the goal of both of these items is to hear from as many members of the public as possible as quickly as we can and so um I think if we um allow this prioritization to exist we will sure that we hear from as many people before it gets late and we have students who
004have to leave for tonight so I would urge support thank you okay thank you um I'll ask is there any objection to the amendment seeing and hearing none is there any objection to the motion to adopt the agenda as amended Mr chair yes I'd like to make another amendment to the agenda member B I'd like to move G item G1 to our next meeting which would be regular regularly scheduled meeting correct March 4th I think is there a second second moved and seconded discussion seeing no hands is there any objection to moving item G1 to our March meeting seeing none um we will move that item to our next regularly scheduled meeting at the beginning of March um without any further objection or Amendment the the agenda is adopted as [Music] amended thank you um
005first up in item section B is our student representative report Mr pack thank you Mr President um the primary uh report that I have once again is from our last Sab meeting which happened last Tuesday in this boardroom we had a packed in productive meeting I'd say and one of the first things that we discussed as a student body is how our schools promote student voice and although we got plenty of answers I think there are a couple um that I find interesting that I'd like to share with the board and the public um one Central has its uh husky H how podcast and that's the thing where students give their input on school life and such diamond high school has their student form where Student Government members get to hear student ideas complaints and
006then transfer those that information to the administration Highland Academy um has a morning meeting every Tuesday where uh staff and students get to comment on things happening in the school and then finally players I know I'm trying to be unbiased here but we have the players General Assembly where students get to speak basically like um via a very parliamentary Pro procedure based government body where they get to speak on resolutions and pass them then another update that we have is that we sent four students I think actually five students to Juno recently from ASD and they were Fierce Advocates I heard advocating for school funding and letting uh ASD students voices be heard and that was at the youth advocacy Institute I believe um next we had our our student assembly member Mikell discuss the
007resolution that the assembly heard uh last Tuesday which basically called upon the ASD to hold a student drive to get students out to vote thereby increasing Civic engagement in our schools and that's I think a great thing that they proposed next we as a student Advisory Board we passed our Amendment to the the bylaws in our constitution um and that just basically moved our vice president secretary and treasur not treasure um PR rep elections to the second to last month of the school year instead of the last and that passed with noted opposition and one of the big items that we passed during that meeting is our resolution proposed by Eagle River and it's called the Fine Arts resolution and the title it kind of expounds upon its detail and it says an additional elective
008credits for high school students participation in extracurricular Fine Arts programs and clubs and what it essentially does it is it adds a an additional program to our credit by choice um program in the ASD program of studies um including fly Arts because currently we do not have an Avenue for students to basically put in hours invest time into dance or theater and earn credit for it um which like for example they are um credit by choice in PE or working so I think it makes sense for there to be one in the Fine Arts programs because students put a lot of hours into that and believe it's recognizing the the work they put into that um and of course in the resolution it says that those Fine Arts credits in order to earn it you
009need specific and legitimate extracurricular Fine Arts programs clubs including local dance studios Community Theater companies youth Symphonies drama clubs and there will be you know people who have to verify that so that it passes through um so and they asked that 120 hours of acceptable work will count as half a SE or a semester 0.5 units of accept acceptable elective credit and a maximum of 1.5 total of credits can be earned through this option A little bit of context this resolution was presented and passed at the Alaska Association of student government so lot of the student governments in Alaska endorsed this resolution and after that happened we brought it to our local Sab where the students in our district beli that it was um worth passing and so I think I would like to present
010this to the board and send this an email in some form and I believe that maybe in the coming meetings or I'm not sure about this one but we will have the students from eag River presenting this to the board is what I've been told and then we did two other things in our meeting one we had a executive board presentation on how students can contact the legislators um it was a brief presentation going down to the details of how students can contact find their legislators and who represents them and how they could respectfully um address their points and what they want to bring across to the legislators um and finally we elected our president-elect um who will be joining me in a meeting in March she was unfortunately not be not able to join
011us today and her name is Madison arola um she's an incredibly passionate individual and I I'm very happy to have her on board so yeah that concludes my report thank you very much any questions from the board uh member donway uh seems like a really interesting idea this Fine Arts Credit is that something that this board can authorize Mr superintendent uh possibly member donle I'd like to review the details but it seems within the realm of possibility any other questions seeing none thank you very much um moving to our next item is a military report I believe Colonel Hansen is here thank you for coming sir good evening president hman and members of the board uh thank you for inviting me here tonight my name is Colonel Dustin Hansen uh J Bear's 673rd Mission support
012group commander and I appreciate just a few minutes to uh provide a military update uh I first want to say uh I I strongly appreciate Anchorage School District's operations officer Mr Anderson and his proactive communication regarding the district's mitigation planning uh in the event of a mount spur eruption uh this is something that jber as well uh J bear is also uh monitoring closely we have a few uh Lessons Learned and after actual reports that we're leaning back on to see how we would respond but uh most importantly we want to make sure that we are um we remain committed to being a valuable partner both to the district and to the municipality uh during an ashall event my second and final Point speaking of Partnerships uh is actually a question in the form of
013a question to uh the team here on the on the school board uh as the jber community digests the impact of a budget shortfall our parents have expressed their concerns regarding increased classroom sizes uh loss of Middle School sports uh as well as the ignite program in light of this jar wants to be a part of the solution how do members of the school board see J bear best supporting the district through this budget shortfall especially in fixing the fing formula thank you any questions from the board I I I'll answer on behalf of the board to your specific question I I think the biggest thing and and this really is meant for everybody that our budget really is sort of been an interim process in that it's based on an amount of money that
014we feel certain about but the Appropriations process hasn't actually happened yet within the legislature um and so right now the most critical thing is for everyone to make their desires known to their representative and to the governor they are in bargaining U between the the two houses and the governor over an amount of money I think there's strong pressure in the legislature to increase the uh BSA or increase funding significantly um there's a desire by the governor to Institute of reforms and so they're they're working around that uh those two things but I I think it's critical that you talk about that uh class sizes activities um I I do think that we do have a special responsibility to the military families some of whom are only here for a few years some are here
015for quite a while but we we have a responsibility to to do well by your children while you're you're in Anchorage serving and I think hearing from families uh that they value these programs uh would be extremely valuable in in knocking doors in Juno you get a lot of push back about how ineffective school is students aren't learning students aren't really doing anything that matters that much we sure here at meetings like this so I I do hope people will make sure the representatives fully understand that and that we fund at least at a level that we had last year uh uh going forward I know member checkins yeah thank you Mr chair and thank you Colonel for um your time tonight your service to our country and then the question um I think it's
016important to note for context that our state came within one vote of effectuating an increase to the formula we referenced just a second ago that funds the majority of um ASDS operating budget um Senate Bill 140 passed uh with a 93% approval rating uh roughly a year ago and then just a few short weeks later after a a veto by our governor um to say and debate nothing of the merits um a significant number of legislators changed their mind um three of those are that represent Anchorage are still in office um Julie colom and South Anchorage and then two Eagle River Representatives um which is um I think relevant to the the question and the answer to your question um representative Saddler and the representative Allard um I would imagine that there's heavy overlap between
017um your population that serves that lives in Eagle River and so connecting with legislators and expressing the value um that we see on our schools on base and um urging just one more voice of reason to invest in our students and the programs that we see as valuable that we know are valuable that the data tells us are valuable um would be appreciated and so I think those are the voices that we should uh lean into and appreciate the question thank you any other comments on member lessons one thing that we've celebrated in the Anchorage School District are are many opportunities our schools of choice our programs of choice alternative optional language immersion I presume that you have uh members of the JB Community who are taking advantage of those choices and perhaps the administration
018has has data uh that shows something to the effect of you know where are military families choosing and that might equip you as a leader in the community to say that um to underscore that you're not only advocating for students in schools on base but for your military families who truly are embedded throughout the community and they're in neighborhood schools and they're in elementary and middle and secondary they are everywhere and so we can't just Champion you know three schools um but to to really make sure that you have the information you need to say this is about access uh to all of the wonderful programs that the district has historically offered um so I would love if the administration could partner and get that information to you yeah thank you member leson I a
019th% agree and when I when I sit before each of you once a month like I I am thinking across the entire District I know I have hundreds if not thousands of students uh fused between Anchorage uh Eagle River even up in Matsu burrow so it's well beyond the three schools on J bear uh and I also appreciate the fact that we can almost take a two-prong approach you know we have the the parents who are passionate about making sure their kids get the best education so that they they want what's best for the school district I also know that we have you know senior leadership from jber Community uh that are willing to go to to Juno and to uh and to um engage with legislature on behalf of the ASD as well we
020deeply appreciate that thank you very much great time that brings us to Board conference and committee reports and I assume committee reports are probably written um I'll make note that uh member Higgins and myself are at the Alaska Association of school boards uh conference in Juno last weekend um and and with a handful of our students that went through the aasb leadership program um and they really did an awesome job I I haven't actually talked to any of them since we've been back in Anchorage but I think they found the conference really valuable and they did a great job talking with legislators and other folks uh in the capital uh I don't know if member Higgins wanted to add anything the only thing I'll add is that the feedback I got from legisl lers is
021a lot of support for doing something with the BSA uh it's still going to be a difficult process with the governor and they know that uh in this difficult process finding where the money's coming from that's a big issue as well but um I will um share with um with the president that the student involvement there was really very impressive they legislators didn't give them an easy time and they did a great job responding and handling some you know the issues and representing the anchor School District was lot to be proud of but the feedback from the public right now is critical uh it has made a difference in the past I remember when Great alaster Schools really became active with the legislature there were people that went down there uh lots of emails lots
022of of of phone calls and it frustrated the the legislators but it resulted in a large BSA increase that we wouldn't have got otherwise and everybody knew that in fact I remember they blamed the school board for um for the fact that the Great Schools was doing this and we didn't have anything to do with forming it but I said yes we teach Civics I work for you everybody on the board works for you and the legislators um uh are your employees and you need to tell the employees what you want and when you do you get a difference you get a different outcome so uh as much involvement as possible meeting with them reinforce the fact that they're listening they're hearing a lot of stuff from the public and we need to keep it
023up and I appreciate that thank you thank you any other board comments uh member lence this is in lie of a written report from our finance committee but it seems relevant to just uh relay a couple of points here um we focused uh this past meeting on two things one the FY 26 budget and actually we only focused on the f 26 budget we didn't get to the second item I'm mistaken um but we spent a great deal of time listening to an administrative report on The Balancing Act tool that the community had access to uh this winter for about a month this is a new approach to generating uh really relevant Community input uh in the budgeting process and what we learned is that almost 7,000 um people sort of engaged with the tool
024at first about 840 took the time to complete a submission uh which which truthfully wasn't easy uh but of those 840 only 48 community members were able to produce a balanced budget that did not rely on new revenue from the state and they did so by and large by massively increasing pupil teacher ratios so the takeaway is that there are uh the board members have not found any easy answers community members have not found any easy answers and truly the solution uh in my mind uh has got to hinge on a substantive increase in revenue from the state of Alaska so that we can uh have a balanced budget that maintains the level of services that our community has come to depend on and I think rightfully so um so any the presentation is available
025there's a slide deck on our finance committee meeting from the 13th um and there's also just two short PDFs one is a summary of all of the changes that are proposed at all of our elementary schools and the second is a PDF of uh the Staffing changes at secondary um and alternative schools so it's just a helpful it's a shorter version than the entire 400 and something page budget book uh to understand what's happening at all of the schools when it comes to I think what's closest to a lot of people's hearts which is um classroom teachers class sizes and the services that those teachers provide to our students thanks thank you very much any other board comments seeing none uh item C we have delayed until our March meeting that brings us to our
026superintendent update thank you Mr President uh so this evening I'd like to use my superintendent update to keep the community informed about our budget uh we have a lot of people people in the room today and outside the room today who love their school they love their programs and they just want to understand what is going on what are options um and path forward so I'd like to put a PowerPoint presentation up we'll give ourselves a minute to transition so here's a PowerPoint presentation that'll be um co-led by me and my Chief Financial Officer Mr Andy rat I'd like to open with just a few remarks if we could go to slide eight please I'd like the community and uh general public and board members to focus on this slide for a moment because uh
027this tells a very interesting story about school funding in the state of Alaska so this deck shows uh per student funding over the past 10 years um in fiscal years so if you look at the column all the way on the right you'll see our current fiscal year that we're planning for which is the FY 26 budget but when you look backwards you'll see the history of the of the school funding and that red bar that you see at the very top uh is essentially uh what the what an inflation adjusted base student allocation would be so I'll use this term base base student allocation quite a bit you've probably heard the term BSA uh fairly often in in different context but essentially that's a per student funding number that you plug into this complicated
028formula that essentially is the structure for school Finance in the state of Alaska so why is that blue bar very relevant to this conversation the fact of the matter is is that that blue bar has essentially been uh the same level of funding for about 10 years uh you'll notice there was a $30 increase in FY 24 but that's $30 per individual student so when you step back and we think about our household budgets and think about how the cost of fuel has gone up exponentially since fy17 the cost of rent the cost of goods eggs what have you those same things happen within school systems when we think about the rising cost of Labor when we think about the cost of energy to heater buildings um when we think about all these different factors
029what you find is that um what was once worth 5960 um is essentially worth a little uh over $44,000 um in today's term so we've lost quite a bit of spending power uh since 2017 and that's an issue and I think the issue was alluded to by President hullman a moment ago but I'd like to underscore it it's a very good point where uh that 5960 number that blue bar that you see um is essentially what the district has budgeted over why did we choose to budget around that per student number um because that's the only number that uh we are entitled to per Alaska statute uh you'll find that 59 60 number in the law books and we can um for the most part reliably expect that level of funding to come to ASD
030but you'll notice that there are other different colors on top of these blue bars and those represent a couple of different things those represent the ways that the district has balanced its budget over time and you'll see an interesting story of how the state has come through um quite a bit you can see in FY 19 you'll see a small orange bar that's the level of additional State funding outside of the formula that was received that year and you'll see little spattering of orange um throughout this graph um but the point is is that we don't know what that orange number is or how much that number will be until months after the ASD board has already passed a budget so that's the quandry that we're in now we have no idea what the final
031Revenue number would be I would say that many of us are hopeful that that number will be higher than what uh than what's written in law but we won't know that and it would put us in a very precarious financial situation if we budgeted for dollars that we don't have if we were to project revenue for example that runs the risk of all sorts of things um essentially boiling down to funding positions that you don't have money in the bank to pay for so that's what we're trying to avoid here but why that's so devastating for the way that we create budgets in the state of Alaska is that we need to put a budget forward that assumes essentially no increase from the state which may not be the case Cas um so when you
032see the budget that's been prepared that everybody's seen that has all sorts of um drastic Cuts that's because this is our attempt to try to balance the budget with those dollars that are prescribed in law um with that said we do have hopes that that funding will come in but essentially the issue is we have no idea what that level of funding would be and that brings us to this conversation where I'd like to walk us through um kind of how we got here and what are the next steps but the point of it is is that this budget that we've prepared I would say does not reflect our aspirations as a school district our aspirations are to keep our class sizes low to offer a wide variety of electives and to really protect the
033programs that we feel make our school system one of the best school systems in the country but all of those things are being put at stake by what I would characterize as 10 years of systemic neglect at the legislative level and that's where we can partner as you reflect on as an audience member if you're listening online if you feel that the way that this is working is not working for our kids I think our legislators would like to hear from you and they'll certainly be hearing from us at the Das because we truly believe that a sensible path forward um terms of improving the school funding formula is the way to go um but only collectively do I think we'll ultimately get there so that that's what I wanted to share with you um
034at the very beginning now as we built this budget there are a couple things that we wanted to keep in mind uh so again this doesn't reflect our aspirations as a school district the fact that we've increased PTR in this budget the fact that we've put incredible programs like immersion on on this budget as a potential reduction that's not a reflection that we feel that these programs are not valuable it's really a reflection of how devastating the school funding situation is and what we're committed to at this board table is to figure out a way to make the case to find a sensible path forward to reform school funding so that way we can reliably predict what our revenue is and plan our budgets months in advance and not try to predict months prior uh
035so we need to really turn the the cycle upside down to to Really fulfill our promise that we'd like to to offer to our community which is offering fantastic programs so with that said that that's a lot of My Talking I'd like our Chief Financial Officer to kind of walk us through this entire deck for the the sake of the Public's understanding right thank you so really just want to go through quickly I know we got a lot of speakers tonight so I'll go through this but really just to talk about here's the overview of our budget currently as it sits currently kind of how we got there and kind of what the next steps are and what the outlook on the legislature is um So currently we're in the process where we have to
036have a balanced budget submitted to the assembly by the first Monday in March that's a municipal Charter um and that's so they can get their tax requests out in April so really it doesn't give the legislature a whole lot of time and the current system that is set up for them to make that decision before we have to make our decisions um in a perfect world we'd have something inflation proofed where we could know and be certain of what our next year's revenue is but frankly that's just not the case and um hopefully we can get there but you know in 20 years it hasn't gotten there yet so um so really that's our calendar the legislator is meeting now generally they wrap up in May sometime then the governor has to sign the bills
037so like last year we didn't know how much money we were going to have for this current year until June 28th which presents uh some challenges as far as general fund Revenue picture goes we're going to be about $43 million lower than what we are this year uh two things kind of driving that are one is an enrollment decline so we lost a little over a thousand kids from what we were projecting this year um and then we're projecting to lose a couple hundred more kids next year so for the state revenue you'll see that operating money the operating grants outside that BSA the onetime money about $49 million uh that we don't have built in this budget uh we are going to use more fund balance than we did last year as we were
038able to save some of that from the onetime funding we got this year to kind of push forward to next year to help alleviate some of these Cuts but it's certainly not enough to um alleviate the drastic measures that we're taking you'll see about $12 million in Foundation funding going away about $75 million of this is a direct uh switch from State funding to local funding so part of the required local effort that requires the property taxes goes in that went up by about 7 A5 million for next year so then the state's going to pay less uh a lot of times we get asked why do my property taxes keep going up but the school district keeps asking for more money the answer is that required local contribution goes up along with our property
039values and then the state money goes down dollar for dollar so we don't have any more money it's just who pays switches so you all see it differently as taxpayers um so really $43 million loss in Revenue plus about 20 or $25 million on inflation and $638 million total budget for 2425 that's where we get to that $ 6570 million of reductions that we had to make to be able to get to a balanced budget so where that money goes in a real Broad View about 344 million of that goes into or for next this is planned for next year goes into direct classroom instruction that's teachers uh PA professionals special education teachers all those folks directly in front of students along with the supplies materials equipment and services software that goes along with that
040uh we have direct student supports which counselors nurses Librarians security Student Activities uh C curriculum de development behavior supports you know principles clerical staff the schools all those things that make a build like in that school building that really make it happen and then we spend about $81 million in operations and maintenance which are keeping our buildings safe and functional and clean so that's our maintenance workers custodians and then we have ad Administration about 34 million which is really the folks sitting around here uh all our our payroll budget Human Resources a lot of our it folks risk management all these kind of backend business functions that really are necessary to operate an organization of our size there's a table at the bottom that really shows how that was dispersed for FY 25 and then
041FY 26 and then the percent of total so as Rel this budget we did I mean we had to take uh we took cuts to pretty much every area to get this to balance um and frankly it's going to be difficult to implement so but you can tell the percentage of the totals is about the same across the board so we did take uh a good look at every Department every line item to see what reductions we could possibly make so these changes you know this is really what you're going to see at the school level you're really going to feel that PTR adjustment of plus4 that's about 195 teachers about almost $25 million is what that cost or what you save by increasing the PTR uh we did reduce about 70 FTE for just
042for that enrollment like I said we lost over a thousand kids this year anticipating losing a few hundred more the program based teachers those would be the immersion teachers which many of you here are for uh hold back teachers which is really our pool of teachers that we push out based on enrollment bumps or changes that we can anticipate going into next year because when we're making projections in November December for our enrollment for next year undoubtedly are not going to be 100% accurate and we do have to have some flexibility to be able to address those class siiz bubbles um or scheduling at the secondary level but additionally we're cutting principls counselors Librarians Library assistants nurses um some clerical workers PA professionals noon duties battle the books some of the funding for battle of
043the books some of the um adenda elementary schools all Middle School sports high school hockey gymnastics and swimming and diving um and then just some other changes that we made to Services supplies and equipment this year we are taking a look at even special education changes this is one thing that we haven't looked at or we haven't had to make reductions in in many years um it's about 54 FTE in total that does include the 24 or so that's in the gifted program to service ignite and some testing um but really this is the first year that we've taken a good hard look at uh special education and made reductions there we' made a chunk of department administration changes including to finance purchasing Human Resources it mental health teaching and learning um the custodial that
044you see there is mainly a reduction of uh lakeh hood and Ana Valley closing so that's just those uh positions that are going away with the schools you see that in some of the things with principals Librarians and nurses too is they all have staff at those schools that are being reduced as well but we're also also reducing some security and maintenance personnel as well as a big chunk of our administrative Services supplies and equipment which is going to be um that will be like to replace heavy equipment do major maintenance on our buildings things like that some of those are the kind of big chunks of it and then really any much of the contingence that we have to account for any sort of changes within or un unplanned changes or emergencies that we
045have as the year comes up so about almost $9 million or 42 people coming out of that so then we get to back to this slide where it shows the base student allocation that really has remained unchanged um at least for the last decade uh that did change in fy2 24 did come along with the reads act so that $30 produced about $2 million for the district um it also required a several million dollars more in additional costs so even though we did get a BSA bump that year the cost to maintain the programs that were included with that were considerably more than what was part of based student allocation you do see gaps between these funding levels up the top in this red line that's generally representative budget reduction so how we got the
046balance to budget you know if everything tracked with inflation pretty well that Gap would be what we had to reduce in those years um so kind of looking ahead and what what we've done with the state budget so here's this represents the state budgets between 17 and 26 as well so and the percent change so uh um and I've highlighted the deed K12 support for districts so this really is what's in the base student allocation the funding that flows from deed to districts and then separated out the other deed operations but it shows about $75 million in terms of real dollars this isn't a FL inflation adjusted $75 million in less state revenue dedicated to K12 education than they did in 2017 um for the large part in for our budget I have less than
047300 million in state money coming in for next year as proposed osed we haven't got less than $300 million in real dollars in state money since 2010 or 2009 so it's been a long time since they gave us less than 300 million but you can see all their other departments going up by and large by you know 25 30% which is fairly in line with inflation and what you would expect to see you do see some outliers with corrections and Public Safety but um by and large most of the state budgets track inflation is generally when they're setting these in the front and they account for that inflationary cost of contracts medical Insurance liability insurance all those things that are tied to their personnel to begin with um with the exception of course that K12
048which doesn't get that inflation adjustment to start with and then they use that at the end of the cycle to um whenever they're doing their final funding Appropriations and unfortunately that means it's generally tied to uh discussion whether do you want education or PFD money um so that's kind of one of the Hang-Ups that I have personally is at the end of the cycle if you haven't funded uh K12 education with inflation you're going to always pit that against the PFD and that's not fair to our students frankly um looking forward to what some of the bills that are in the legislature right now we have HB 69 uh this was introduced by in the house and it ties the base student allocation to a preceding three years of average inflation uh starting in 25
04926 and then adds an additional $1,000 so they're really trying to catch up on some of that Lo inflationary time and then putting an inflationary component in there so we can kind of get out of this cycle of every year we come out with a balance a budget that has a deficit in it and we have to make cuts and then potentially add them back uh so this really would mitigate a lot of our problems and the reasons why we're here tonight is this chronic underfunding but that would add about $1,326 727 and about 628 how that looks in terms of real dollar um this is just kind of a uh a quick overview of what our adopted budget is what we're preliminar proposing and then uh just kind of an illustrative example of what
050could happen if HB 69 was passed as it sits um if we added back 65 million or so and some of the reductions that we've made that we've discussed tonight um we would still be spending 23 million of our fund balance to shore up that budget uh so we would um because going in these out years we would have we'd have a little bit of money left over and this is kind of this is cumulative so it's not necessarily a new 6 million a new 25 million to 17 million uh but we would have some money to be able to restore some programs or even lower the P PTR if that was the will of the board but so this is a promising bill it does have a lot of great components and it would
051allow us for some better financial and instructional planning long term um it didn't address uh Transportation but that's kind of something else we can work on the other bill that was out there was from the governor which hp76 and a companion bill of Senate Bill 82 which would provide $450 per k6 student for at uh reading proficiency so it's more of an incentive so if they're at if they are proficient you get the $450 it would make Charter Schools approved by the state board rather than the local board uh transportational increase by about $103 and then it but it would extend the moratorium on bond debt reimbursement from 2025 to 20 2030 and that's really the component of uh when we pass a bond it used to be the state would pay 60 or 70%
052of the cost of those bonds uh since 2015 they quit doing that and we uh the taxpayers pick up 100% of all the bonds it was supposed to come back at a 50% rate in 25 but they're proposing extending that even longer um and then would also move correspondence ADM in the foundation formula and I'll show you how that works in a minute and increase a CTE multiplier uh from 1 a half% to 4% and it would also require or provide a $5,000 teacher recruitment retention bonus uh as well so how that would look is it would provide about a little over $12 million about 3.8 million in new correspondence funding and 8.4 million in CTE funding and generate about $4 million in new Trans portation funding so while it would be a little bit
053helpful we wouldn't be able to restore nearly very many of the programs at all maybe a two PTR uh change and then we'd have significant deficits in all of the out years because it doesn't address any sort of inflationary challenges um but kind of getting back to that the correspondence program and how that would affect those those that funding is so there's two things one in the blue here and that's how we're currently funding and one in the gray is what the proposal would change so the formula really goes your ADM which is pretty close to your enrollment and rolls it through a variety of factors including one for school size um one for a 20% multiplier for special education that it kind of works as a block grant uh similar for CTE which is
054currently 1 and a half% increase on that uh that would what would be changed to four and then currently we take the course Corr respondence count multiply it by 90% And that gets their ADM for which funding is uh generated so the amount of State funding is about you know $5,400 currently per student for family sh partnership and I only chose them because it's our biggest school but the other ones are funded nearly the exact same uh West high would get about $6,800 per student in under this uh the scenario so if they changeed that where they put this Family Partnership at the beginning of the formula at a 1.0 and go through um the school size Factor within the school size Factor the states Foundation formula any school below 1,022 students gets less than
055a 1.0 adjustment on the school size so for West High we get about 0.94 for every kid uh in in that school um so under the new model uh correspondent student would get about $7,400 per student and a high school student would get about or West High student get under 7,000 so we'd be getting more money per student for correspondence than we would be for these large comprehensive uh schools currently that would be uh Bartlett East Diamond Service South rig and MIRS that would be we would get less money for each one of those students than we do for uh correspondents under this proposal um so there's some inequity there that it seems but um that's just kind of the the nature of the proposal and really that's the high level overview of this budget
056that I don't think any of us really want to have to enact eventually and hopefully some of these house bills go the house bill goes through and we um can address some of that inflation proving too thank you Mr Routh any additional [Music] presentation moving to Mr uh member lence I'm sorry this is a request perhaps for followup in board connect or whatever venue is appropriate uh the sheets that have the the breakdown of um by school that we've reviewed they don't differentiate between the PTR plus 4 and enrollment they aggregate everything together is there a way to get a breakdown of how just enrollment declines spell would would play out and you know another additional column of how just the PTR plus four would play out for each of those schools yeah that would
057be easy enough that would be wonderful thank you member Jacobs yeah thank you Mr chair I appreciate the presentation Mr Ratliff and maybe a question for Dr Brian or the team um you know going over the numbers from how we're Adept um our state government at least in the legislatures Adept at in inflation proofing some areas of our spending as a state um is really striking you know seeing a 83% increase for the um Public Safety department the um 52% increase it looks like for um our prison system our department of corrections um let legislators I believe as of January 1 um 2024 received a 67% wage increase year-over-year and our our allocation to school districts um just hasn't kept up is is that attributable specifically to the fact that there's a formula and statute
058um or is there something else going on that um we can point to as to how we can be better Advocates uh through the president I don't believe there is a statute that says what that it has the any certain department has to increase by that much um so yeah I think it's just part of the process like when we do our budget we to our Prof form like here's the cost of our employees let's roll them all forward um and that becomes our new our kind of our Benchmark for the next year um unfortunately that doesn't get taken into account with the dk12 support uh but it does in the I believe it does in the other budgets that the state actually manages and just to put a fine point on that I mean
059for the those of you tuning into this if you look at the slide we list almost every agency in the state government and you see these large increases 52% % since 2017 for the Department of Corrections in fact it looks like every agency received an increase for inflation since 2017 even the Department of Education at the state level but not the actual school districts themselves that's the only body that's gone down by minus 5.8% with that said what this describes to me is that clearly at the state level there seems to be an acknowledgment that inflation does have an impact on your ability to fulfill essential State Services why that hasn't trickled down to K2 but it has to every other agency is a very interesting question that I think we should all be asking
060ourselves thank you any other board comments or questions member Jacobs yeah thank you Mr chair um at a recent House Education meeting um it was discussed that perhaps uh one way to to hold down our um spending and reduce our deficit year-over-year would be to to not engage in our current practice which is budgeting for um cost of living or wage increases for staff um right now our budget includes some amount for um potent to potentially settle contracts to provide wage increases to Educators and support staff um I'm curious because we we've also prioritized and recognized the the need to retain our staff and so maybe a question for either the superintendent or Mr Lang what would it look like and and would that further um challenge Us in retaining our staff if we didn't
061um work to offer a cost of living adjustment for salaries and you I know we're um highest in the nation per capita on health care costs if we didn't address that either would that further hamper our ability to retain our staff through the president great question member Jacobs I think when you look at this slide where again all the state agencies are receiving these inflationary adjustments um again looking at the screen uh Department of Corrections a 52.3% increase what that indicates to me is not necessarily something that's bad I think what it indicates is that the state recognizes that if your wages are not competitive you you might be unable to fulfill that service that you're trying to provide to the community so I would imagine that some of these inflationary adjustments have been uh
062to recruit more and more staff in fact you know I was reading Alaska public media a couple of weeks ago and there was a quote from one of the men who approved the 68% increase in legislator pay and that's essentially what he said where you know if we want to have the best people in political office we need to pay them a salary commensurate right so if only we uh substituted that thinking with politician for teacher I think we'd have one of the top performing school systems in the entire country if not the world um I think what you pay and offer to your employees is directly correlated to the Quality that you'll get and I would remind the the public that when we talk about teachers one of our most precious resources that we
063have in the system that's an National Labor Market uh when you look at the number of teachers that the state of Alaska produces it's probably less than half of the number that Alaska actually needs for all of its schools uh so just to put a number on it you know the University of Alaska system probably produces around 160 teachers a year and yet ASD alone needs to hire over 200 teachers a year let alone all the other districts in the state that need to recruit teachers so what does that mean that means that um by by virtue of that fact by by virtue of that number game ASD the heart of as's talent pool lives in the lower 48 why is that an issue because we need to compete with the salary and wages of
064teachers in 40 other states and I have uh you know very depressing news in that Alaska is the only state in the entire Union that doesn't offer the option of a Define benefit so not only do we need to be competitive on the wage side we need to be competitive on the benefit side but uh things are not working in our favor when it comes to being competitive at that National Pool and you see the impact of not adjusting for inflation and a number of different examples I can give a couple of Education examples so for example uh there was a time in ASD where we held our transportation professional wages pretty flat and that's because funding from the state for transportation was pretty flat so you can do that a number of years but
065some of you were with me a couple years ago when I was here it was my first couple months and a third of our bus drivers left ASD to take on higher paying jobs in the private sector with the tourism industry so what did that mean that meant in the Matsu and in ASD we didn't have bus drivers that's the impact of not being responsive to Market pressures has on school systems some of us may attend schools that had shelf stable meals at one point a shelf stable meal is a non-hot meal that gets served to students it may look like uh beef jerky some Cheez itss and some other foods like that not ideal um in fact we don't even get reimbursed by the federal government for that but that's the impact of not
066keeping your wages for kitchen staff commensurate with wages in the hospitality industry or in Food Services industry right we're competing with other Industries Beyond education for Food Service workers and then when we look at our teachers one of our biggest groups where it's a national town and um just to put a fine pin on what I was saying there there's a very low supply of teachers and a very high demand of teachers so if we went into a 11th grade economics class you would know exactly what's going to happen we'll lose out on the teachers so I think that this slide that's up here tells you everything you need to know about the priorities of those who've been um in power at the state level for a really long time yeah thank you very much
067we have member Wilson and then member belly is she hear uh member Wilson if you can unmute yes can you hear me okay yes I can perfect there I know there's a lot of um advocates for charter schools in our audience tonight so I just wanted to uh wanted to see if you could address I know we've addressed it before would like to address it again because I often hear about um the importance of offering different types of programs which Anchorage School District does a wonderful job of of advocating for and but there's still that lack of understanding in the community how of how charter schools are funded um can you go ahead and readdress that I I would much appreciate that thank you member Wilson I'm gonna hand it off to our CFO in
068a moment but I will start off by saying one of the best things you can do for a trer school is to really look at that base student allocation formula because the same Foundation formula that applies for a brick and mortar neighborhood school also applies to our Charter School so when you really dig into the books of our Charter Schools you'll find that they're struggling too and they have an additional disadvantage and that they don't have a facility um that's rentree oftentimes in fact ASD has probably been one of the most supportive school districts to charter schools in the state because we're one of the first school districts that I know of that put a charter school on a bond so we could restore facilities so we could have really great facilities for our students
069and two um we're in advanced conversations to seriously consider offering two vacant ASD buildings to those charter schools so that way they don't have the burden of lease payments so they can put more dollars into the classroom so you can write all sorts of bills about local control who who authorizes charter school should it be the local board versus the state board but the bottom line is the best thing you can do for a charter school is to adequately fund the charter school and the bills that tackle the Bas student allocations are the mechanisms to do that uh Mr rith anything did I did I miss not that that they generally track the foundation formula so they roll their student count through the formula just like any other school multiply by the base student allocation
070and get their uh share of the funding and then there's a 4% cap on the administrative cost that can come out that so their cost or their the money directed specifically for that school is much more prescribed in statute but it it really is the same mechanism as any other school gets their money member Bell yes thank you Mr chair um I just kind of want to go back to a a comment that the couple of comments that superintendent made regarding um just Recruitment and Retention and how do we you know it's been recommended at a recent um hearing uh education hearing that we just flat just go flat with our salaries right we just don't increase we are in the middle of settling um three contracts which this budget does reflect um but I
071I I just want to reiterate I mean we can't and as you stated that you know we don't have a defined benefit for our teachers so they literally get what they put in not what they actually deserve um so I guess how how can we can you explain a little bit about how important it is that we do give uh give our you know we find ways to uh adequately fund and and and uh give our teachers benefits thank you yeah member Bellamy one of the best things that we can do is to competitively pay our employees um really being aware of what those local market pressures are so comparing ASD to local school districts like the matso or other districts in the state but like I mentioned we're competing for recent college graduates from
072colleges of Education throughout the United States so we also need to be aware of what those new grads from an education School in Texas are looking at and having come from Texas I know that they're a state where the cost of living is about 18% lower and the wages are about 12 plus% higher plus they have a defined benefit so that's just one example of dozens where it's more competitive to um look at other places than Alaska so that's why you we've really been pleading with the legislature to really look into a sensible path forward because this isn't just a teacher issue when we look at the the stats for Alaska at large you see that young people are leaving the state at higher rates than really they should um you see within Anchorage specifically
073the age of our working population is uh going upwards so we're losing a lot of our young professionals so to bring it back to education if we didn't um if we didn't remain competitive or if we lose competitiveness even more than we already have what we're talking about is a vacant classroom that's really what's at stake here um if you aren't able to hire a teacher because they have so many better options wherever they're from um or wherever they get a job from first um we may not have that teacher um we may be leaning on permanent substitutes or combining classes which is the last thing that we would want you can't ignore the impact of inflationary pressures as they drive the the whole labor market and again this is beyond just education it's for
074a lot of different Industries but my eye is on teachers because know we're lagging far behind you know uh iser which is the group at the University of Alaska Anchorage that does research on economics and social sciences I think they one of their key findings from a presentation they did uh today actually found that after adjusting for Geographic cost Alaska's per pupil spending is 15% below the national average and is Fallen consistently since 2017 so we often hear from Outsiders that Alaska has one of the high high is per people spending in the United States why should we add more funding but when again you uh contri when you factor in the very unique geographies and other factors of Alaska and really compare cost of living indices between urban areas when you actually do that
075math you still see that we're actually lagging behind a lot of States when it comes to spending which is directly correlated to the amount that we're able to offer staff so to take no action on the wage front means that you may not have those people to fulfill those servic right when you think about the bus drivers that we may not be able to hire the teachers that we may not be able to have in our schools it has a direct impact on the very people in this room the the people with kids in the classrooms um what did I miss uh Mr rth I think and member JS um I appreciate I appreciate Dr Brian addressing the the iser information because I think the hearing I I watched um the presentation in Senate education
076and it was um fascinating to know that they they just updated that that data um I'm curious if we can explain a bit one of the the the questions I run into at a community council um periodically is um and ask for an explanation as to how it could be that um a school district that has um lost students within the last 10 years um can't just trim its budget year-over-year um and ignore inflation and so could um Dr Brian or the team explain the relationship for how um an operating budget uh for school district might outpace uh with inflation might outpace the decline in revenue from uh decline in enrollment sure through the president I'll give one example and I'm sure Mr Ratliff has others so think about student transportation just as one example
077so ASD has lost thousands of students since um the past 10 years but that doesn't mean that we have fewer bus routes necessarily if you still have a child that lives in the same number of neighborhoods that we've serviced for decades that may not result in reduce cost for transportation it may mean increased cost as the cost of fuel goes up but that's just one example of a function that's driven by uh not number of students but number of routes or number of buses and there's actually a lot of functions within a school system that operates similarly um Mr R would there may be other examples you might know yeah I mean through the present the biggest driver really is you know as those children go down so do our dollars we get funded on
078a per student basis so we fewer students we have fewer dollars so it's not like we're having the same amount of dollars with fewer kids to educate we have less dollars um as an example if we lose a 100 kids or so we can cut maybe four or five feachers um maybe make up 600 $100,000 in actual cost when those students might generate a million dollars in Revenue so those 100 students may be across all these different schools across the district and it's you know maybe only 100 small fraction of our uh population so but really that other 400,000 where does that come from because it has to come from either an administrative School support somewhere else other than just kind of that direct instruction so it makes it doubly difficult as you're cutting or
079as you're losing those students to make up for um both the Lost revenue and trying to trim out those support services that are generally based on a school B on a per School metric as well any other questions or comments member Jacobs yeah thank you Mr chair I think my last question um you know we we saw um I think I I was sent a couple times in an article from a um a Blog of some kind indicating that one of our um Community engagement U departments specifically our department of diversity Equity inclusion and Community engagement saw a budgetary increase um and you I investigated it further and talk with the administration and found out that that wasn't actually the case it wasn't new spending it was um realignment of a contract and I think
080some small um cost of living increases for for staff salaries um but it it it caused a a broader inquiry regarding District administration and our costs and we we've addressed that topic in previous slide decks and work sessions and I I think I in my notes I have a a screenshot of a a figure that captures the amount of our fy2 budget um that goes towards District administration and then Compares that to other school districts in Alaska and and it appeared that we're one of the the more efficient districts in the state um specifically compared to the other large districts Fairbanks Juno Matsu um the keenai Peninsula burough um in terms of the the percent of our operating budget that goes towards District administration um I'm curious if Dr Brian of the team could elaborate
081uh on that fact and then maybe discuss ways that we've reduced District Administrative costs over time sure through the president so I did look at my notes and we did this calculation back for fy2 where we found that ASD actually had the top four most efficient uh District administrations in the state so we looked at all the different uh functions by different school district and we were fairly efficient which makes sense when you think about the economies of scale that we can achieve for a district our size there are certain things that don't have to expand dramatically just because you have more employees um at the end of the day you only need so many people to help cut the checks for example so there are some efficiencies there um but overall we've also made
082a lot of reductions over time as well which has resulted in a very lean operation uh Mr R would you like to add any insight to this um sure just kind of anedot anecdotally speaking from the Departments that I supervise uh in the business management I mean I've cut almost 30% of my accounting staff a third of the budget staff 177% of our purchasing staff a third of our grant writing staff half of the CFO staff which is now just me and one other dude um and really when we make those cuts like one of those positions from the CFO staff that was cut was my job pre like five jobs ago and I'm still doing a lot of that work that I was doing five jobs ago because we haven't found people to do
083it or we haven't hired any any new people to take my place um so we have made these cuts and it's been over you know of course about 12 years or so that these Cuts have been made um just trying to get more efficient but we're at a point where it's really hard to make further reductions without kind of a mission jeopardizing our mission critical functions of Financial reportings and meeting payroll um to the question about the diversity equity and inclusion Community engagement increases there was an increase for a contract for American Sign Language interpreters for Community use typically those have been paid like kind of wherever we could beg borrow steel and transfer money over into um to pay for these Services uh We've increased the the need to have them and then just
084also the right thing to do have that inclusion so now we have we have two line items in our budget one is in the Deen hard hearing account which pays for uh those services that are listed as kind of a special education support by our state function and then there's one in the community services or inclusion Community engagement that line item is more for these public meetings that aren't necessarily classified as uh special education but we still want to provide those Services I follow Mr chair yes yeah I appreciate the the information Dr Bren Mr rler thank you I I won't ask the the question I asked regarding assistant principles in our work session but I did want to highlight that I appreciate administration's honesty that you know as we continue to cut administrative positions
085and assistant principal sounds like it's one of them unfortunately we can't guarantee that those duties won't fall to to teachers and so I I think a concern I have and something I'll use for the rest of the budget process is asking uh as we reduce other things that that aren't classroom staff if we're adding duties to our class room staff um that inherently is um just logically unsound if our goal is to improve academic outcomes and so I I appreciated both the conversation tonight as well as um during our work session so thank you any other questions seeing our hands are whites we will move to section e of our agenda which is public comment um we typically set aside an hour at the beginning of the meeting uh when we have a large crowd
086we often go beyond that to try to let everybody get to speak before it gets very white um because we do have a large number of people signed up we have reduced the speaking time to two minutes I'm sorry that we have to do that but we do want everybody to get the chance that has come here tonight to speak um and so we we limited the time that way I am going to I know there's going to be a lot of enthusiasm about some of the testimony we'll ask people not to cheer or clap it does slow the process down and we have more than 100 people to get through um if if people are excited if they wave hands silently that works that doesn't keep anyone thank you from uh from moving along
087or from hearing their name called uh I will call two people to the podium when one leaves I'll try to call the next person so that they can be down here again it cuts down the time walking back and forth and it helps get more people to the podium and uh give them their opportunity to speak uh the school board does not answer questions during testimony we are here to listen to people uh we do ask that you not attack people's motives or uh other um other unil things uh we do want to hear what you have to say about the issues and we will proceed with that we do allow students to testify first because we know they have to get home and do a lot of homework and in time for school tomorrow
088um we follow that with the parents of students that have a student here and and they're writing together uh and then uh we will get to everybody else on the list after that so having said all that we will start with our students that are signed up to testify and I have Andy down and I know that's not me but if you'll come up to the podium along with Nicholas h and what we ask you to do is get close to the microphone uh it doesn't work if you're very far away from it and if you will state your name for the record and you have two minutes thank you hi my name is Andy good evening I'm a junior from diamond high school for the past three years I've been part of the diamond
089swim team I'm here today to testify against the school board's decision to cut swimming as a high school sport I started swimming when I was 3 years old my dad taught me how to kick and Float coach Brian taught me the four strokes and I then joined the Aurora swim team the Aurora swim team practices at the diamond high swimming pool at the front of the pool is the school record board every time I walked on the pool deck I was able to see the names and the times of the best swimmers from Diamond I still remember my friends and I staring at that record board wondering if someday our names would be on it during Middle School I was fortunate enough to hang out in practice with older students older swimmers in high school
090they would talk about swimming during the high school season the rigorous training the Dual meets the After parties regions and State Hearing these conversations I couldn't wait to join the diamond swim team in 2022 I became a freshman at Diamond I finally was able to join the diamond swim team I set goalss for myself one of them was to Podium in an event at state in my senior year freshman year I made the State team as an alternate sophomore year I qualified in one event at state junior year I qualified in two events at state next year will be my senior year my last year swimming for Diamond my last year to achieve my goal when I heard about the proposed budget cut the proposed budget that would cut High School swimming I was devastated
091I wouldn't be able to reach my goal I wouldn't even have the opportunity to try just like me other swimmers have goals for high school swimming I know friends whose goal is to win at State others just want to get a bar City letter regardless we all work hard every day to achieve our goal when the school board cut swimming Elementary School just like me they probably also stare at that school record board wanting to see their names on it one day I wish that they'll at least have the opportunity to try please keep High School swimming on the budget thank you for your testimony uh we also have Conrad Spain coming next and Mr hinr if you'll state your name you have two minutes my name is Nicholas Henrik and I'm in the immersion
092program at Government Hill Elementary and I'm also in the ignite program the Spanish Immersion and ignite programs are a huge part of why I like school because they challenged me to think in new ways they also motivate me to and expose me to new possibilities I get to learn different types like different topics like Aviation and Optical science I've been learning Spanish since I was three it's interesting and useful I've already helped my grandpa with a business deal where the other person spoke mostly Spanish I know you have to make hard choices graas thank you for listening to my opinion thank you very much we have Charlie irn up next and Mr Spain if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hi my name is Conrad and we want a bigger
093playground and a bigger school we love our teachers and I've been learning German since I was five by the way way I'm also six so we want a bigger whole school and a bigger playground and here Downey calls a room without room and if we speak German we get spice M STS thank you thank you for your testimony um if Anna horowski will come down and Mr Irwin if yous take your name for the record you have two minutes hello my name is Charlie Irwin and I'm a ninth grade student at Highland Academy I have attend in Highland for three years and I'm here to speak in support of the potential relocation of Highland Academy Charter School's current location next door TOA Valley Elementary this possible move proves to have a lot of likely benefits
094one of the main benefits I see the most students support for is the jimu NAA the current way we Implement Jim the Highland is if the weather allows for it in our parking lot or by using our small multi-purpose room our multi-purpose room is in the parking lot sorry our multipurpose room is used as our cafeteria assembly and again as our Jes our gymnasium we have used the space we have very effectively but it' be much more sustainable to have a gymnasium made for physical educ education another thing I've seen a lot of support for is the outdoors area surrounding newa Highland Academy already uses the unaka valley space for our school's field day and outdoor specific intensives if you relocated into unaka Valley Elementary we'd be in close proximity to that area we already
095use including Russian Jack park with the outdoor space Han could begin to offer after school activities such as CrossCountry running and CrossCountry skiing the staff has expressed interest in the use of outdor space but especially the potential growth that Highland could experience nunaka Valley has a larger space for students and staff growing the possibility of growing our student enrollment with the larger space we are also able to use it further for subject specific classes and electives this school this move has many long-term benefits that would enhance experience at our schools for students and staff thank you for your time and consideration thank you for your testimony uh IA Maier if you can come down and miss horowski you have two minutes hi my name is Anna horowski I go to chiak elementary I'm in fifth
096grade um me and my friends did a campaign at our school um to to save Spanish Immersion our teachers um ignite and Middle School sports I am an ignite myself and Spanish Immersion and I love Spanish Immersion because you get to learn a lot and you get to learn a new language and I love ignite because you get to learn new things I probably wouldn't wouldn't have learned till middle school or high school um me me and my friends got over a 100 signatures from people who want to keep our our programs in our school and our teachers including the teachers we got our principle to sign this and we really liked middle and we even got the people who didn't even um who mostly like Middle School sports or ignite or just Spanish IM
097and many people liked all of them and we really like to keep them thank you very much and if you do want to hand that um petition to Miss Sullivan she's right here anyone else that has handouts for the board or any papers Miss Sullivan receives all those for us uh Candice arima is next after uh Miss Mia if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hi my name is Al M gothier I'm in fourth grade and I go to chrik elementary I I've been in the Spanish Immersion program since kindergarten and I enjoy it very much at first learning a new language was hard but the encouraging teachers helped me through when I didn't understand in immersion you don't just learn how to speak the language but you also learn
098about geography social studies and the history of Alaska one thing I love about immersion is the arts and crafts projects most of the time our projects are about the indigenous people of Alaska currently we are creating 3D models about laskan tribes and writing about their culture Spanish imersion is is amazing every day all my teachers are well educated and teaches Spanish in ways that are fun and help us learn with confidence I love the immersion program and I don't know what I would do without it in addition to being in the Spanish Immersion program I'm also an ignite over the last 3 years in night we have dissected a salmon and got to take out its organs we also dissected owl pellets and got to take out the bones and glue the skeleton now in
099fourth grade we are dissecting cow balls and we are learning about the rainforest we might dissect lizards next each activity we do in ignite is a great lesson that teaches us something very interesting I love going every Tuesday and being able and being excited to see what we do next night is fun because we learn many things that help us in the future I'm glad that ignite is here to give us a new curiosity in the world I'm thankful that both ignite and immersion is available I would love for you to save IGN night and immersion they're my favorite classrooms class sorry um thank you for your time thank you for your testimony uh Candace ARA is next on our list followed by Ella Wheelis and if Miss ARA isn't here um Miss whe will
100be followed by Aria ra I may not be saying that correctly and I'm sorry re d m a and if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hi my name is Ella Wheelis I'm a junior at diamond high school and I would like to speak to you about why I do not support the proposed budget cuts for fiscal year 26 I serve as historian for Diamond student government and have been as involved as possible in my school for the last three years I three Varsity letters from diamond in gymnastics and I grew up D watching Diamond hockey games I even learned how to walk in bamb bokei ice arena as's decision to eliminate hockey and gymnastics from high school sports be detrimental to me as I begin my senior year next
101fall after having some not so great experiences with coaching staff during my freshman and sophomore years of gymnastics I have finally been able to make gymnastics my home this year my coach who is new to coaching High School this year always told me that the gym was my place to be and to let go of everything outside of my safe space gymnastics did become my safe space this year I found love and support in my teammates and coach and I found connections with gymnasts across ASD to see a program that I have helped build be stripped away from me it would be devastating especially because my family and I cannot pay it for a competitive training outside of the high school season additionally cutting hockey from ASC would be damaging to me and my family
102I grew up watching Diamond hockey and I've never known a world without it some of my best memories at of my childhood were sent in ice rinks across Alaska watching Diamond players do what we both loved hockey has brought my family together and United us as a community as well as a family through times of hardship such as the covid-19 pandemic walking into the manard center on Saturday knowing it it could be the last High School hockey game I watched would felt incredibly unfair I don't know what I would do without these Sports become so dear to me but more importantly I don't want to lose the skills they've taught me gymnastics has taught me perseverance resilience teamwork and discipline well hockey has taught me how to be a part of a community optimism and
103now advocacy I urge you to save the sports that make it worth it for me and so many others across the district don't let me lose my home in the in these Sports and my opportunity to participate in the sport that I love more than anything save gymnastics save hockey just by adequately funding these programs you could be saving someone's life one day thank you thank you for your test back Candace ARA if you're here and then followed by aren rbank if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hi my name is Arya I'm 10 years old and I'm in fourth grade my school is turnig again Elementary and I'm in the Russian immersion program I am here to fight for the right forite again I'm also here to save the
104Russian imersion program and talk about Battle of the books I should be at dance class class or studying for battle of the books or even doing my homework but instead I'm here talking to you again Battle of the books is important because it gives you a chance to read books you never thought you would like before it also helps you comprehend the books you read ignite is also very important because it challenges me with team building exercises it gives me something to look forward to in school ignite gives me the opportunity to learn more advanced topics that that keeps me curious and interested in school I've also read that you're trying to destroy Russian immersion I dislike this idea because it would take away future opportunity like College jobs travel and even speaking to more
105people I also like learning Russian culture in their holidays but most important learning Russian keeps me challenged and makes School more fun and interesting every year you threaten to take away something I love about my school I hope that this is the last time I have to do this my parents said if you take away too much I'm going to private school I do not want to go to private school I can't imagine life with without these things P.S the governor will be hearing from me too thank you and we hope it's the last time you have to come tell us this too um I own a Snyder followed by stie [Music] McWilliams if you're in the room yeah yeah if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes for program hello
106my name is stie McWilliams and I am a fourth grader in the omali elementary French emersion program I'm speaking in support of keeping immersion funding and our teachers I was born with a lower limb deficiency and just had my 13th surgery this fall through every single one of my surgeries my classmates teachers and staff at om Ali have been there to help me learn and support me when I was struggling it is the kindest and most special place I have ever known if we don't increase funding to our schools we'll lose five of those special kind amazing om Ali teachers which is the saddest thing I can think of if we lose those teachers we won't have an immersion program anymore learning to speak French is like a superpower and I can't imagine having to
107stop that Journey we're not just a school we're a family please don't separate us please invest in us kids Alaska's future thank you thank you for your testimony Ella harling and want to touch back IA um Snider if you're in the room and if not uina unz if you want to come be prepared um yes I if you want to state your name for the record you have two minutes [Music] CL connect culture please hello everybody my name is Ella harling and I am in the fourth grade funch Merion program at Ali Elementary School I'm speaking today in support of keeping the French program and our school open learning French has been such an amazing opportunity for me and my classmates and I know I speak for all of us when I say we will
108be devastated if we lose this program learning French and becoming bilingo will open up a world of opportunities and give us the chance to connect with other cultures please let's not take this program away from future students let's give them the same opportunity I've had to learn grow and connect with the world in only a and only in only a way French ersion can offer thank you very much thank you for your testimony Iona Snider and followed by um Le inz you have two minutes um can you hear me all right um hello my name is Iona Snider and I just graduated from West High School with the Seal of by literacy in the Russian language I also was diagnosed with sensory neural hearing loss in both ears when I was four months old and
109I've been wearing hearing aids in both years since that time I am currently working to save money and take a solo backpacking trip through turkey and Georgia where I can practice my Russian skills um I am here to tell you guys about why you should not be touching the heart of hearing program The Listening learning and spoken language program at willowa elementary school I'm opposed to ASD decision to move the LSL program under the de umbrella at rushan Jack elementary school because the LSL program taught me how to hear as a heart of hearing student being in the LSL program was the best decision my parents made for my childhood being heart of hearing is different from being deaf I am not a deaf student student had I gone to Russian Jack Elementary School and
110been taught to learn sign language and been taught to learn how to live in a de world would have completely changed my life the LSL program is the reason that I have a sealed by literacy in Russia the LSL program is the reason I graduated early without the LSL program I would not be the girl I am today I'm going to be springboard diving next year in college and because of the support I received as a young student learn how to live in a hearing world I am able to do these amazing opportunities all thanks to my preschool teacher Cindy Ryan um because of her I will be able to have these amazing opportunities and I know I'm being redundant but I just cannot emphasize enough being heart of hearing is different from being death
111keep the program separate keep them alive and keep them the same please I'm begging you thank you very much for your testimony um Leo Romero if you'll come forward and if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes um I'm Liliana Muniz okay members of the board thank you for listening today I'm here to testify for saving High School gymnastics my name is Lily munz and I'm 16 I'm a junior at West angri High School and the varsity gymnastics Captain under our Coach K tanksley I've been doing gymnastics since I can remember and growing up Coach K was someone I really looked up to I didn't see her for three years due to covid then in my eighth grade year I went to the West Freshman fair and found out she was
112the head coach I immediately signed up for high school gymnastics going into freshman year I was very lost and I couldn't get myself to participate in any school Ed activities other than gymnastics due to diagnosed anxiety and depression participating in gymnastics gave me an outlet a safe space with a safe adult to express myself and how I was feeling a month into my freshman season through the support from the people around me in gymnastics I was able to seek help and I was able to get medication for what I was going for going through K has been coaching for 19 years and has a lot of experience in the field but her best attribute is showing so much passion and support for her girls which I've witnessed from the other coaches as well I met
113her at Artic gymnastics and I wouldn't have reconnected with her if it wasn't for the high school team she started working at Artic gymnastics again since I've rejoined since I've joined the high school gymnastics team and has even recommended me for my current job at the facility another great attribute of high school gymnastics is how the community gets together and volunteers to set up the gym at diamond high school then taking it down at the end of the season we single-handedly put everything together where it will be St we single put everything where will be stored until the following year it does not take any money or time to transport it we have all the equipment we need to practice and compete and it takes little to no maintenance cutting the sport would cause all
114that equipment to sit around with no use my life has changed for the better numerous times through High School gymnastics thank you for your testimony Tova Crawford if you'll come forward Mr Romo if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hi my name is Leah Romero and I'm a senior at service High School I've been swimming for 5 and 1 half years now but four of those years have been spent on the service High swim team I came here tonight with my club team Aquatics Foundation of Alaska to ask that you not cut High School swimming in your current budget um my current team uh AFA represents swimmers from Service South West Bartlett and East and we have come together tonight to prove that swimming is vital to ASD a study
115done in the UK proves that swimming improves cardiovascular fitness endurance and lowers the risk of traumatic injuries additionally it improves mental health and individuals well-being but further than that ASD swim teams provide a unique community that I have yet to see matched in any of our school district's communities I would not be who I am today without coach Grant and my service swim team they gave me the motivation confidence and willingness to S succeed that got me through my worst days 4 years later I feel that I've tried to return the favor by being a captain of that amazing swim team even though my time on the team is over now my duty to this team requires to me that I testify and tell you tonight why High School swimming must remain please let there
116be a swim team for my little brother to find the things that I found in this team improved Mental Health Community physical health Improvement and leadership are just a few of the benefits that ASD swim teams provide us we recognize that your hands are tied and that you are out of money we are writing to our your legislators to our governor to ask them to raise the BSA but for now please save our pools thank you thank you very much for your testimony Charlotte Griffith if you'll come down and Miss Crawford if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes my name is Tova Crawford I'm in second grade at to Gat optional when I heard about the budget cuts I offered my piggy bank to help my mom said my voice
117is more important than my pennies so I'm here to give you all the words I can two minutes or Bess I'm in the ignite program for gifting students and I absolutely love it ignite challenges me to think about the big problems and come up with fresh ideas I don't want to lose a special program that helps me grow and flex my brain to Gat may lose two of her 11 teachers who this would devastate her school's learning environment our classes have two grades in each room and Ming two teachers with sports class sizes to have as many 44 students per room can you imagine 40 elementary kids in one classroom most students wouldn't be able to focus and learn that environment to get may also lose our librarian Amy and nurse Maya librarian Amy Fosters
118a love of reading in every student our library is the heart of our school and I can't imagine it without Amy nurse Maya is always there to help with my hearing age or a scraped knee losing in parttime would be hard for all of us you may have noticed that where hearing is I a heart of hearing and I'm thriving because of as's great teachers and support services my family and I are running ASL thank the family sign night at the school for the death and party faing at fresh and Jack this program is a great resource for students and families across the district please remember the decisions you make affect the experiences and opportunities for kids like me tonight I ask you please do not cut ignite programs do not take away too teachers
119from to C optional do not take away our librar n do not cut funding for the school for the death and heart of hearing thank you for listening thank you for your testimony and if Knox lores will come down and Miss Griffith if you will state your name for the record you have two minutes hello my name is Charlotte Griffith and I'm a junior at South angri High School I'm coming here today for the second time along with many of my peers who are waiting in the lobby right now to ask that you do not cut out the high School swimming program or any other sport in the district Athletics specifically swimming has been the center of my life for almost 10 years now whether it be learning how to swim through lessons or competing
120on a club comp team my end goal has always been to represent and compete for my high school being able to compete on a high school team has been a huge deal for me and has really changed my high school experience for the better since the swimming season starts before school does each year I have been able to go into the school year with a large community of people that I fortunately am able to get to know better as the season goes on this community has been the foundation of my high school experience and through it I have made lifelong friendships with people that I would not have met otherwise as well as the social aspect of being on a team learning how to swim is a legitimate safety concern especially living in a state
121with one of the highest dring rates in the country because of my experience with swimming I've been able to use my knowledge to give back to the community by teaching swimming lessons to younger kids many of my swim teammates also began to teach lessons in lifeguard for community events because they were able to learn these skills through High School swimming since we do not have a pool at South every day during the high school season my teammates and I drive ourselves over to service High to swim before school starts High School swimmers are some of the most dedicated athletes and students that I know we are dedicated to both our Sports as well as our studies as a sunab be senior I'm now counting on my next swim season to help secure college scholarships if
122the swim and dive program is cut my chances of getting those will be severely lowered I'm asking to please keep the high school swimming open to all students in our community thank you for your time thank you for your testimony If arel Logan will come down and Mr Vorhees if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hi my name is Knox Vorhees um if we don't get our new Sho um we rasa might not be here in a couple years and my sh's name will is that all your testimony yeah okay thank you very much appreciate your coming um and Sky Barnes if you will come down and Miss Logan if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hello my name is AR Logan I'm a fifth
123grader in the Spanish Immersion program at Chugiak Elementary School I would like to talk today about the proposed cuts to ignite immersion teachers and middle school activities I have been in ignite since third grade and I have a sister in second grade who just started this year during my time in ignite I have learned things that I might not have known until middle school a night has kept me engaged in school because it has given me a challenge to look forward to each week as an immersion student I have had a chance to learn a new language speak to people from other uh from other Spanish speaking countries and learn about different countries like Spain Mexico Venezuela and many more I like learning about new cultures and new places the immersion program has opened my
124eyes Beyond where I live if you cut these programs now the students like my sister who are in the middle of the program will not get the same educational opportunities as I have and my amazing Spanish teachers who I have loved might lose their jobs Middle School scorts are import are important to me because I'm going to be in middle school next year and I'm going to want to do some of these activities keep into mind that if you cut these programs now you can't let you can't get them back later even if the state legislature provides more money you still have 30 seconds I asking for you to keep these programs in the budget by working with the state legislator to get more funding instead of cutting programs thank you for your time thank
125you very much for your testimony and if Landon Autumn will come down Miss Barnes if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes good evening my name is Sky Barnes and I'm a sixth grader at Highland Academy and I'm here to talk to you about why I believe our school should move into the nunaka building I've thought of several reasons why this move would make a big difference for all of us at Highland academy one of the biggest things I've noticed is that many of our classrooms don't have windows and that makes it hard to focus and feel connected to the outside world the new Naka building has Windows in every classroom which would bring in natural light help improve our mood and make our learning environment more comfortable right now our
126PE classes are held in the parking lot which is dangerous because cars could cars could drive through while we're trying to play at the nunaka building there's a gym where we could have PE inside away from traffic this would help keep us safe and we'd be able to use PE equipment like volleyballs and basketballs the gym would allow us to have better Sports classes no matter the weather outside we all know how important it is to get some fresh air and exercise during the day currently our outside space is very small and it's it's a paav fenced area that's smaller than half a basketball court but the new Naka building has a playground in a field where we could play soccer run around enjoy lunch and races outside this would give us more space to
127be active and help us stay healthy and organized throughout the day another great reason to move to the nunaka building wait the nunaka building has a kitchen we could use this for cooking classes where we could learn the basics of cooking which is important skill in life also the kitchen could be used by the ptso to support our school hosting events fundraisers and activities that bring our community together thank you thank you for your testimony Marina tumus if you'll come down and Mr aumn if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hello my name is Landon Autumn I am in first grade at Wula please help our school move into Lake Hood Elementary we would have a bigger playground and more space to run and play we would have a we
128would have we would have a bigger classroom we would have a lunchroom we would have a bigger Library my school could use the extra money for students I love reala because I like my teachers thank you very much for your testimony I want to touch back just to see if Candace ARA is in the audience Candace ARA and if not um Marina pus I'm not saying that correctly is next followed by Roland Ivory if you will come down thank you followed by Devin Hall if you'll come forward you state your name for the record you have two minutes pardon if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes good evening my name is Devon Hall I'm a sophomore at service high school and I've been a member of the varsity swim team
129for two years with any luck I'll graduate with four years of Varsity swimming experience given my experience on the swim and dive team it's no surprise that I'm here to speak to you today your proposed budget cuts for the 2025 2026 school year will undoubtedly eliminate vital opportunities for students across the district school sports are not just a hobby for our students they're an they're an essential part of our lives for some they're the only Outlet we have furthering our physical and mental health providing a platform for teamwork leadership and friendship teaching skills we could not grasp in just the classroom alone such as time management and discip discipline for most it is the highlight of our high school experience and for a select few swimming is the only chance we will have at affording
130college with with scholarship opportunities being being provided to dedicated students who have worked their whole lives for opportunity like this for other High School SE for other high school students High School season is the only opportunity they'll ever have to participate in a sport club sports are often expensive making them an extreme privilege for many students especially those in lowincome situations something many ASD students are faced with furthermore cutting Middle School sports does not create an environment that furthers that supports further physical activity in high school and Beyond according to the Alaska food Council one in three children in Alaska is overweight or obese childhood obesity is most likely to occur between the ages of 11 and 15 or middle school years does taking away more physical activity from children who are genetically and geographically
131at a disadvantage to become overweight seem like a wise decision to you we understand you're in a difficult position but sports are not just a fun hobby that can be sacrificed for academics they're an integral part of our lives a PA a place for growth and development we urge you to make the right decision and to continue to support our school programs thank you for your time thank you very much and Mr Mr Ivory if you'll come have a seat and state your name for the record you have two minutes and if hey Lanna Boyd boyn I'm sorry is here if you'll come down go right ahead hi my name is Rand Ivory I would like reala to move reala to have a new school I I would like for my brothers to also have
132a new school and a good one thank you thank you very much for your testimony um Liam La if you'll come down and Miss boand if you'll stay your name for the record you have two minutes hi I'm Kiana and I am in eighth grade I've been going to Highland Academy charer school for 3 years now one of the things I love about Highland is that all the students know the teachers and all the teachers know the students I have three reasons why I think Highland Academy should be relocated to naaka Valley Elementary School moving buildings would be very beneficial when it comes to space for an example if we had intensiv like Nyo and carpentry that both needed the commons we wouldn't have enough space but with a bigger building we would have enough
133space with the building that we are in now space is very limited for many things such as gym or a cafeteria I think that moving buildings would make it easier for student lead for student leadership when it comes to planning a events like lockin prom or any other event that requires a bigger space with the building that are schools in now we only have a big room that is used for eating and gym this leads kids having to exercise on if there are messes made during lunch by moving buildings this would separate food and exercise lastly I would like to say thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak about why I think Highland should relocate to nunaka Valley Elementary School thank you very much for your testimony I want to touch back U
134Marina p M us if you're here you're on the list um Liam r w and yes if you'll come state your name for the record you have two minutes to testify you want to get the microphone right in front of you you can pull it down a little bit we we all have to take a minute sometimes to sort of gather ourselves but if you'll start with your name my name is Liam laup second grade I go to second grade in R and I think moving to Lake hood is a great idea we could have a bigger playground and more more space for the kids to have fun cuz the playground is usually really crowded and I wouldn't like the good teacher to go down the D thank you for your time byebye thank you
135very much for coming tonight um we have Luca and Quinn dong as our next two testifiers your you have 10 minutes and I'm in first grade and orula and I would like more teachers for for to help more kids and I would like a bigger playground to play on thank you thank you for coming tonight next we have quind dong followed by Rowan Hall you take your name for the record you have two minutes good evening my name is quin Delong and I'm a fifth grade student from omali elementary Al Ali has had a huge impact to my life and I been in the French ersion program since kindergarten I've loved every moment the teachers I've been have been incredible but one in particular made a lasting impact Miss col n my third grade French
136teacher he made learning fun kept kept us engaged and knew how to balance being a teacher and a friend he taught me to think Beyond myself to appre appre appreciate other cultures and languages he made School exciting and I can't thank him enough for that but the future of French immersion programs is uncertain if it's shut down or if it's shut down or teachers positions will be cut my my my great teachers and many other teachers like Mr col a may have to leave and the future students won't get the same opportunity decided and that won't be fair programs like this give students a great education and I hope this can continue for many years [Music] thank you thank you for coming uh no wer if you will come forward and Mr Hall if you'll
137state your name for the record you have two minutes hello my name is ran Hall and I'm a fifth grader at Al Elementary I'm here because I'm worried about my school especially the French immersion program I've been in it since kindergarten and I very much enjoyed it it's more than just learning words it's learning about another culture and it's even made me better at other things like reading math writing and problem solving my little brother is in second grade and is also in the emerging program he learns differently and a lot of the way the emergent teachers teach helps him a lot more if you get rid of the French program you're getting way you're getting rid of a way of teaching that works really well if you take away five out of the 17
138teachers that are adal the class sizes will grow and we won't get the attention and room that we need to focus if you take away our teachers and we lose our program you're take you're basically taking away a part of our community I've been with the same classmates for the last 6 years and we feel like we belong together if if you cut the program there is also a risk of a Mal closing thank you thank you for your testimony Sam Pearson if you'll come forward and um if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hi my name is Noah tinw I'm in the fifth grade at rasula and rosula is at risk of being cut I'm here to talk about how special rasula is and how we can make it
139even better roko serves 480 students and we have some of the best teachers who really support us they create a place where all where we all feel welcomed and supported our teachers work hard every day to help us learn and grow our students surpass the math and Ela benchmarks even spending half of our day speaking only German one of my favorite teachers is ha Downey he teaches music and leads awesome clubs after school the music program is a lot of fun and helps us learn teamwork discipline and creativity him his program and all the other teachers at Roa go above and beyond it helps make our school a special place for everyone but there's one problem right now we spend almost 20% of our budget on rent for our school building that's a lot of
140money we can't afford to keep spending that much money on rent if we don't get the chance to move to lakehood we will lose many of our wonderful teachers who make Roa so outstanding Roa schula is a great part of the community and by moving into lakehood we can keep growing and stay at a great school where everyone is supported and cared for thank you for your testimony time uh Ava cth if you'll come forward and Mr Pearson if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hello my name is Sam Sam is Samuel Earl Pearson I came here to say that I love the French immersion program it has taught me so much over the past 5 years I have I have had great teachers that have come from France to
141teach me like Mr col and my English teachers have been pretty great too please keep the French emotion program thank you for your time thank you very much for your testimony so Ryan if you'll come down and Miss colth if you'll stay your name for the record you have 2 minutes you want to get the microphone right in front of your mouth you can pull it down my name is AA CF and I am in third grade at rasula I am here to support your recomendation to move Rula to lak Hood in 94 days we don't have a least 4 Hour School moving to lakehood means for my classmates and I that we will have a bigger music room and a bigger Library I could not have to make my lunch every day and we
142can have a bigger classrooms it is very dis distracting doing small groups work in the hallways right now I love all my teachers and moving to lak hood means that they can continue their great work thank you for making the right choice for our future sincerely AAA thank you very much if zy mullinex will come down and Miss Ryan if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hi my name is zo hello my name is Zoe and I'm a sixth grade grader currently going to Gold viw middle school if the budget cuts go through gold viw will lose nine teachers which is equivalent to about a grade worth of teachers and one of our two beloved Vice principals another example is that all of our before and after school sports and
143activities get taken away from the kids if school if our school doesn't get funded I myself are is on the am on the debate team last year my school won the state Varsity Championship having a great varsity team with my friends our goal is to at least make it to the state championship but with but before graduating to high school but without funding I'm not sure that goal will ever be realized when I was in elementary school I was in the I was in the ignite program last year we de dissected sheep hearts and in fourth grade we built robots and we raced them through a maze taking away ignite would be taking away new and fun opportunities for kids um my sisters go to Ali and are in the imers French ersion program my
1448-year-old sister is currently in the French emersion program and she is dyslexic with the French program she is not only learning to read and write in English but also in French my six-year-old sister is also benefiting and will soon be able to read and write in English and French if um Bud the budget cuts are made all um everything will be lost thank you thank you very much for your testimony if Millie dong will come down and Miss melanex if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes good evening members of the school board fellow students and Families my name is Da MX and I'm a sophomore currently attending diamond high school I'm here tonight to Advocate to keep this boort of swimming as one of the High School athletic programs now
145I said the sport of swimming but swimming is so much more than that it is a strong community that positively impacts every single person who decides to participate swimming has many benefits besides just the initial exercise that the swimmers who partake in it receive s swimming teaches its athletes discipline teamwork and resilience all of which are important lessons that we will use for the rest of our lives speaking of the rest of our lives swimming is one of the few sports that you can do ages 2 to 100 anyone any age is able to swim if they are given the opportunity to learn that is cutting this sport would prevent students from learning a life skill that is good for their mental and physical well-being also swiming may be seen as an individual Sport and
146while it is mainly focused on personal growth I have not participated in another sport where the sense of friendship and camaraderie is so strong I have made forever friends through this Sport and if it wasn't for high school swimming then I would not have met such a wonderful and equally hardworking group of people also High School swimming gives students the chance to learn to swim and exercise without the cost of joining a club team taking away this sport also robs swimmers from a multitude of opportunities it opens doors to swim in college and receive scholarships that can be exciting factor for many swimmers on where to go to school without this program we are left at a huge disadvantage to swimmers from other states additionally swimming boosts cognitive abilities and brain health which leads to
147an improvement in school as well swimming also creates many job opportunities that we can put on our College resumés like lifeguarding and teaching swim lessons and many of the diamond swim and dive athletes from this last season are teaching swim lessons at Swim America where an average of 240 kids A week are taught a life saving skill and that would not have been possible without the employers coming from the swim team I myself came straight here from lessons and I am so GL grateful that my sport has given me the ability to have a job that works with my busy schedule as a student athlete I and the entirety of the Alaska swimming community plead you to please consider consider the benefits of the sport of swimming for the athletes and our district please keep
148our beautiful sport alive thank you for your time thank you very much for your testony um I have Joan and I I can't read the last name it was handwritten on the speaker sheet or I'm sorry or or one yeah okay and uh Mr long if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes and do I go hello my name is Milly I am in the third grade French immersion at om Ali when I first joined French immersion I didn't understand what they said in kindergarten but now I do what I love about my French teacher Madame meod is that she loves art science and painting if am Ali went away I wouldn't I would miss my friends the ice skaing ring and the playground if a Ali didn't have French immersion
149I would I wouldn't have seen my French teachers so I'm asking you tonight not to take any french teachers away from thank you very much for your testimony and if Luke Reen will come down and ju if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes uh good morning everybody my name is Jan silver Ren Jr uh a senior at diamond high school and to think that next year might change for the worst feels like the worst since freshman year I felt the Stu by the thought of what high school would turn into as if I was going to enter as the geek who get singled out of his class but how wrong I was Mr Wheelis my student government adviser for three years constantly inspired me to become the courageous individual I
150am now in hopes of speaking out for others which I'm doing right now um our librarian Miss melin despite not knowing me my first year was always willing to have a genuine conversation with me the Orchestra program and Orchestra director uh Dr P thank you shout out to Big Dog urged me to take things outside of my own perspective and crushing my own blind spots we must continue the life of our school district we must see that we are not just schools but well interconnected communities cut off teachers who serve generations of students Librarians who've served us in countless ways far beyond the book and programs that give students an environment for their creativity to run free feels like to abnormal of a missing puzzle piece cutting off this much bulk of classroom teachers and
151pring Librarians and hypothetically the fine arts program would unarguably make next year feel like the depressed students scen from Captain Underpants some kids might be moved into a new school and may not settle in as comfortably as others on one possible circumstance teachers have to wait to see whether they get um cut from the the district or not depending on if they have enough students in the roster for their class it feels as if this year may turn cataclysmic but I still have hope hopeful that our community stay strong and can get through the thick and thin of it just like the co pandemic and just like my school motto says stay happy stay healthy and of course stay golden thank you for having me thank you and would you spell your last name for
152the record my last name is orenz o r NS e very much I appreciate that and if cor Mo can come forward and Mr Reen if you will state your name for the record you have two minutes uh hello my name is Luke rean I'm a 10th grader at West Anchorage High School um I am here to support my swim team so one activity that I find particularly meaningful is my high school swim team it has positively impacted my life in multiple ways I joined the swim team when I started High School in ninth grade I was nervous at the start because I wasn't a very good swimmer and really struggled um I also did not know anyone else on the team um and like had no friends but as I became more comfortable and
153got stronger and made friends um I become faster over um but more important than BEC a strong swimmer was becoming part of a team and meeting people making friends being part of the swim team has taught me um or being part of the swim team has allow has fostered a sense of community at school that is unlike anything else um I've met many people um and friends that I would not have met had I not been on the team um swimming also taught me perseverance because even though I was hesitant to do it and struggled at practice I decided to stick with it because I knew it' be worth it um it was worth it swimming hasn't swimming um has not only helped me make new friends get in shape and be more physically active
154um swimming inspired me to start leading a healthier life and to um yeah can and to participate in more activities and team sports um swimming also taught me that gains do not happen overnight and that progress takes time and effort to achieve while while I'm still not particularly fast I know that if I continue to put in the effort I will be um please do not cut the high school swim and dive programs as they mean a lot to many to many students including myself thank you thank you very much for your testimony if Shane Dixon will come down and cor Mo if it'll state your name for the record you have two minutes V Kora Mo that's Russian for hello my name is Kora and I am a fourth grader at turn again Elementary
155I was here last year and I wish I didn't have to come here again please keep the current programs funded at my school I am in the ignite program Russian language immersion in choir and last week I went to the Citywide battle the books battle where our team got first place I would rather study for battle of the books right now than be here but I heard we might not even have battle the books next year if I don't advocate in two years I'm going into Middle School I hope to play sports at school instead of making my parents search for Good Sports Teams middle schoolers in addition as part of the student council we have written welcome letters to students at lak Hood Elementary I am very proud of my school my fourth grad
156Russian teacher Olga fistina has re recently been nationally recognized for her work with Russian immersion also what I like ignite is that it's fun but also challenging these programs should be available for Lakes Hood students as well and not only Russian ersin students need or not only Russian emergency saving I also support other Emer if I did not have these things in my school would not be as fun and I would not learn as much my little brother martin is 5 years old and in Kinder are at turning in with me and he is looking forward to doing these things when he's older it would be sad if he could not do the same programs I liked so much please support a budget that keeps these programs at my school thank you very much for
157your testimony if pton Curtis will come down and Mr Dixon if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hello my name is Shane a Dixon I am a junior at Highland Academy Char school and I want to take a moment to request newa for our new school building I originally came to Highland in the sixth grade and I want to better my school for future students in my community I would like to start with our Commons room it is about half the size of the nunaka gym and it is where we hold assembly PE and lunch for assemblies it is far too small of a space for our whole school to fit in with us often having to take chairs from other rooms just to pack all the students in and
158even then it's shoulder shoulder all the way down as for PE they have to move these benches out of the commons and back in every single time taking time off of their physical education and activities lunch happens midday and afterwards it's often quite a mess with the chanders not coming till after school hours forcing our PE students to either roll around in mess or head outside as for outside we have two areas our first is a fenced off area which we call the cage it is parking lot thus still has a curb on it which means we will trip or roll our ankles moving up or down the area is also not that big almost the same size as the commons forcing us into the front parking lot it is a very high traffic Zone
159in dangerous Force play and there's often a lot of vehicles coming through and a small personal story I would like to share while I still have time is I am dual enrollment with Highland and King Tech and one of the times while leaving on the bus towards King Tech a ball a ball got kicked out of the parking lot into the street and under the bus where it got crushed while we were leaving ultimately I think the score is too small for high scores and unsafe for play I would like to thank you very much for your testimony thank you sir and if Payton um if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes good evening my name is pton Curtis I'm a junior at West Anchorage high school and a third-year
160swimmer on the west swim team I'm standing here to discuss the impact that swimming has on high school students as well as the community of Anchorage as a student athlete I pride myself on my success in and out of the classroom and pool I'm an IB diploma student and in the top 3% of my class at West and I don't believe I could be as academically successful as I am without my opportunity to go to swim practice every day swimming is a critical in relieving the many feelings of Stress and Anxiety that consume the average student countless research has been conducted to prove that release of endorphin serotonin and dopamine also helps you feel more at ease swimming is more than just a sport Alaska is the highest drowning rate in the nation with the
161greatest cause of drowning being lack of swimming ability in a state full of lakes and rivers swimming is a critical life skill that needs to be offered in our schools eliminating swimming will help hurt the kids that need it most those that can't afford for the considerable expense of sending their kids a swim lessons or joining Club Swim programs additionally High School swimming is significantly cheaper than private clubs permitting more students to participate in it the three-month season cost $200 there are only four Club teams in an Anchorage area with the cheapest costing two and a half times as much High School swimming increases the accessibility to the sport to those who may not have the chance otherwise of the speakers here me and my fellow High School swimmers here have recognized countless children running
162around who we have taught to s and learn to swim programs swimming is one of the most affordable and accessible Sports everybody gets to participate from noves to state champions two weeks ago after asc's short-sighted announcement about the proposal to cut swimming I started a petition that just within 24 hours collected over 1, signatures as well as countless shares comments and promotions if that's not passion for your sport then I don't know what is budgets must be controlled by cuts that make children less physically safe less academically successful and less able to contribute to society run contrary to the fundamental mission of any school district the cut the swim program would be to abandon the core mission of ASD which says educating all students for success in life loses credibility when they are cutting program
163thank you very much for your testimony and I want to touch back real quick to see if um Cadence ARA is present or Marina petu Minos and not seeing either that brings us to the conclusion of our student testimony um and the feeling that that we really need more swimmers in our in our population um students really done an outstanding job at testimony we deeply appreciate you taking the time and coming tonight I'm going to ask for a 10-minute recess for the board to take a short break and we will come back and resume testimony thank you e e e if board members return to their seats I'll call this meeting of the ASD board back into session and we will continue we do have one more student testifier Amelia Samuel if you'll come [Music]
164forward okay thank you for coming forward if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes my name is Amelia Samuel I'm an 8th grade and I'm asking you not to move the listening and spoken language program from Willow Russian Jack I started school at Willow Elementary in the listening and spoken language classroom where I learned to get ready for kindergarten advocate for myself I've been a general education classroom where I've made lots of friends who have natural hearing as you can see I don't need an interpreter and I'm fully independent in my ability to learn in a general education I hope one day to be to be a teacher because I'll get to teach many kids from all backgrounds so that they can have the same chance of being successful as I've
165had thank you for your time thank you very much for your testimony and moving to parents that have students in the audience that need to testify and get home we'd like to start with Amy bobich followed by Katherine Smith and if you can state your name for the record you have two minutes hello everyone my name is Amy bit and this is my sign name so I am here to talk about the proposed budget cuts specifically focusing on two positions for the Alaska State School for the Deaf and heart of hearing the school counselor and the intervention coach positions when compared with other schools in our district our school is very small but unique we work with the Deen heart of hearing children ages three all the way up to 22 all over the state
166of Alaska did you know that de and heart of hearing is considered a loow incident disability that means it is not common to work with deaf and heart of hearing students and they need specialized services and professionals to support their needs in the classroom more than 90% of Deen heart of hearing children are born to hearing parents most of those parents have never met a deaf person and they don't know sign language that means a majority of deaf and heart of hearing children do not have access to a visual language at Birth many of our deheart of hearing hearing children often enter school with limited language skills which greatly impacts their communication social academic skills along with developing appropriate behavioral skills this is where our school Community can come together to support every deaf and
167heart of hearing child and their families in our state we have a wonderful team of professionals trained to address the unique challenges of our teaching for deaf and heart of hearing children our school is so small that our teachers teach combo classes for example uh for one year I was teaching prek all the way to first grade by myself in the same classroom which makes it even more challenging to address the students needs our schools also spread across multiple sites that means our students have limited access to signing peers and Role Models at school we greatly rely on our counselor and our intervention coach to help us teach and support all of our students learning needs our school counselor and intervention coach have already given their testimony in Sign Language they are both fluent in
168American Sign Language they are amazing role models for our students taking away both of these positions increase the burden of our teachers to juggle everything on our own without any support their skills and highly specialized positions are irreplaceable I don't see anyone else in akd in the district doing their jobs on the daily basis and I want to add and encourage any of you on the school board please come to our school and see our amazing students staff community and families please come and see for yourselves the amazing work that is happening with our counselor and school intervention coach thank you so much and have a good night thank you very much for your testimony and if Courtney or doski will come forward and Miss Smith if you'll state your name for the record you
169have two minutes good evening my name is Katherine Smith I am a proud Kinder mom of a Rell student his name is Conrad he is now six years years old um and he's been doing this since he's been five um I want to say that as an emerging School the German Immersion program strives to promote the Seal of biliteracy that the state of Alaska has recognized uh the rual teachers and staff encourage our students and attain the skills that are attractive to Future employers and postsecondary education institutions with our in within our evolving World we're only a fraction where only a fraction speaks reads and comprehends a second language well enough to use it in their everyday lives our students are performing above average and outperforming other schools in the district with moving to lak
170hood will'll provide the program room to grow and support our community and our students Futures the alleviation of the rent would allow the APC board to re reallocate funds for hiring teachers counselors even though her Vincent Lang does an amazing job there would be a real Library not just a Nook a real playground with grassy Fields basketball courts not just rocks in their pockets and I'm sure older students would enjoy more activities outside during their recess other than a playground a gym would be nice where they can enjoy PE recess during windy and frigid cold days a lunchroom where they can eat comfortably not in their snow gear and additional lunchrooms you have 30 seconds thank you I would like to also share with you all here tonight my appreciation for the teachers and the
171staff Who deliver efficiency and effectively a persistent commitment to educating our students constantly during the challenges they have incurred thank you guys I do hope you vote Yes for rual moving thank you for your testimony and if when we is come come forward uh this you should pronounce your name and you have two minutes um hi my name is Courtney horowski I have three students at chuak elementary and one coming up um behind them um I'm not going to spend time telling you how much I love my school or because that's why I'm here um I understand this is a proposal based on the state's allocation I'm also talking to my state legislators but I do want to say that I think that the Anchorage School District should focus on I don't know what the
172processes are of working with the legislature the timing I know the timing between the legis timeline and the district and the mun's timeline just causes this fire drill every year we're going to cut programs because we don't know what the budget is the legislature just got into session so they don't have time to fix it before then so if there's any formal Outreach process work Group whatever that can get with them to kind of solve some of those just surface level problems that could keep us from having this fire drill to have to rally and fight for our programs every year that would be a great morale boost I think to parents to teachers um the teachers we want to keep here um all of that um and I wonder what other kinds of year-over-year
173cost cutting longterm programs could be put into effect to not just react based on what we think the legislature might give us but what can we proactively do to cut costs in some of these programs um I have questions about some of the um um the right sizing it seems that every year there are about six schools on the list one or two gets cut um it's my understanding that one of the schools in our area that didn't get cut is only going to under this budget have six teachers for K through five next year and how one how big are those classes going to be and two is it really economically feasible to keep a school open our school is slated to lose four teachers that will destroy our immersion program which has been
174around for 30 years and I am out of time and so I will leave it at that I could talk much longer thank you very much for your testimony and if Eric Vorhees can come down Mr wias you you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes thank you president Hollman and members of the board my name is LM Wheelis and I'm an ASD graduate I'm a parent of an ASD graduate and a parent of a current student and I'm in my 21st year teaching for ASD I am fully invested in the success of our Public Schools I recognize that the budget shortfall exists because of the failure of the legislature and the governor to provide funding to keep up with inflation however I have significant concerns with the ASD budget as proposed
175I'm very concerned by the cuts to middle school and high school activities while calling these extracurricular activities make it sound like they are something extra they are in fact Central to our mission to educate all students for success in life activities build community teach teamwork and Leadership and connect our students to their schools this board has expressed severe concern over student absenteeism it will only get worse if we cut the activities that encourage some of our most vulnerable students to attend school not all families can afford comp Sports School sports provide Equity of access to the great learning opportunities of being on a team and encourage all students to be physically active I'm also greatly concerned by the massive increase in PTR proposed in this budget this year I have 50 students increasing PTR by
176four means an average increase of 20 students for secondary teachers like me that's 20 more essays to grade every time I assign one in one of my AP classes that's 20 more students to get to know and try to meet their unique needs that's 20 more families to communicate with regularly that's a 133% increase in my student load a 133% increase in my workload and yet there is no corresponding increase in teacher compensation this budget is being balanced on the back of classroom teachers even if the legislature comes through with funding later this spring the teachers whose spots have been cut will either have moved schools or taken a job Elsewhere for next year the single best thing we can do to improve student outcomes is having quality teachers in every classroom but quality isn't
177cheap invest in students invest in teachers and find other areas of the budget to cut thank you thank you for your testimony if Nan Vorhees can come forward and Mr Vorhees if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes Eric Vorhees dear members of the ASD school board and District leaders my wife and I are proud parents of two R students a third grader and a kindergartner R's future is dire if we don't if we remain in our current non-asd building we're building costs account for about 20% of our of the budget it's not financially sustainable for R to remain in the current building if we don't move to an ASD owned building if this doesn't happen there's a chance R won't be around in the years to come but now is
178a chance to make a change there's a solution that will that will allow R to remain a financially stable and a strong ASD School the school that houses nearly 500 students as Alaska's in only independently chartered language immersion program in a school that surpasses ASD math and Ling language goals and that's moving to the lake Hood School building purely from a financial perspective moving to lak hood will save R $1 million a year $1 million a year in addition Rook would also have a building that's 50% bigger for more education space a standalone kitchen and lunchroom and and their own dedicated Library Rook has been advocating for ourselves for many months and this is not the first time you've heard from the real Community I hope that our advocacy and situation are are acknowledged I
179feel strongly that moving R to the lakeh hood building is in the best interest of R and ASD and I hope you feel the same I ask that you make your decisions as timely as possible so we can plan for our future thank you thank you for your testimony to so Logan will come down and Miss VES if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes I'm Alyssa Logan yeah yes please go ahead okay hello my name is Alyssa Logan um I am a teacher at Chugiak high school but more importantly I am a parent of two chak elementary students um one of whom you heard testify earlier today and ultimately I'm here to support her my daughter Arya asked me Friday night to come testify here completely of her own bition
180because she was concerned about the programs that she has been lucky enough to be a part of it's devastating to me that our students have it's become normalized for our students that they have to come and testify to support the programs that they are a part of we must do better for our kids while I appreciate the tough spot that our board is in due to the failure of our legislature to act I want to encourage you to focus on working with the legislature to raise the BSA we've heard a lot about how we need to encourage school choice in the last few months and years from the state level and my husband and I made a choice for for the school that we wanted to send our children to and I wonder why our
181school choice is less important than others because we chose to send our kids to a public school rather than a private school in the meantime once these programs are cut they can't be brought back if the legislature provides more funding you can't get visas in time for Spanish speaking native Spanish native speakers so I urge you to be conscientious about this as you're developing the balanced budget that's required by law and to everyone that's here I um applaud you for showing up to support your schools but without a change in the BSA we'll all be back here next year even if the board is able to find a way to save these programs for a year so my daughter Arya and I have already talked about our plans for how to approach legislators and pushed
182to pass HB 69 and increase the BSA by making phone calls and testifying again with the legislature and I hope you all can bring this energy to them to do the same thank you thank you very much for your testimony Amanda Thompson I want to touch back Nan Vorhees if you're in the audience uh if not uh Miss Thompson is next followed by Bill Ivory you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes my name is Amanda Thompson and my children are at rela and our third generation Anchorage ASD students and I'm an ASD educator and APC board member and today I speak on my own behalf so back to the story about's 10 children in the very crowded Cottage filled with musical marimbas elaborate science experiments towers and books and Apprentice toools
183remember that their selfish stepmother wanted them out their Dead Mother's Godfather had cruy increased their leased an extravagant amount our story left off with the two lost siblings standing by a serene L at Twilight amazed to see beautiful large white Cottages emerge from the fog the seven powerful Spirits hovered in the distance suddenly a large Magpie swooped down his blue feathers dancing in the air did you hear did you hear he called those Cottages are for you the children were dumfounded but we could never afford them they cried knowing it was too good to be true tears Fring in their eyes little gold is needed little ones the seven spirits have determined their advisers have determined you are most worthy the mag pip proudly squa just then a mighty gust of wind whisked far into
184the heavens the seven spirits were in a semicircle closer to the children they started to twist chaotically some were fighting the wind which was not to come every April 1st but this was unusually early with jeans were pulling back a few of the spirits down died the bad p again no they missing a jagon branch the spirits know what is Right children don't lose hope you just need to be brave and remind them of the urgency Eagle says your Stepmother's trying to throw throw your brothers now that's where my story is ends today because there are people who want to remind you of an urgency needed and doing the right thing for ELA thank you thank you for your testimony um Bill Ivory if you're any audience and uh um Miss Boris okay do we
185have your name right yep you do man vores okay thank you um you have two minutes right well thank you for taking the time to listen to me and everyone else tonight I am here to ask you to seriously consider rula's critical and time-sensitive requests to relocate to the lake Hood facility I speak not only as a parent of two Rel casula students Knox who's in kindergarten and spoke for about 7 Seconds earlier and Jack who's in third grade but also as an advocate for all of the 484 students teachers and staff members who call real Kula home as many others have attested our school has reached a fiscal breaking point but we have also identified a solution to resolve that issue the rent for our current facility is unsustainable it did provide us with
186a home when we needed it most but we've outgrown it both in size and in affordability moving to the lakehood facility presents a rare opportunity for us to establish a permanent and sustainable home and we can turn around and reinvest those rent funds into vital school programs and Staffing the lakeh hood facility would significantly benefit our students in other ways our current building has a uniquely small playground and our sped program and our small reading groups that meet in the hallways and our gym lunchroom and multi-purpose space that are all housed in the same room which creates logistical issues every day all of these would benefit from operating in larger and more functional spaces this request is urgent thank you for your time tonight I'm so proud of what this school stands for and I
187thank you for considering my request to give them the home they deserve thank you very much much again I'll call for Bill Ivory if you're here followed by Kim jockum and Edward door state your name for the record you have two minutes I'm not bill but I'm Kim if Bill is not around okay great thank you sir um for record my name is Kim yum um Dr Kim yum I I a parent to one student currently ATU Liam um a little bit shy but he made it work his testimony earlier very proud of him and then my um daughter is going to start kindergarten this year um I'm very proud of the community um presents like the community is amazing we love the school um and I'm speaking to you today to request to support
188this the supporta Emer school to move to the EST facility at lakehood uh in this this school year as we've heard M multiple folks say already it's very time sensitive for us right now to find a home ideally a permanent home where we can continue to to grow um also Dr folks pointed out the problems we have with budget cuts right and the amount large amount of rent we are paying which is not sustainable any longer um and you know really significant cuts to additional Personnel would have to Ure if if we don't get to find find a home ideally with ASD um so I've SE a lot of opportunities here you know we're serving um over 480 ASD students across Anchorage and additional 42 staff um um with the only independent Charter uh language
189emergency program here in Alaska and um it's the largest inperson Charter program as well in the state I'm very proud to be part of that um it's really perfect timing for us with our lease being up this summer um I really the time sensitive nature I really want to also elaborate that if we are moving to a neighborhood um School that'd be great for for that neighborhood to be able to also um participate in the lottery for the school um I grew up in Germany I'm extremely happy we have this community that we found here um grateful for the Dual language immersion it's such an amazing skill for kids um I love about encorage the many many language immersion programs that are here thank you for your time I really appreciate it thank you very
190much for your testimony again Edward door you're here and then followed by jenda dong you will state your name for the record you have minutes good evening my name is Edward door and thank you for your time I am here because I want to see my child continue to have a positive experience at ASD as part of Ric aula first here I'm looking at I believe that uh we will continue to be a great ASD school with a move to the vacant lakehood ASD facility I'm really excited about that and I hope that is something that really comes to reality second our student staff ratio is positively ected when we eliminate our large current facility rental costs that's just being a new parent at this school I can't believe how big that of a deal
191that is third our student body size fits very positively with the school uh at lakeh Hood Elementary so with those three things I really hope we get a chance to move to lakeh hood Elementary thank you thank you for your testimony if kieren auton Weller can come down and stong if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hi my name is cenda dong and I am a mom of six five of which my children have attended or are attending omali Elementary um as as such it's been this is my 11th year as an OM Al parent um when my oldest started kindergarten uh she's now in the 10th grade we had Lottery her for several programs in the alali school district uh of which she got into none so that began
192our journey in the neighborhood orad Mali um and then come first grade she actually got a accepted to ROK Sho and at that time we declined her seat because we just felt so comfortable at ell and she was so much at home and she was thriving fast forward a few years to 2019 and French immersion joined om Ali we were very happy as a family um to embrace that journey and two of my children have been in the program um you've heard from them this evening uh and then this year again I also have a kindergartener that just started at omali my kindergartener this here has some unique challenges she has Down syndrome and she has a speech delay and we had options to send her to a few different schools in uh in the
193school district but ultimately we wanted to bring her home to our Al we wanted her to start kindergarten in a school community that we knew she would feel safe feel compassion and ultimately she could Thrive I could go on and on about om Ali and its benefits to the community but two minutes goes by fast um heading five teachers home Ali has devastating effects to our school and French Emer program so I'm asking tonight that the school board give us back our teachers give us back the ability to properly staff our French immersion program for this coming fall including French teachers at omali and French teachers at Cen view Staffing immersion takes time and we need all the time we can get as we move forward I'm asking that the school board could make decisions
194that would bring sustainability to these riching programs like French imersion that add both culture and value to the enor community in closing I invite you thank you very much for your testimony again Karen ANW if you're here followed by Eve Ryan and Tim Ryan if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes good evening my name is EV Ryan and I'm the parent of three children whose schools namely omali Elementary and golden View Middle School will be severely impacted by the budget cuts that are currently being considered by the school board I'm testifying tonight to point out that there seems to be an unfair burden of cuts on omali Elementary School and golden View Middle School Al Elementary is losing five teachers the most of any Elementary School in the district golden
195View Middle School is losing nine teachers which is equivalent to an entire grade level's worth of classroom Educators you need to understand that if the current budget goes through our French language immersion program in the Anchorage School District will end it's as simple as that did you know that our French program was recently recognized by the French government by being awarded the label FR education this special designation is awarded to Exemplar French language immersion programs throughout the world in other words a French language immersion program at estd is an exemplary program that has been internationally recognized teaching positions in language immersion programs are extremely hard to fill and often and often require native speakers of their target language in many cases a SD needs to apply for and sponsor International work visas this process takes
196months we cannot wait until June to see if and what the legislature decides to fund it will be too late for our imersion programs so wait until the summer ESD will not be able to find and attract teachers from overseas to fill vacant positions in our immersion programs to conclude I would like to reiterate my point that both M element El and golden View Middle School need assurances now that funds will be allocated to adequate Staffing in order to continue supporting our French language immersion program a program that is a source thank you very much for your testimony Martha leeski if you can come forward and Mr Ryan if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes good evening and thank you for your time my name is Tim Ryan and I
197am a father of two students at om Al in the French immersion school and another student at Golden view I myself went to omali from kindergarten through sixth grade then I went to hando and service and when my wife and I decided that we were going to move back to Anchorage we specifically bought our house in the omali school neighborhood so that our children could attend the French immersion school this is what success in public education looks like but today this is all under threat cutting five teachers at omali and nine at Golden view will lead to the immediate elimination of the French emersion program currently the most sought-after emersion program in the district this is because the French teachers are by and large from France and come on two-year work visas they are the
198ones whose positions will be eliminated if the program Cuts go through moreover as considerable time is required to acquire the Visas they need to work in the United States this program cannot be stood up again when funding comes in from the state over the summer simply if it's not funded now it gets dismantled our representative Julie kulum has assured the parents of Al that enough money from the state is on its way so I encourage you to think strategically about the budget and only cut now what can quickly quickly be brought back when these funds come in immersion doesn't work this way and needs funding from the district now thank you very much for your t testimony um Martha weski Chelsea [Music] Pearson sioban [Music] mering take your name for the record you have two
199minutes thank you my name is Martha lojeski homegrown within ASD mother of two daughters APC chair and stream Advocate I'm asking for your vote in favor of repurposing naaka Valley as the future home of anchored stream Academy I'm here today speaking on behalf of our current 178 students the 100 plus students on the wait list and the 75 students in the lottery as of this morning there are dozens of reasons why this move would benefit hundreds of students as well as the naaka Valley Community but none so compelling as the words written by our students last week we asked them two questions what's great about stream and how do you feel about being a student here this is what they want to to share with you I feel safe and protected I feel included and
200heard I feel amazing and ready to keep being a student I feel more in touch with everything around me I feel cared about I feel known I feel better just being at this school stream is unique in how we have a say in what we do and the teachers actually take our feelings into consideration we're a very proud School of what we've done together the Hands-On learning is fun and helps me actually see how things work these three quarters have been the best three of all my school years I love active projects not just learning the words but actions too I am more focused on learning with a growth mindset and this last one in particular hit me deep in my soul because it came from a girl who transferred to us from a different
201Middle School due to severe bullying I feel like I can breathe again at stream I feel like myself stream is ready to grow we need to grow our future begins at the door the 1905 Twining drive ranted and reinvigorated as a thriving Middle School in the heart of nunaka Valley help us bring sorry your time has expired thank you very much for your testimony Chelsea ferson or it'll state your name for the record you have two minutes good evening board members my name is sioban and I'm a hearing Mother fighting for my son Sheamus who is a heart of hearing fifth grader at akd he wanted to come testify but unfortunately he's homesick I'm also here on behalf of the community in our schools Sheamus was born with physical differences one was being born with
202hearing loss ASL is his first language and this program has been essential to his ability to grow and Thrive it's not just about the teaching staff though they have been incredible it's about the entire support system the people who truly understand and connect with him people like Byron our intervention coach and Courtney our school counselor who are not only trained professionals but deeply understand the nuances of his community and culture because this just isn't a program it's a whole community and when you start removing key people from that Community you don't just weaken a program you break the support system that our DEA students rely on imagine being in a moment of Crisis and needing a counselor but no one speaks your language imagine your child struggling with their emotions overwhelmed but there is no
203one who can immediately communicate with them instead everything they say in here has to go through an interpreter or Worse no interpreter is available at all that's what all these Cuts will do Sheamus has faced more challenges than most kids's age 17 surgeries countless obstacles these professionals know this and have worked with him many times when he was struggling with being overwhelmed when Sheamus's good friend moved away which left him feeling emotional one of the only people he responded to was Byron having a male death Mentor is important for him the same goes for Courtney our counselor who has dedicated so much time to supporting these students working with them she has helped my son to learn that his feelings don't have to be so overwhelming and that he can express them in a healthy
204way instead of shutting down that kind of trust and connection doesn't come easily and it certainly can't be replaced and bringing someone new and hoping they build relationships over time removing them isn't just inconvenient it's harmful when we lose good deaf professionals we l lose deaf students parents like me will do whatever it takes to get our children the support they need even if it means leaving Alaska for a better program elsewhere and we are already seen this happen I know the budget is tight but I also know there are other places these Cuts could be made where shifts could happen without dismantling an essential program for de students Anchorage has a small But Mighty deaf Community we need to do whatever it takes to keep it together please do not take away these people
205and the resources that are making a real difference in these kids' lives in my son's life I also wanted to respond to saying something that I heard before tonight my son is hard of hearing and because of akd is I'm sorry but your time has expired thank you very much for your testimony um checking back Chelsea fieron you're here um not Adam Mel followed by hinda Casher Hofer and state your name for the record you have two minutes Adam oeli my name is Adam Meli and I'm the founding principal of anchored stream Academy I'm here tonight to advocate for our program ASD is repurchasing nunaka Valley Elementary and this facility is the perfect fit for our program this isn't just about a facility it's about securing the future for an Innovative and thriving program dedicated
206to the east Anchorage Community our Charter stipulates that we will remain physically located in East Anchorage and we are the only charter school in the state of Alaska that gives a neighborhood preference to East Anchorage families at a time when East Anchorage is feeling the brunt of budget cuts and closures stream is providing a high quality educational option we won't leave East Anchorage and not every east Anchorage facility would work for us nuna's location and access to Green Space is the perfect fit for our program over the past nine years stream has continuously grown and thrived throughout all of our challenges meeting our mission and vision of providing project-based learning stem and outdoor experiential education for our kids we serve a diverse student population representative of East Anchorage and maintain a 93% attendance rate strong
207academic scores and focus and a weight list of over a 100 students the demand for stream is strong and our growth potential is clear but we can't achieve that with our current facility at a time when we're concerned about funding stream is paying $330,000 a year or a million dollar every 3 years to a private university that money could be going back into ASD moving to nunaka would provide long-term stability and allow us to grow and give our students a safe secure facility to access outdoor educational opportunities and meet our mission thank you for your time thank you for your testimony Aon stry if you can come forward and Miss Casher Hofer you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hello my name is hinda Casher and I want to thank everyone
208for the opportunity for me to be here to provide public testimony I would like to ask you to consider a few important questions would you eliminate all of the hearing school counselors if not why are you cutting the ASL counselor would you cut all of the intervention coaches in as D then why are you eliminating the one ASL intervention coach would you cut all foreign language classes like Spanish French or German or just the ASL classes for many of the students at akd American sign language is their only link to De culture it is not just about learning a language but connecting them to the entire Community I am a parent of a pre child and I am worried about his access to a counselor who understands ASL and his cultural background for my child
209this is concerning my husband himself is a akd Alum and he works in construction he recently met a coworker who knew American Sign Language and the positive impact of being able to communicate in their shared language is irreplaceable and that is just one example of how ASL education opens doors to meaningful connections and opportunities as a substitute ASL teacher I have had the privilege of sharing this language and culture with East High School students ASL is the fourth most popular language in America and the closest to English of any foreign language taught at East High School while ASL interpreters are vital they cannot replace deaf Role Models deaf students need deaf role models to fully Embrace their identity something only these role models are able to provide to the students Alaska is unique in not
210having a school for the deaf and many of our students ASL in their connection many students in the lower 48 have a residential school that they are able to attend and many of our students here do not have that connection to ASL and they have language deprivation and they're often lost our school numbers will shrink our de Community will also shrink removing these vital resources will impact our education and hinder the gr the growth of our deaf community please don't take away something that is vital to our future for our students and our de culture your decision today can make a lasting positive impact thank you for your consideration thank you for your testimony um Karen Str or thank you followed by Charles mcke go ahead yes hello my name is Karen shuy and I
211am the parent of two students who receive special education services in the anchored School District two weeks ago I provided testimony to express my concerns about the budget cuts for my daughter's school the Alaska state school for Deen hard hearing and tonight I'm here to advocate for my son and the ignite program my son attends arguably the top academic achieving Elementary School in the state Eagle Academy Charter School Eagle Academy is known for its rigorous academic standards and exceptional proficiency scores that significantly surpass the anchor school district and Statewide averages Eagle Academy students are often instructed at a year level above their current for example my son's in the third grade and the curriculum is in the fourth grade material with this said my son is bored in school his IQ scores Place him in
212the superior intelligence or gifted range he needs um educational opportunities that stimulate and challenge him to be engaged the ignite program offers this to him it is the only class that he comes home excited about and engaged with the materials ignite not only offers students with exceptional abilities A specialized curriculum to meet their academic needs but it also provides the social emotional supports for these students this unique population of gift students um often experience a disconnect between their intellectual abilities and their social emotional development one of the most important aspects of the night program is that it surrounds gifted children like with like-minded peers who share uh similar abilities and interests this environment allows them to feel understood and accepted the night program provides um an educational experience that addresses the academic and social emotional
213needs of these gifted children it keeps these students engaged challenged and excited about learning all while giving them the the necessary tools to navigate the complexities of being gifted this type of environment allows these students to thrive in ways that the traditional classroom cannot provide to them I do urge the school board to reconsider keeping the ignite program thank you thank you for your testimony Alison goer if you will come down Mr mcke if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes my name is Charles mcke I'm a beneficiary of the mck trust and I want to reiterate the how Bill 69 representative hem shoot put forward and I'm going to refer to a love letter to the people that are incarcerated that you already have a copy of the Checkmate situation
214that you are currently enjoying um is caused by not recognizing the juvenile jurisdiction that you have power over and also um this stems from another letter of love that I conveyed to a dove that works at uh banquet house and copy that as at Anchorage Daily News and also my experience with understanding love understanding love and the spiritual aspects to All Things physical C mandated by Lord Jesus Christ in my life to that end uh I went to the hospital in an emergency situation and I was screaming in the ER room this is a manufactured emergency caused by the duny administration I testified against the fish tax bill and this as a result that as well as testified against the court system and their corruption uh with that I didn't know the 7th of July
21520 2019 the 1 of July he had vetoed Medicaid Medicare services for all the hospitals in the state so they listened to my comment and they sued them the doctors and Nurse Association who dances with the angels and sometimes God in their practice and sorry your time has expired can you spell your last name for the record okay thank you um Allison Galler followed by Amanda riddle and that would be followed by lene [Music] Winfrey you feel state your name for the record you have 2 minutes thank you my name is lene Winfrey ASD nursing our students should have equal access to health care not based on School enrollment of 301 versus 299 will a medically fragile student have to attend a different school because a fulltime nurse is required for their safety keeping students
216safe at school is our respon resp ability our students need nursing Knowledge and Skills to manage chronic health conditions broken bones seizures head injuries when they have chest pain breathing problems low blood sugar minutes count we are involved in Behavior interventions we are critical members of suicide risk assessment teams we are team leaders for emergency response by Alaska law I cannot delegate nursing assessment I cannot delegate evaluation of treatments I cannot delegate as needed emergency medications without parent physician signatures in advance I cannot delegate insulin Administration ever the proposed budget implies there is a staff member who has an extra 2 and a half days worth of time in their week an 0.5 position to take over nursing duties I propose there is no staff meeting that has that time reducing nursing time will result
217in decreased attendance and jeopardize the health and safety of our students it's a risk that could have grave consequences who would be the first responder for difficulty breathing and determine if it is anxiety an anaphylactic event an asthma attack a heart attack an exposure to fentel then respond appropriately including legal documentation all School nurses need to continue being that person 100% of the time thank thank you for listening thank you for your testimony again I want to touch back um for Alison goer and Amanda riddle if you're here please come [Music] forward if you will state your name for the record do you have two minutes my name is Amanda riddle I'm the school nurse at URS Minor Elementary on J bear I'm here today to help ASD recognize the importance of having a full-time
218school nurse in every school regardless of the school size I want you to imagine this a student suddenly has an asthma attack during PE while another student breaks their arm at the same time shortly after a different student accidentally eats something from a friend's lunch that triggers a severe allergic reaction leaving them unable to breathe later that same day a student has a seizure in class and on top of all of that a child with diabetes experiences dangerously low blood sugar and becomes unresponsive I currently have students at my school with each of these diagnoses plus more ranging from preschool to fifth grade now who takes care of these children if the school only has a part-time nurse too often in schools without a full-time nurse the responsibility falls on an overwork teacher with an
219already overflowing class busy office staff juggling countless responsibilities or in the worst case scenario students are left waiting for First Responders to arrive School nurses are essential for student safety medical emergencies can happen at any time whether it's an allergic reaction a diabetic crisis a seizure or even a mental health episode a trained nurse can assess and respond quickly and prevent minor issues from becoming life-threatening emergencies School nurses help keep students in the classroom without a medical professional available students who feel unwell are often sent home unnecessarily a nurse can determine whether a student truly needs to go home or if they can stay and continue learning finally nurse school nurses support not only physical health but also mental well-being many students struggle with anxiety stress or even depression especially in our military Community where
220parents can be deployed for long periods of time having a trusted nurse available daily provides students with support and guidance that can make all the difference schools would never consider operating without teachers so why should they run without healthc Care Professionals every child deserves a safe and healthy learning environment so let's make fulltime School nurses a priority not a luxury thank you thank you for your testimony Aaron shoeer followed by Mario AIS or irus sorry if I'm mispronouncing that [Music] if you will state your name for the record you have two minutes good evening my name is Aaron Schumacher I'm a parent of two ASD graduates and a district employee in the gifted program thank you all for your service and commitment to our Community once again the ignite program that serves the needs of
221all students identified as gifted has been slated to be eliminated gifted students have unique learning needs this is why they are included in the formula for funding as a special population to propose eliminating the entire ignite program year after year displays an oversight to recognize the unique needs of this special population thankfully the board has thoughtfully considered the value of the ignite program and found ways to maintain services for gifted students ignite teachers serve not only identified gifted students but also provide weekly enrichment lessons to teacher nominated students ignite teachers are part of the mclass testing team for 6 weeks out of the school year they travel from school to school schol assessing primary Learners during mclass testing with the elimination of all ignite teachers other staff will need to be assigned or outside individuals
222will need to be recruited trained and paid for the testing looking at the budget proposal and the impact it'll have on all students it appears the hard Choice which is best for the majority of students would be to follow through with additional school closures the difficult reality is that we can't afford not to close more underc capacity schools in doing so we'll be better equipped to meet the needs of our entire student population thank you thank you for your testimony if Teresa Holtz can come forward and um if you can state your name for the record you have two minutes good evening Schoolboard members my name is Mario Aeris uh and my son Daniel is a first grader at rasula a few weeks ago my son came and testified for all of you asking for
223your help and I'm here to do the same as you are aware Bilk casula is vying for the lakehood elementary facility and moving the school there would be an immense Boon to its students and school Community rila's current facility is not a school-owned building or School District owned building every year RKA spends nearly $1 million of its precious budget to pay for rent utilities and maintenance to use that facility due to this burden the school has to had has had to make countless sacrifices in the past just to keep the doors open and this coming year is no exception with the given budgetary constraints Rula will not be able to employ a custodian it will not be able to employ a counselor and will'll have to terminate um crucial PA professional and auxiliary teaching positions
224but you alone can prevent this the benefits of moving uh to the lakeh hood facility go beyond just the budgetary concerns not only will RKA be able to apply that $1 million toward keeping those per professional and auxiliary teaching positions hiring a counselor employing a custodian and updating its educational infrastructure infrastructure it's roughly 480 students will get access for the first time to a dedicated lunchroom a dedicated gym an actual Library an adequate space for music art and students with IEP and 504 plans I cannot emphasize in great enough magnitude how important and time sensitive this choice is uh we are fully aware uh that there is another school buying for the same building uh please consider that before uh that the other school also has three more years at that at their current facility
225which is already an ASD facility uh while the lease and R's current facility is going to be up in just a few months please I implore you help our students help our teachers and help our school by choosing bachula for the lake Hood facility thank you for your time thank you for your testimony going to touch back Teresa Holtz again Allison Galler Chelsea peerson Karen onweller Bill Ivory not seeing anyone approaching uh Megan Peltier and Adrien Michael you take your name for the record you have two minutes Megan peler or I'll save you my French I'm Megan peler uh I am a graduate of the school district and a mother of three om Ali Malamutes thanks for the opportunity to speak tonight I'm here to ask you to put funding for immersion teachers back into
226the budget that you approve next week I know a lot of great teaches and programs are proposed for cuts in the current budget but there's hope that the legislature will increase increase funding so that most of those can be brought back later however the French emerging program and other emerging programs need funding now we need to get started on hiring two Elementary French immersion teachers and one Middle School French immersion teacher as soon as possible these are not positions that can be filled quickly we have a great track record of bringing very talented teachers from France but these teachers require visas which take time to obtain and therefore the positions need funding in the initial budget during the work session Mr Lang said it would be good to hire someone in April if they need
227a visa but to do that we have to start looking for candidates now I know a lot of focus has been on om Ali but I want to remind you that next year our leading class of the French immersion program including my oldest daughter is going on to Golden viw Middle School these kids have been the first to try out the translated curricul um each year they were in kindergarten first and second grade learning in a foreign language through zoom and with face masks on please let them have a successful transition to Middle School by funding their French emerging teacher now if we don't have sufficient time to find hire and obtain vies for these teachers the immersion program won't be able to survive as a board and administration you've worked hard to implement a
228transparent system for closing schools and supporting students in the transition to their new schools this budget would bypass that system and shutter the thank you thank you for your testimony again Adrien Michael uh followed by Misty Nelson online uh followed by James bot not seeing anyone come forwarded Mr bot um and before you we have Misty Nelson via telephone okay she's not connected still Mr bot if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hi I'm James bot uh I'm the father of two West High students and hockey players I'm here to speak in support of all School sports in general and hockey specifically School sports are an important part of developing mentally and physically healthy young people they also get in less trouble when their time is occupied by Sports our
229government leaders say they want to make Anchorage a place where kids will want to stay to have uh positive futures of their own but cutting Sports will probably only speed up the Exodus of our kids especially the smart and uh motivated ones there's plenty of blame to go around I've written the mun for unfairly charging ASD more for ice rank rental than other user groups uh the state certainly owns most of the blame for the stagnant BSA and I've written them as well uh as for ASDS proposed budget I find it a little surprising that ASD is so quick to eliminate sports uh while increasing the budget of some discretionary items um I won't go through those but uh I'd be curious did you did you look for ways to make ice hockey less expensive
230ice hockey and some of the other sports that uh are on the more expensive end because there's certainly ways and did you ask parents if they would be willing to pay a higher activity fee to play hockey um or some of the other sports that are on the chopping block because I know some parents would be willing and there would also be parents uh including myself who would probably be willing to sponsor or help fund activity fees for students who are less financially able to to pay for those um I know you have to make tough choices When developing the budget and you're in a really tough spot but uh I think there's probably got to be some solutions for these Sports and uh just consider the long-term impacts that cutting Sports will have on
231the future of our kids thank you very much for your testimony Rachel hosy followed by Holland Roberts not seeing anyone approaching Ellie Smith and Wayne [Music] pan and not seeing Wayne approaching um zo styron or Zoe styron please come forward go ahead and have a seat and if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hello uh my name is Holland Roberts and I'm a parent at Eagle River Elementary I'm concerned about the suggestion of smaller schools moving to part-time nurses I have a child with severe food allergies and I do not think it's feasible to put his life in the hands of untrained professionals they say the body tells the story I say that nurses are better educated trained and composed at reading kids' bodies than anyone else what if the
232child having an allergic reaction that doesn't understand what is happening to their bodies you're placing life and death situation s into the hands of Staff who aren't trained to handle such emergencies who are not well versed in maintaining composure and who and who should not have to shoulder this responsibility with part-time nurses you are creating a solution that will only elicit more problems you are spreading valuable resources thin under which no one can stand student or teacher there is also another saying you don't rise to the occasion you rise to your training we have plans for earthquakes we have plans for active Shooters what's the plan for the kids who can't breathe full-time nurses keep our kids healthy and safe nurses are essential whether you have 299 students or 301 one so thank you thank
233you for your testimony again touching back Adrien Michael did Misty Nelson come online uh Rachel posy Ellie Smith Wayne Pang and Miss Tyron if you'll say your name for the record you have two minutes good evening um my name is Zoe St I'm the mother of two children at um Ali Elementary School um it's heartbreaking to sit here and listen to the test me from people from all of the different schools the different programs the nursing the imersion schools the deaf school um I acknowledge that you're in a terrible position in terms of having to make a budget decision and to decide where to make cuts um I'm here to talk about the incredible value of our language and measure programs and to ask that in deciding where you make your Cuts in this provisional
234budget you recognize that the immersion programs do not benefit from the time flexibility that perhaps some of these other programs and costs included in the budget do as other people have mentioned we have to recruit staff now in order to get the teachers we need um language imersion is of great benefit to our children to our city and to our state 11 years ago when my husband and I were deciding where to put down roots and raise a family we were visiting Alaska and we had an NPR story about anchorages language IM me and provision and while it isn't the only reason that we moved here it was a large part of that decision language immersion programs bring people here and they encourage families to stay um I ask that you look at other ways
235to um balance the budget and to identify spending that isn't time sensitive in the way that our language ersion programs are and please rest assured that we are contacting our legislators with just as much enthusiasm and verance as you're hearing from us now thank you very much for your testimony Christine cordier uh Robert Mich if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes good evening my name is Christine coutu I'm the president of French language Advocates Anchorage a nonprofit founded in 2018 by a community passionate about French language and culture today our organization has over 350 members in 2018 we successfully petitioned the SD School Board maybe you're remember to start the K12 French emersion program at elementary and since we' have been raising funds to support and grow the program last
236year it received the France education label from the French government that recognizes and promotes high quality bilingual uh French teaching and over the past seven years with the constant support of the yali families our community and local businesses we have raised over 100 ,000 launching and supporting the program has required a significant investment in time and resources which is now at risk we have a very strong and growing program very popular with encourage families each year the waiting list is full and for 50% of the kids omali is not their in neighborhood School the program is not only attractive for local families but also families from across the Anchorage ball and it draws interest from the considering relocating to Alaska the proposed reduction of seven out of seven five out of 17 teachers in omali
237means the end of the French emerging program omali needs to start recruiting new French teachers for next year right now so their visa can be processed and as often if the funds come later it will be too late and it's not like the program can be reinstated next year seven years of sustained effort will be wasted I'm also so parent my two kids are in the program and I don't wanted them and the other kids to pay the price because theas K doesn't want to invest in their future thank you for your time thank you for your testimony Simon Rose if you'll come forward and if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes Rob mulich I have two kids in the French program I'm also the VP of flaw uh the
238proposed budget would kill French immersion in Anchorage this is because it slashes a quarter of the teaching position at om Al these Cuts would fall entirely on the award-winning French program where there are far more families on the weit list than there are seats in the program the budget disproportionately cuts uh two two immersion schools in Anchorage in particular omali and Sand Lake where the FTE cuts are far greater than in other schools some of whom actually stand to gain FTE under this budget the heaviest cuts are to classroom education even though this is the core mission of ASD funding has been preserved or even increased in other ancillary areas one example being a $860,000 vendor contract budget for the office of the superintendent their personnel expenditure increases of 2.6 4.1 4.8 and 6.6% in
239the budgets of the COO CFO OMB and risk management transportation funding is increased by over 1.4 million for a total Transit budget exceeding 32 million the omali FTE Cuts would net a cost Savings of merely eight $380,000 less than half of the super IND denance vendor budget or 1% of the transit budget killing a program that parents have opted into in lie of free transit driving their kids every day from as far as Peters Creek there's a political tug-of war going on between ASD and the legislature and it's played out year after year causing great stress for Anchorage families every year the legislature has allocated funding after the 31 budget deadline and this will happen again this year items are added back to the budget later after funding materializes as others have stated the FTE
240Z AL cannot be added back in later French teachers come to the US for two-year terms Brandon lock needs to commence the hiring process for those teachers now in order to obtain their thank you for your time thank you for your testimony if Jennifer Allison will come for or she's connected [Music] telephonically if um Kelly dhy will come forward and F state your name for the record you have two minutes all right my name is Simon Rose I am a teacher at Highland um as you've heard from our students already um they have expressed uh quite a bit of uh fears about the um space that we have um concerning safe um when trying to do PE out in the parking lot area um and also we've been kind of crammed into a space that's
241been a little too small for us for a while now um but despite that our staff uh has been really really Innovative it's been actually pretty amazing kind of seeing the type of work that they do and the type of um thought that they put into the lessons and curriculum design I mean it's it's amazing and um I'm really excited to see what would happen if the move to NAA Valley actually did happen uh in terms of the opportunities that would set us up for I could be thinking about just a science classroom where you don't have to take down a lab and set up a lab every single class period or between Class periods um the facilities would also give us a kitchen so we can completely revamp our school lunch program so it
242would be much much more nutritious for our students um especially considering the population students that we usually serve I think it would really benefit them quite a bit having access to to holistic meals in that way um we work through uh intensives as well which are kind of these like small mini terms in a way where we can uh dig down into projects that we're passionate about students are passionate about um could be anything from like carpentry drama cooking biking drumming Dance Yoga I mean goes on uh we've been able to P this off somehow like in the space that we have but it'd be so amazing to just imagine where this can go and on top of all that it's pretty sweet that uh that ASD would probably be saving quite a bit of
243money other programs could move into the space it's right next door here and I'm sorry your time has expired thank you for your testimony Jennifer Allison followed by Kelly Dy not seeing anyone moving Dan Danel spala followed by Rebecca Emerson state your name for the record you have two minutes denel spala and thank you for the opportunity to speak today I am here as a Highland parent and as a Highland teacher and out of respect for your time uh we've had several students already speak and there are many more of us that could speak but uh rather than all us speaking I'm just representing many other parents staff and stakeholders for our school I'm here to strongly support the potential move of Highland Academy into the nunaka valley elementary school this move presents us with
244the chance to provide a larger and safer space for our students which is essential for their growth and well-being Nuna Valley will offer more space for classrooms safer outdoor areas away from the busy intersections right out here um and improve security ensuring a better environment for both learning and student engagement this relocation will help us to foster a stronger Community Connection nunaka Valley's location in a neighborhood will help us to actually build some Community Partnerships it will allow us to enrich our educational opportunities some of our Afterschool programs and other community engagement initiatives this move will also help us in cost savings which we will then be able to reinvest into resources that will Direct benefit our students uh whether that's new technology butter programs or improved classroom environments and finally unaka Valley helps us
245with additional spaces and classrooms so that we can expand and accommodate a growing student body this ensures that we can continue to meet uh the needs of not just our current students but also our future students helping us to plan for years to come this relocation would be an investment in the future of my student who is at this school but also all of the other students that I represent uh this future is a great place uh for us to thrive and grow and I urge you to approve this move of Highland uh into the new Naka Valley Elementary School thank you thank you for your testimony is Elizabeth Sano could come forward and if you state your name for the record you have two minutes my name is Rebecca Emerson and I'm a parent
246of two children at chat optional school I'm deeply concerned about the proposed budget cuts which would eliminate two of our 11 classroom teachers and reduce our librarian and nurse to halftime positions I chose chwat optional because of its outstanding reputation test scores consistently demonstrate high achievement and high growth and when I visited I was impressed by the motivated on task students working together on projects over the past four years I have witnessed the seemingly magical way in which the program at chugat optional produces confident successful learners but every aspect of our program from multi-age classrooms to library integration is intentional and essential to Our Success eliminating two teachers would significantly disrupt the flow of our multi-age classrooms which operate on a 2-year curriculum cycle the library is the heart of our school a quote from
247our School's first year in 1973 remains true today our librarian supports all aspects of our program throughout the day reducing our Librarians time would be a severe blow to the core of our educational program additionally reducing our nurses hours would pose a serious safety issue for students with severe allergies and those needing medications multiple times a day both of which we have at our school chugat optional school has thrived for 50 years years with an integrated intentional program I am deeply concerned that the proposed Cuts could fundamentally alter our program making it unrecognizable please do not jeopardize the success of a program that has worked so well for so long thank you thank you for your testimony Elizabeth Sano okay uh Patty Trot followed by elain sire that would be followed by Faith of Christ
248if you will state your name for the record you have minutes um I'm sorry I have a really bad voice so um my daughter Iona she testified earlier today she is a moderately severe since her neural hearing loss she begins to hear at about 60 to 70 DB that's about as loud as a vacuum C so ASD has a wonderful successful preschool program for Heart of hearing children it's called The Learning and spoken language communication option the goal of the LSL is for children to attend local schools in a mainstream hearing environment this approach teaches young children with hearing loss to listen and talk with the support of hearing technology such as hearing aids assisted listening devices and coar implants so um my daughter graduated from West in December and she graduated from this program
249um when she was four years old and she went to tan Elementary School where she enrolled in the Russian immersion program so um she L the eat the LSL program with an IEP so after her first grade she tested out of an IEP into a 504 plan this is a success this program is a success and right now the Anchorage School District Wants to Move It from Willa to rushan check you need to leave it where it's at it's successful it works please leave it alone let it continue being successful thank you thank you very much for your testimony um El Squire again Faith Christ Rebecca culvin followed by relle Killian followed by Matthew Samuel if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes my name is Rebecca kulen and I am
250the APC chair for real Kula German Immersion School I come to you to request your support to move R Kula into lakeh Hood Elementary as recommended in the district's repurposing plan the district's right-sizing initiative clearly stated that it was not related to the budget and was instead being conducted to quote provide better educational opportunities more efficiently in fully staffed buildings moving vka into lakehood will clearly meet this goal we will fill the building to 100% capacity from their current 39% we will fill every single classroom we are movein ready with no building modification needed you've heard these next items many times from Mila already but they're worth repeating we have an urgent need for an ASD facility our 10-year commercial lease expires in 6 months we can no longer afford the rental rate due to
251Flat state funding we are draining our savings for rental costs we have reduced staff and cut services our budget for next year here does not even include textbooks we have requested our nonprofit organization to fund them instead we've done everything we can to bear this facility burden while providing a quality immersion program for our ASD students please we need your support and vote to move real Kula into lak Hood Elementary thank you thank you for your testimony again relle kellian Matthew Samuel [Music] hannnah I'm not sure I'm saying that right at all um yes you want to have a seat uh David Snider um okay or our seats are full right at the moment if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes uh Matthew Samuel um I'm testifying against moving the
252listening and spoken language program from Willow War to Russian Jack uh my daughter iMed testified earlier it's hard to believe that she was born with a significant hearing loss um as a graduate of the willow War listening and spoken language program she's assimilated into mainstream classes firstly Denali montauri LLY at the stream Academy and is now making her choice of ASD high school for August of this year while born with hearing loss this does not define Amelia we made a choice for auditory verbal learning supplemented by hearing age she was successfully supported by PR instruction at Willow War leading to an independent individual who advocates for herself and can follow the mainstream curriculum this thriving program has seen over 45 graduates who through the school district attending schools of their choice to focus on their
253academic strengths or just simply attend their neighborhood [Music] School while two individuals may be born with the same hearing loss the chosen methods of instruction could not be more different between sign language and listening and spoken language each deserves to be fully supported and funded possibly not in the same location LSL needs to have 100% focus on these students especially during the early years of brain development to give these students the exposure to the listening and spoken language I ask that they remain within the successful setting of The Willow War school thank you thank you for your testimony and if David Snyder can come forward and if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hello my name is Hannah degraph and I am a graduate of Anchorage School District a former
254teacher and a current substitute at rasula I have been I'm also a parent of one RKA student and I have two more coming their way I have been connected to RKA schula since day one of RKA I remember the day when I saw in the newspaper that RKA was opening and I jumped had the opportunity to volunteer and I spent my senior year of high school volunteering at rasula and I am still connected with my host teacher from that year my experiences through ASD with om Al hu and service High School revealed my passion for learning German which motivated me to pursue a career in education I am thrilled to see my son thriving at real Kula thanks to his dedicated teachers however our current building lacks sufficient space for exploration collaboration and it leads
255to conflicts and limits our students growth I've witnessed this firsthand by subbing in almost every single classroom in the building and having had my own classroom in the building before imersion schools all around our city are vital for fostering cultural compassion and achieving higher academic performance the success of rasula is evident in our ex excellent testing scores however flat funding and Rising costs make our situation unsustainable as you so thoroughly described earlier I urge you as school members to support our program by letting us move into the lakehood building this move would allow us to take 20% of our budget and support our students instead of May paying money to an outside organization for rent this is one way that we can find room in the budget without making any cuts which I know is
256important to you thank you for considering the future of rasula thank you very much for your testimony we have we have been going for about 80 minutes we do have about an hour or slightly more than an hour's worth of testimony left so I'm going to call for a 10-minute recess and we will reconvene shortly thank you e e e your seats we only have our ASL interpreters for a little while longer so we do need to get back underway and complete testimony if all board members can come back to their chairs please we are back in session um we are back on public testimony uh just to check David Snider if you're in the room you're next on the list followed by Ashley Griffo and Kate hammer and I see one person approaching so
257sophy with if you're here yeah thank you oh okay and if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes guten Obin my name is Ashley Griffo thank you for hearing me tonight I am here to advocate for the rasula moving into lakehood Elementary School building uh first of all a lot of students have been talking about the playground and that's what my students asked me to talk about tonight too um however nobody has addressed the flooding uh rasula is adjacent to a swamp and that swamp water is often FL flooding our playground above freezing that means we've got wet kids muddy kids coming into the school and um coming home kind of gross um below freezing that means we have an ice scape um this often is an unsafe condition that closes
258part or all of the playground as a lot of the students have mentioned we have a very small playground and um what they're all looking forward to is a bigger place to play they want to have some fun they want to run they don't want to be stopped by ice or ask to bring cleats to school so they can go outside um my comment is how can we help each other 20% of the real Kula budget goes to an outside Corporation for our rent and if we were to be moved into an ASD building 20% of our budget would or 100% of our budget could then stay within ASD we would have more ASD employees and we would take over the facility costs of the lak hood building um so please my children asked may
259we please move into the lak hood building I'm I ask for that I'm a substitute teacher and um I did an internship at the lakehood building it's a lovely facility and I would love to see my children go to school there through 8th grade thank you very much thank you for your testimony you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes good evening my name is Kate Hammer my son Bennett is a second grader in the French immersion program at om Ali elementary school he's also the third generation of children in my family to attendo Ali I was there from kindergarten until 6th grade and his grandmother was also there my husband and I were both born and raised in Anchorage and attended ASD schools from K through 12th grade my husband will
260retire this year as a lieutenant colal with 20e service of air uh Service as an Air Force pilot when we were stationed here 4 years ago we settled in thinking this could be our forever home once he retires and we get to choose for the first time in two decades where we live both of our careers are highly mobile the French imersion program is consistently at the top of the list of reasons we plan to stay here the community we've gained at om Al also high on that list my son is blooming in the French immersion program he's developing skills Beyond just the language that will serve him for life and our daugh daughter is ready to follow in his steps this fall Anchorage is better served by graduates who are stretched by our education
261system who think in different and creative ways and who hopefully will feel the pull of their Hometown when they too get to decide where to live when my childhood friends who have left ask me about life back and Anchorage I admit there are challenges but so far the quality of my son's education in the French immersion program is not one of them my husband and I received excellent educations from from ASD schools but this academic Excellence has eroded ASD language immersion programs are a bright spot in a struggling system and it does not make sense to end them when we erode the strands that hold the fabric of our community together by dismantling highly successful education opportunities for our children what does life and Anchorage look like anymore the current budget calls for the removal
262of five teachers from omali this will end the French immersion program please do not support this or in any other way support a budget that destroys our program which is so strong after 7even years of growth a program that is creating an amazing group of kids who will be the next Generation to contribute to the growth and prosperity of Anchorage thank you thank you for your testimony and if Grand can come forward and if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes good evening my name is Sophie lat and I work at omali elementary school in the French immersion program I've taught all of the first grade classes that have come through our program um I'm very invested in this program it's been super successful and it's been recognized by the French
263government with academic Awards a great honor also this year we had a French Senator come through who had nothing but um praise for the good work that our French teachers are doing in this program and uh the quality bilingual educ ation that our students are receiving the French language Advocates um are our founding organization and um Christine talked to a little bit earlier um they have been working really hard with a program called jul to bring high quality teachers here from France as you guys have heard already um so and as you also know now is the time to be getting those teachers here as it stands we are now slated to five teachers and one of those is um me and I am the oldest teacher in our program right now and the other
264is our kindergarten teacher who is also one of the Main Stays we're both locals um yet with the years of experience that we have um in the district uh and our school um you know were some of the last people that will remain or that will um we will be cut first anyway um there's other ways I think that we could think creatively about um how to uh work this out um maybe our program could remain strong our immersion classes are quite full we could bust kids over from other programs that might be closing and um bring in other children to our school and and keep sorry but your time has expired thank you for your testimony if Benjamin Wester can come forward and if you'll state your name for the record you have two
265minutes uh good evening my name is Laura Grande I'm a proud parent of a current omali elementary school second grader in the French immersion program I'm here to urge the school board to stop the proposed budget cuts to our school with the proposed budget cuts for the upcoming Academic Year omali Elementary School is expecting to have one of the largest cuts to elementary schools losing five out of 17 teachers this enormous cut to my son's school will essentially decimate the French immersion program this program is the reason my son goes to a Ali does language immersion is a valuable investment in my son's future research consistently shows that bilingual students Excel academically outperforming their peers in reading math science and problem solving this program doesn't just teach French it enhances our students cognitive development improving
266their focus and critical thinking skills that benefit all areas of learning language immersion prepares our students for success in a global economy bilingualism opens doors to higher education opportunities and gives our Future Leaders a Competitive Edge in the workforce by losing these five teachers and thus losing the French immersion program we are limiting our kids opportunities rather than expanding them when you support language immersion you're building a smarter more capable and more culturally aware group of students while simultaneously strengthening our public education system I implore you to put a halt to these detrimental cuts to a Mali Elementary School the French imersion Community is counting on you I am counting on you and above all our children are counting on you thank you thank you for your testimony if the Virgin virgini alet sorry I
267messed that up and Mr we feel state your name for the record you have two minutes hello I am Benjamin Wester and I'm here as a parent of a child the listening and spoken language program housed within Willow wall Elementary my child hears with a hearing device called a Baja that gives her additional auditory input since she is deaf on one side she fully hears on the other side and has been raised in the speaking and listening in English last Thursday we were notified by email that the program moving is moving from Willow wall Elementary to Russian Jack next fall this was a complete shock as no one took the time to talk to us or anyone else in this unique community no justification has been shared about why the current program is not meeting
268children's needs or how moving two very distinctly different programs into the same building will positively benefit the students in the listening and spoken language program the current staff at Willow wall are fully trained to handle the unique needs of Heart of hearing children however we are in a budget crisis how are you going to pay to train the teachers at the new building in these different circumstances additionally how all about the general education kids who now have to learn two unique circumstances and challenges in different communities establishing connections is extremely difficult for kids with language Bears my child has been at this school for 5 years and now you want to move her to a new school with all new kids and staff as none of the willowa staff will be following the program russing
269Jack is also slated to receive 60 new children from naaka Valley and a new principal next year this has been tried in the past and if ASD had taken the time to get oral history and talk to the stakeholders about why they suspended this program separated this program you would be qu questioning this decision too Ida the same law quoted in the email also states that kids need to be in the least restrictive environment possible and that you should work alongside the community when in or changing programs we asking that sorry your time has expired thank you for your testimony if Kimberly haes can come forward and if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes good evening my name is VRE I'm a French permanent resident in the US a FL
270board member an Alaskan resident a military spouse and an encouraged taxpayer as a parent of four two in high school one in kindergarten and a toddler I'm committed to Community my son Oscar is currently in the kindergarten program at omali elementary which offers the French immersion curriculum that I passionately support unfortunately this program is facing potential budet Cuts I moved to encourage Alaska from France in 2019 just that the French immersion program was launching this initiative sends positive message to newcomers about our City's vibrancy and was a key factor u in my choice choice of public education over private education highlights our Multicultural environment and promotes Unity among residents regardless of political views cutting this program would undermine our efforts to attract and retain residents taxpayers too it is unfair to consider eliminating a program
271and still in its early stages the data from the covid-19 years does not reflect the program success and and efficiency as a parent I found it challenging to comprehend why such a substantial budget is a established annually and why such amazing programs are not following a long-term strategic Vision immersion programs provide benefits such as accelerated language skills and and andn cognitive abilities leading to a greater academic achievement cing the French immersion program would deprive hundreds of families in our state of this opportunities I live in G Mill and like many other parents I drive nearly two hours to a Mali Elementary daily I remain dedicated to this effort for for my children's benefit and for the community's success the French immersion program embodies Community Spirit ensuring the thriving success of our families why would we
272consider discontinuing something so successful thank you for your attention thank you for your testimony I need to um we've got a half hour left before the end of our noticed meeting um I would need a motion from the board to extend until midnight uh otherwise we would need to stop and at least get through our consent agenda um but my intention would be if we do extend to continue with public testimony Mr chair I move to extend our meeting um until no later than midnight second seconded without objection from any board member uh we will extend the meeting until midnight I think we should explain that we're not allowed to go past midnight by Municipal ordinance to by Statute we cannot conduct a meeting or conduct any business after midnight so we do all get
273to go home then but uh we can run right up against it so we will extend and we will go ahead and continue to try to get uh everybody uh to have their testimony uh Kimberly Hayes I called I don't see her approaching Haven Harris and Naomi TOMCO you're present and not seeing miss TOMCO Lee [Music] Ryan and if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes do I need to press NOP hi my name is Haven Harris I am the father of a second grader at om Al Elementary involved in the French immersion program I was born and raised in Nome Alaska and my wife was born and raised in Delta Junction and what I want to talk to you guys about is opportunity my wife and I were both proud
274to grow up in Alaska and we left the state to get our education I went off to Michigan and she went off to California and years later we reconvened here in Alaska in an Anchorage and it's the opportunity to allow our daughter a better education honestly than we received in R Alaska that is keeping us in Anchorage we both have multiple opportunities to leave the state but as Alaska natives people born and bred in this state with thousands of years behind us we want to be in this state however the cuts and I'm a former staffer in the state legislature I've seen the financial game that's played I I worked in Senate Finance I I I sympathize so much with what you all are going through and I appreciate the fact that you're still here
275so late in the evening but taking away such imperative programs like the immersion programs for us that will honestly force me to reconsider whether my wife and daughter stay in the state for their education as our state is shrinking for the first time in my lifetime I consider that a dire threat to the state for the future there will be no incentive to tie my family my daughter and others if these type of programs go away for them to come back and stay with when we are here when we're born and bred here when our education is here we have a tie without those ties I don't know what the future of this state is thank you I not jealous of your guys's roles right now you uh you have incredibly difficult decisions and uh
276good luck thank you very much for your testimony Michael N if you can come forward and if you'll state your name for the record you have two [Music] minutes n Chelsea K my name is Lee Ryan I'm from un Le I'm an UPAC Eskimo my wife is Chelsea and my son's Gavin I do not speak inac fluently but my elementary bilingual teacher Miss Hogan taught me the tools to learn my language my son Gavin is in Al's French immersion program and though French is not AAC the French language is giving him the base level of linguistic knowledge that teaches grammar vocabulary and pron pronunciation patterns that will help him in the future our district is one of the most diverse in the country it's imperative that we uphold programs that serve our unique demographic needs
277particularly immersion program programs which require long-term planning and sustainability or stability the current budget proposal reflects a disparity in how cuts are allocated while instruction budgets have been reduced 13.4% year-over-year administrative functions have only seen a collective 4.1% decrease additionally from 2022 to 2025 the budget line item other purchase services in total increased by 320% with line item 440 and District Administrative Support Services Rising by over 800% this is an opportunity to reallocate funds for Student Learning and Development every teacher matters every dollar matters while we acknowledge that the base student allocation requires long-term Solutions it's important to note that state onetime funding has been secured in five the last seven years this trend demonstrates that while funding challenges exist ASD must plan accordingly rather than make irreversible cuts to Staffing critical programs ASD should
278consider reducing non-personnel and administrative support budgets while uh State funding reforms these administrative functions can be reinstated as needed when addition onetime funding becomes available or when a BSA increase is secured by prioritizing instructional programs over admin costs we can ensure that students continue to receive the high quality of Education they deserve including including Staffing immersion programs you guys do have a tough job I really do appreciate you guys extending through midnight and uh you know if you need to snap into a slim J um Christa help heer if you can come forward and if you will state your name for the record you have two minutes my name is Michael Neil when my oldest daughter was four years old she was learning how to read we were practicing words and I gave her the
279word finger she told me I needed to change the ending from eer to O because that's the way she pronounces it I was astounded at the self-awareness it took to know both that she pronounced it wrong and understand the spelling differences pre kindergarten in second grade she came home really bored one day asking us if there was some sort of program at school where you could mix chemicals together and build and create things we told her yeah it's called chemistry you'll do it in about 8 years luckily the next day she started ignite she came home extremely excited telling us that that is exactly what she was looking for this was a turning point for her if ignite had not been an option it would have been where she gave up on her education as
280so many gifted students have and instead she had ignite and is now going to go to the highly gifted program at rig next year rig is the only middle school and Anchorage School District with a highly gifted program and there is only one elementary school that is less than 2% of ASD schools with these programs as part of the curriculum 5% of Elementary level students qualify for the ignite program saving this program would cost less than a half a percent of the budget we need to be able to continue challenging these students uh to collaborate with each other to think outside the box as they are our innovators our problem solvers the children who will grow up to find creative new solutions to the current and future problems we will face uh another quick point
281about the nursing is uh I agree with all these other nurses that have spoken that that is a dangerous area that we really don't want to get into we can avoid it thank you thank you for your testimony if Emily Coulson can come forward and if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hello my name is Christa Hepler and I've been a school nurse with the district for the past 30 years we are all here tonight because we care about our students School nurses play a very special role it is a job that is essential yet not everyone understands it we are not only nurses but on many occasions play the role of a social worker or a counselor I'm very concerned about School nurses being taken away from some of
282our schools as proposed the 0.5 FTE nurse position at 26 schools could have a very severe impact on the care which a child receives at school remembering that some kids for some kids School nurses are their only health care provider when I think about a nurse with when I think about a school not having a school nurse my mind immediately thinks of a diabetic child who will assist them with their insulin who will help them when they have a very low blood sugar we are talking about preschoolers and Elementary children I think the child who who has not yet been diagnosed with asthma but a school nurse who recognizes the symptoms assessing their lung sounds for wheezing and treats them with our emergency inhaler their parents haven't been able to take them to the doctor
283so the nurse Works closely with them and continues to assess their students every day who will monitor this child when there isn't a nurse in the building untreated wheezing can quickly put a child into the hospital I think that the child who requires a tube feeding will they need to go to a different school which is a full-time nurse I think of The Grieving child who visits the school nurse on a regular basis as a person of comfort and support that allows them to be able to stay in school the nurse puts on that counselor hat and listens who will be there for this child as not all of the elementary schools have a counselor there is no timeline when a child is diagnosed with diabetes asthma or epilepsy we have children with severe allergic
284reactions and um severe head injuries nurses will assess each children each child every day and they come in contact with I have a nurse um to have a nurse in the building only 50% of the time is a bit like rolling the dice I encourage you to keep the nurse is in our school thank you for your testimony if um Emily Coulson was called Mary kusen Jennifer bruceh and Emily Wesley if you can come forward yeah if you will state your name for the record you have two minutes my name is Mary crusen as a school neighbor I'm asking for stream to be considered for Nuna Valley Elementary repurposed stream's use of outdoor spaces combined with their Eastside priority enrollment would fit well at nunaka the program serves middle schoolers matching that nuna's neighborhood population
285tends to be younger I would like to re acknowledge that the Northeast Community Council in December submitted a resolution and a more recent Community survey asking for a community-minded outdoor focused charter school that would use nunaka surrounding Parks as well as priority neighborhood enrollment stream at nunaka trades the dream of living close to a walkable accessible neighborhood school with access to surrounding parks and surrounded by a supportive neighborhood from the elementary age to the same dream but available at middle school I respect stream's recognition and intention to focus on the pivotal time of middle school learning there's a waiting list and if at nunaka the program can accept more kids including my neighbors who just lost their neighborhood School environment stream has a carping program cutting down on potential traffic in the neighborhood issues Highland
286is a great program and the nun Naka neighborhood will be there for them too but my sense is they are less reliant on the surrounding natural setting unique to nunaka perhaps Solutions our Highland could be collocated in another under utilize School saving another ideally I East Side School from closure or to take over stream's current lease if stream does move or if more schools are closed but please reconsider the pattern of only closing Title One schools perhaps Highland could match well with a different building I'm happy to continue to continue this conversation and thank you for your time thank you very much and next we actually have Jennifer I'm sorry um Emily Coulson yeah if you will state in your name for the record let me say after you we have uh Jennifer Bruce telephonically
287followed by Emily Wesley but if you will go ahead and state your name I'm Emily Wesley actually I'm an eighth grade teacher at anr stream Academy and I'm here tonight to advocate for our school stream to move into the ASD building at new NAA Valley anchored stream Academy is a project-based experiential outdoor education program with a focus on stem and we've been housed in wh and Baptist University paying a private institution rent for 9 years we have proven our program to be highly desirable successful and groundbreaking our school was one of the first in the district to take the plunge and go phone free using Yonder pouch technology our school spent the past two years having students design and build a tiny home for donation for the houseless inspiring Young people and families to take
288the initiative and create real change in our community over the past two weeks our eighth graders have spent hours volunteering in the community at Anchorage animal rescue Food Bank of Alaska habitat for humani ReStore and Baxter's senior memory care unit for elders with dementia our program is incredible and our students deserve a facility to thrive in we do not have the appropriate space or facility for our program where we currently are kids are consistently working in hallways because of the lack of space and for the 3 years that I've been at stream I've coached the cross country ski team that does not have a place to practice therefore parent volunteers and coaches about five to seven people every single day drive 44 kids to Russian Jack Park to practice housing us at naaka would allow
289our ski team to ski right to those trails and Foster love for outdoor winter activities programs at stream and still a lifelong love of Alaska our Charter allows for us to grow to 300 and moving to Nuna would help facilitate this we are always weight listed for enrollment and our Cutting Edge Hands-On learning model could reach even more East Anri families thank you thank you very much for your testimony uh if uh Benjamin Rickards and Melissa white can come forward our next testimony is Jennifer brusser by telephone Miss brushaber if you can unmute yep hi this is Jennifer baber I appreciate you all staying awake for us I'm from Eagle River I have kids in as I'm also the nurse at Eagle River Elementary School where I serve up to 60 kids medically and emotionally
290a day I often don't take planning time lunches you know work till midnight just kidding I of um I see these kids though and and I help them and our school only has 290 this year because sixth grade is no longer with us um and that puts us at risk for being cut down to two or three days a week which I like the rolling dice anology that's exactly what it feels like um so in my opinion I agree that a full-time school nurse would keep teachers um in a better situation they're they inappropriately no offense to teachers inappropriately diagnose and treat students which isn't in their job job description or space um um it also puts kids in front of a bunch of classmates getting um the whole class distracted and then It embarrasses
291them often because they don't want to talk about things in front of their their peers um and that's obviously concerning um nurses in general improve student attendance um for children that otherwise um their families may not feel s safe sending them that day because they need Nebulizer treatment or something because they're having a little bit an exacerbation or um if there's not a trained staff member there they may not even know what a neiz is um and it seems like this or that or the other I'm sorry it's really late as you know let me just read my thing I wrote and I'll shut up after that I mean sorry for the word um it it also improves parents' livelihoods being able to go to work and be able to send their kids somewhere during
292the day that they can learn and not being able have to keep them home or having to them sent home inappropriately um nurses catch barriers to learning that can be fixed vision hearing sometimes they have um just major issues that seem that seem so major and then we figure out what it is because nobody else can do it but we see them so often we finally figure it out and we work with them we work with their families and the doctors and then all of a sudden their life isn't thank you for your testimony uh again Benjamin Rickards if you're in the room or Melissa white not seeing anyone Jody uto I'm I'm I'm going to catch that in just a second Ryan [Music] chanelly okay and U Elias Oswald meanwhile we will get uh
293testimony by phone from Jin Jen Marie test Mr test if you can unmute you have two minutes that right hi my name is Jody budo I'm a pediatrician um and I am a product of the anchor school district and the East High gymnastics team which built my confidence up and allowed me to go to medical school um and now I've been a pediatrician here for almost 30 years and I am representing the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of Alaska both of those groups are um supporting our School nurses we see firsthand the struggles families face when their children attend schools that cannot provide the necessary daily health related services or um that allow a child to return to school after an illness or injury schools need to be able to
294provide in-house nursing services to allow these children to remain in school miss school days are detrimental to learning and the goal is to keep children in the classroom a child with diabetes asthma or anyone that needs daily medications and monitoring require a school nurse children have feeding tubes or tracheotomies and daily nursing uh support is required to keep them in the school the the current Anchorage School District proposed budget is showing a loss of 13 school nurse positions over the next school year this would mean that some schools would move to a part-time nurse position or a nurse who is split between two schools this leaves the care of children to a designated adult in the school often volunteer personal um volunteer personal sorry Personnel assistant principals um and administrative assistants who may not have
295the training necessary for emergent situations and causing children to either go home or God forbid an ambulance to come get them to get skilled um care please remember these children and working on your budget thank you for your testimony drw back J R test if you're still listening if you can reconnect we will put you back in the loop immediately um I believe we lost her connection right at the moment she was supposed to testify so if you can please call back in um and I called Ryan Shanley um I believe Mr Ryan Shanley yes please go ahead uh yeah there you go okay hello my name is Ryan Shanley I have a child in the French version program at omali elementary school and I'd like to start by thanking all the foreign language Educators
296uh many of whom are here tonight you know we really appreciate them they do a great job um as parents and community members my wife and I are definitely not supportive of cutting these programs uh be it by direct Cuts or masking the reduction of FTE at the schools which eliminates the teaching staff which in turn you know eliminates these programs uh my wife and I are really grateful that our children can learn a foreign language from such a young age uh there's so many reasons out there to learn a foreign language I look at it not only as a personal growth opportunity for my children but also from a more practical and business-minded lens realizing that this sets them up for success and opens new doors for them later on in life I work
297for multinational corporation with offices all over the world I've seen firsthand many of the opportunities out there for people who speak multiple languages these are opportunities I wish I had but I don't speak a foreign language at least not one fluently um we all want better for our children than we had for ourselves and these programs provide that they're real reasons to save them and keep them funded we'll be actively depriving our future leaders of the skills they need to be competitive in the world by cutting our foreign language programs it would be a shame to lose these programs and I'd be remiss if I didn't set an example for my children come here and Advocate on their behalf to do everything I can to save their programs to save the schools that my daughter
298loves to go to every day I I don't think I ever love school as much as my daughter does and it's because of the French program and the immersing teachers that are there educating her every day um and really we just want the best educational opportunities we can give them so I'm here to request that the board insert funding for the omali FTE those reductions back in the budget so please restore guarantee the funding uh before any damage is done to these programs thank you very much for your testimony Elias Oswald and Sevilla Rin [Music] um Jess Jessica [Music] Oswald and coressa ribbons and if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hi I'm speaking on behalf of spia rothin I am a parent of French emersion students at omali elementary
299I'm requesting that the proposed budget be revised immediately to restore omali teachers the proposed loss of five elementary school teachers from omali has broad and sweeping effects that are not obvious from the simple reduction in teachers please don't unintentionally discard the highly successful French immersion program by passing a budget that cuts Al teachers teachers from the immersion program need to be hired early and can't be rescued by additional State funding that comes in at the last minute without French teachers there will be no French program please support French immersion at the elementary school level and continue French immersion through the high school there's no way to run an immersion program at a Mali with the loss of five positions which would come entirely from the French immersion program not the neighborhood School these five positions
300plus one at Gold View need to be added back into the ASD budget now otherwise there will not be a sufficient lead time to hire and obtain visas for French teachers because of the Staffing and hiring challenges unique to the language immersion program the loss of five position will decimate and ultimately destroy the French immersion program at om Al this is not an exaggeration it is a fact it has been verified by the school's principal Cherry Galloway French immersion is a highly successful and important program which has drawn families into the school from all of her Anchorage 50% of the program's kids are not zoned for Ali my own family included half of the neighborhood schools are enrolled in French immersion of the neighborhood school kids are enrolled in French immersion which means many of
301the kids might go elsewhere I thank you for being here for offering us this opportunity to speak and for adding om Al teachers back into the budget thank you very much thank you very much for your testimony Stephanie painter Craig [Music] Nelson thank you if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes Stephanie painter and I could just say ditto I don't have anything new to say but I've been here for six hours so I might as well just say it um my daughter is a first grader at om Ali in the French immersion program I am a West High grad class of 2000 her father is Chugiak class of 99 grandmother West High class of 71 grandfather East High class of 69 my daughter's ASD blood runs deep I know the
302district has been handed an sandwich pardon my French and we need to figure out how to eat it by March 1st I've been reassured by legislators and board members that this is not the final budget and I do believe that I would just ask that as we distribute reductions you be mindful that cuts to a Mali and in turn the French immersion program cannot be easily undone the point of no return for normal Staffing may be May 15th as I've heard suggested but for French immersion we are already flirting with the point of no return turn as our teachers require time to acquire J1 visas I don't believe that it is the intent of the board to eliminate the French immersion program but I'm afraid that the budget as presented will have that consequence thank
303you thank you very much Corissa ribbons are you connected um if you'll unmute and then that'll be followed by Stephanie by U brg Nelson hello we can hear you okay thank you I am uh clar ruin I'm a third grade teacher after 12 years of teaching overseas in Indonesia I've come home to Alaska and started working for ASD this is my second year here in Anchorage and actually for the second time my own job is on The Chopping Block I'm slated to be cut but I'm not here to talk about myself well I'm very sad to hear about cuts toight Librarians assistant principles and Etc I'm primarily here to testify about the vital importance of having a full-time medical professionals in our schools I work at a tidle one school we have wonderful precious children
304many of whom come from challenging situations our nurse is an incredibly importance for their well-being and for the smooth operation of our school she takes care of day-to-day injuries as well as medically fragile students in the occasional emergency I'd guess on any given day I send at least 10 students to the nurse that's 10 times that instruction can continue because I'm not stopped by an injured student just imagine what it's like to deal with blood or vomit with 27 eight-year-olds in the room our nurse also coordinates for food to be sent home each weekend puts 50 low-income students and donates money from her um own salary to provide spare clothes there are students who come inadequately dressed for the weather or in clothes that are dirty or smelly I can't emphasize enough what a difference
305in makes for them to come back to my class warm clean cared for and better prepared for their day without a nurse who is supposed to take care of medical needs who helps a student with a profuse nose bleed or can't breathe jued to asthma broken bones concussions at recess I'm not a medical professional neither are the front office staff ASD has plans for major emergencies we need to be prepared for the minor ones as well and everything that keeps our students safe please prioritize the health of our students and maintain full-time nurses for our schools thank you thank you very much for your testimony Craig Nelson followed by Lucas Smith hi there I'm Craig Nelson and I'm one of the lucky few members of the American Army who gets stationed here in Anchorage I'm
306in my my 19th year now and I've been trying this entire time to get up to Anchorage and I finally made it we love it here my wife and I and our two kids absolutely love being here and we love being a part of the omali uh French emersion program as well I'm here to advocate for the emersion program because I think this program and others like it offer a unique chance for young kids to harness a superpower that they all seem to have which is to quickly train their brains to think in another language so that they can speak it fluently in my previous assignment my family and I were in Belgium and our two sons attended local schools there all in French neither one knew any french before our arrival in Belgium and
307I was apprehensive about this I personally have tried and failed to learn uh German Spanish PTO and Arabic all of those attempts were from a position of sanctuary in an English-speaking environment there was no immersion uh but after one year in Belgium I witnessed the superpower that I mentioned earlier in action when I discovered my son speaking easily in French with another little boy uh while we were eating in uh lunch in a park in a wonderful little French town called Rebo V and my son did this without a second thought and to him in fact he wasn't even speaking a second language he was just doing what came naturally from his time being immersed in French in conclusion I would urge you to preserve Al's French immersion program because it offers our kids a
308chance to unlock the potential that they have to map another way of thinking and speaking into their young brains before it goes otherwise unused and untapped thanks for your time and thanks for your commitment and your endurance tonight thank you very much for your testimony uh Mr Smith followed by Gabby I good evening my name is Lucas Smith I'm a Anchorage resident the Trident a three prong spear is a symbol of power strength and Authority which makes it good for illustrating what de Dei is about and what it hopes to achieve Dei can be viewed as the Trident of Marxism instead of empowering individuals through Liberty instead of making wealth fully securable by individuals and accessible to All by individual Merit instead of maintaining a limited government with limited Power by the consent of the
309people diversity takes power from individuals by developing entrenching and empowering class entitlement within the fabric of a society Equity garnishes the strength of individual wealth and redistributes it through the government according to an extreme ideology inclusion involves the government seizing authority to dictate and Achieve extreme social objectives diversity equity and inclusion are Marxist Hallmarks one Infamous Marx axium is from each according to his ability to each according to his needs Carl marks to destroy capitalism the family individuality Christianity and Nations Marxism is the Prelude to Communism beyond the threat Dei poses to Freedom we know that communism has murdered upwards of 100 million of its own citizens more than any other form of government combined if these facts aren't enough to instill the fear of God in everyone there can be no more clear indictment
310of Dei than its role in the physical mutilation of children Dei is not something we should ire to achieve eradicating Dei from the Public Public School System must take precedence over advancing Public School in any way given the choice between school with Dei or no public education whatsoever for me the choice is clear I choose no public education thank you thank you for your testimony Karina Hopkins backa you can come forward and as side if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes thank you I'm Gabby a Chapter Chair of moms for Liberty Anchorage I'm grateful to be here we educate unite and Empower our community to improve education and protect parental rights last month I asked you to remove Dei the Dei part of the community engagement Department to save a
311much needed $419,000 annually it seems odd to add ASL services to the department to save less than 20,000 while leaving the real issue unaddressed this month a letter was sent from the White House informing you of your responsibility to remove rebranded discrimination from the district to secure again much needed funds for Education it appears there are numerous places between the couch cushions the district can find cash and fund students better I help people with budgets on a regular basis and we find that their Netflix Prime and ESPN subscriptions are not nearly as valuable as paying the light bill when the district proposes huge class size increases which to one member's comment also adds to teacher workloads rather than trimming more assistant principles or subscriptions like aasb and nasc among others it feels we may have
312missed the forest for the trees next I walk people through reasons they may want to amputate the Tahoe Yukon or Highlander in this case consider the extra non-instruction hour per day in Middle School saving Millions since we know that classroom size is a meaningful factor in education results maybe the district can try again to trim in areas appearing necessary but are truly not when facing the reality of cramming upwards of 40 students in a classroom our beloved parents teachers and students tell me that they are overwhelmed and burned out by the bells and whistles the district vo upon them maybe this budget situation is an opportunity to readdress priorities and get back to basics maybe inflation makes budgeting challenging but the first thing you learn about inflation is that increase government spending increases inflation so
313we request another look it's possible a spot was missed under those cushions over there we support sorry your time has expired thank you for your testimony uh Denise I'm sorry if it's winter I can't read the last name very clearly but Denise starts with a w if he can come forward and if he'll state your name for the record yep I'm Karina Hopkins vaka and ASD parent here to comment on one aspect of the importance of language immersion program my family is a blend of two very different cultures I'm an East Coast girl of mixed European descent and my husband is a West Coast Asian-American of Chinese descent we met in Alaska over a decade ago and made this our new home we now have two kids the oldest a kindergartener in the Chinese immersion
314program at Scenic Park Elementary my husband has a long history with languages his first language was Thai and he learned English when he entered kindergarten he minored in Mandarin in college and lived two years in Royal Japan immersed in the language and culture there he's seen how in mesed language and culture are and how connected to the world having another language can make you feel and that's what we want our kids to be empathetic humans and good citizens of the world in addition to keeping our son connected to his family's Origins this is why we intentionally sought out the Chinese immersion program when I attended the program's Chinese New Year performances last month it brought tears to my eyes to see kids of many ethnic backgrounds working hard and having fun celebrating a culture that
315originated far across the ocean a culture that has been misunderstood and persecuted in the US in the past and again after 2020 when we saw a rise in hate crimes against Chinese Americans during that New Year performance I watched my son explore and celebrate a part of his identity I watched other kids celebrate it too and for that hour and a half of color and music and culture the world seemed a little more unified I'm here from the Chinese program but the importance of the language programs extends to all the cultures represented by an immersion program in ASD they bring our kids together and help them understand and empathize with others who are different than themselves they are unique programs that set ASD apart and they are so important in a city as diverse as
316Anchorage I ask you to please continue to prioritize and support these programs as you're navigating difficult budget decisions thank you so much for the opportunity tonight and for staying late thank you very much for your testimony again Denise and I'm just going to say it starts with a w the rest of it I can't read very well wara Gregs ah thank you and Kelly toida okay um yes if you'll go ahead and state your name for the record you have two minutes my name is Laura Gregerson and my husband and I are raising two boys one at Aquarian charter school and one at the HG program at roic both schools need the BSA to increase to maintain their current staff and services Fitness physical and mental requires a combination of academic rigor and teamwork in
317the classroom and on the field the court the ice or the stage my teen has unbelievable energy and the after school sports focus at energy so he can focus on schoolwork as well as good choices I have seen the music Pro program at roeg F Focus part of his energy as well as the higher expectations in the HG program my oldest Sun starts West High next year and has been looking forward to West hockey since third grade he also plans to continue his running career after school activities in sports matter they connect the community students and parents and they balance out the pressures of being a teen in today's society keep our kids playing sports in middle school and high school it is my observation as a petroleum geologist in Alaska that revenue from declining
318oil fields cannot Fu our basic needs in Alaska alone please keep what we have ASD use your intellect and influence to get our legislators to add additional revenue streams such as income tax for all people who work in the state including slope workers Andor reducing the Permanent Fund dividend to fund our education and necessary State services in 1976 I know this because of great Librarians the people of the state of Alaska established the Permanent Fund to make sure that f future alaskans would benefit from early revenues of the state's nonrenewable oil and gas resource 2025 is a 49th year since the people of Alaska created this funding source for the future as expected the non-renewable resource is much less averaging 465 your time has expired thank you for your testimony uh Alex Rosalez if you'll
319come forward and if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes uh Kelly cheetah I I have three kids that go to True Gat optional Elementary um first of all thank you all for sticking with us and hearing everybody out I really appreciate your your time and and your attention um I'd like to advocate for our school um and I do not feel like we we have we have the room to have any resources taken from us whatsoever true G optional is a truly exceptional School we're small but we're very Mighty we have great uh standardized scores we have engag parents um amazingly I think most impressively I have never heard one of my three children say anything about bullying in this school I would I would invite all of you to
320come to the school to see what an exceptional place it is um I hear I've heard here how enrollment is going down in our school district and that's that's there's a downward pressure in many areas that's not happening in TR Gat optional our classes are full they're already at maximum capacity for the most most part with a change that with the proposed change it would it it'll move our class size up to about 44 per class is what I understand I don't know how anybody can teach with 44 um 44 classes one teacher 44 classes I don't know how that happens um the kids are going to get left behind kids are not going to get a proper education um and it's not just this the this the teachers themselves it's that support staff we
321need our our nurses we or we need our nurse we need our librarian we need all of the support staff in the office um to help support everything that happens there um I just say that all of that is is um essential as part of our work I don't know how it works without the whole team and I would just Advocate to keep every single position if I could if I could have more I would ask for more we are relatively small budget in school compared to others and therefore it would have a lower impact than some of the other costs so thank you very much for your testimony Mr Rosales if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes Alexander Wes readed it all okay good Alexander rales I just wanted
322to come up after so many hours it's 11:15 I wanted to thank every single one of you for what you're doing and actually listening to parents because that is the most important and that's all I got to say so thank you guys thank you very much for your testimony to touch back real quick Denise winter or worth I can't tell for sure um Jessica Oswald elas Oswald Melissa white um Jenner Marie test was telephonic Benjamin Rickards Lee Ryan Naomi comco Kimberly Hayes um I think I've called everybody that has it shown up two or three times that does complete our public testimony for this evening I do want to thank everyone for coming being patient and uh helping us move through testimony as quickly as we possibly could thank you all with that uh we
323will move to um our consent agenda I would entertain a motion to adopt the consent [Music] agenda Mr chair absent any board member wishing to pull an item from the consent agenda I move to approve it as listed okay second okay moved and seconded to approve the consent agenda I'll pause if any member wants to pull an item seeing No Hands um I will ask you to take a vote member Jacobs yes member lesons yes member Bellamy yes member Higgins member hman yes I'm sorry member Wilson member Donley yes we have approved the consent agenda the action only action item we have is been moved to our March meeting uh that brings us to non-action items and I would ask if anyone has anything to pull for discussion member [Music] Higgins 106 is pulled for
324discussion any other items anyone wishes to discuss sing No Hands member Higgins if you'd like to speak to that yeah there was a concern ra is uh then I want to bring in front of the board everybody got a copy of the concern except me but I was forward it and I appreciate that that I would have a conflict of interest in regards to the determin with Lake Hood because I had met with um uh representatives of the anccs Alaska native cultural troa school I'll mention that I'd also met with Rula I met with all the schools that were engaged in and all the schools that are being considered for different uh placement and that they felt like that was inappropriate as if there's negotiations ongoing between the school district and the school and that
325um in my discussion with a with the wer Schuler that they had already been assured 100% that they had the school already given to them it was a lot of confusion here uh within it uh for a conflict of interest I know of no one uh with no one attending the school I know of no staff members that other than the ones I met when I came by to visit them like I visited the other schools and um I have no financial interest of any nature um so the traditional conflict of interests isn't there um I have concerns about uh what will happen with anccs in a few years because there's no plan in regards to what will they will go and they were previously at East High School I knew about that and that's
326when I got involved with them but that's the only extent that I have been there I have not taken a position on any of these uh placements and uh within it but I caution myself because uh when somebody raises a concern you don't focus on who raised it you don't focus on why you just look at the concern and see if it has any Merit I've asked for a look I review and from the review from a legal that I understand there's no basis here uh for a u conflict of interest in in any sense that I'm aware of but I do want to disclose it to the board I'll disclose it to the public and if the board has a view on it uh and wants to pursue that that's fine from my perspective
327I don't find that I have any conflict of interest I have an interest with every school and all the students and um uh and that's the extent of it and I just as much as I've met with wi kuler and met with anccs and other schools um that's the extent I visited every school that being en closed that may be looked at and I've visited every school that expressed interest in wanting placement um so I did attend a a a request for a committee that was meeting about what they were going to do they were apparently led to believe they were going to get back to if that was closed that would be something that the board would decide not Administration without coming to us so that was a little bit of a surprise um
328and so they asked me to attend the meeting I encourag them to express what they would like put priorities give us one two and three and let the administration know and talking to the superintendent he was recommending the same thing we don't know what they what they want it or what they would like so um um um disclosing that I've also attended when different schools have done PTA or meetings and they've asked me to attend I attend those as well so um if there's any interest or any concerns of board members I'm not sure where we proceed with this but I wanted to fully disclose it and like I said I I don't feel like I have anything that constitutes a conflict of interest at all and the the legal advice um that I read
329uh on behalf of the board asserts that conflict interest in Alaska uh it is generally left to the person with the conflict to report or someone else on the board to raise the issue and of course it really comes forward when it's time to vote but if anybody does feel that there's a conflict of interest uh they can raise the issue and the board would vote on it um I don't see it but if anyone wishes to raise it U we're happy to consider that does anyone else wish to speak to this so B thank you to clarify then we wouldn't do that tonight I I would think it would actually come up at the time we were time we take okay thank you but everybody knows it Advance now I was anticipating when it
330comes up again we're going to have discussions I would participate in that so if there was some issue I thought addressing it now would resolve that because I'm going to be raising questions to the administration as well understood if no one else has a discussion point we will move to um section J's school board and administration comments um I will start with my left with member Higgins microphone I won't have any time don't press the button huh uh a few comments here uh one is just to the speakers as much as it's kind of depressing hearing about the cuts I also want to say that there's another side of that I saw a lot of successes that people feel like were achieving that they want to maintain and and there was you know some positive
331aspects of that and I appreciate that um when I met with the legislature I heard about the tremendous you know cutting Administration cost and I want to share what I told them I said if we cut all Administration costs at 6% it' be 33 million and we would still have a massive deficit and when we cut all Administration we would cut all Finance pay Woll and it and um we would probably save a lot of money because nobody would be getting paid uh so it really wouldn't cut uh be realistic to even cut that so our Administration cost nonprofits is 10% is considered to be limits with six so we're way down below that I I would ask the administration to possibly consider the issue of whether or not there was some minor changes in
332the budget for things like def hard of hearing or the French or something else that if there if it's going to delay the hiring or something like that find one area and put it someplace else I don't know that's something the administration needs to look at I won't be able to assess that at all uh so I wouldn't think of it that way but I I'm a little bit concerned about that now also I appreciate the comments from the de and heart of hearing in regards to their concerns I've met with them in the past they're very a committee the Met Community is very close-nit and they'll get heavily engaged and everything in the schools so I can understand their concerns but I want to say that the administration was asked to put together a
333budget quickly with no information about what we're really going to have of spending we had to make it sure it's balanced they did that I think if we were stuck with this budget would be a different ball game but given the whole scenario where we are within the budget process I appreciate what they had to do knew this would be disturbing but um know that it's not the final budget I'm confident of that but we'll wait and see how it plays out at that point but I appreciate the problem they had and I'm not critical of what they had to cut thank you member jackobs I just want to express appreciation for everyone who's taken time to write in and and who came to speak with us tonight um your voices are heard and your
334efforts are appreciated uh thank you have a good evening all Ember donin to continuing my theme from our last meeting I'm I'm believe also that the current Transportation statutory formula is not up to dat and not fair to this community um and our students or are taxpayers um looks like it was based on studies done a long time ago go and is badly in need of refreshing because I don't believe that we're getting a fair share of the state funding for transportation dollars uh put that on the list along with the uh area the district cost differential the lack of uh participation in the cost of Education by the unorganized areas of Alaska and what I think is still a u a questionable system of capping local government contributions which I'm re searching more and
335more and finding more and more confusing how they ever got to the point where we are in this state since we seem to be the only state in the Union that's doing what we're doing in that area um but be that as it may I wanted to um there are many states in the nation still recognized George Washington's birthday which was last week and um have the Continental flag here in honor of our first president who I believe was just undoubtedly our greatest American and uh I just wanted to read one of my favorite quotes from George Washington that he had in his Thanksgiving Proclamation where he stated is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the province of almighty God to obey his will to be grateful for his benefits and to humbly to
336employ his protection and favor thank you thank you member Wilson I have no comments thank you thank you member lessons I'm going to invoke an incredible ASD demonstration of what our students know and can able to do and put a Shameless plug uh for anybody all five of you left in the room 678 um the West High School theater students combined with um musicians and tech support and dance um have been putting on Hades town and I see some hands going and I had the privilege of attending with my family this past weekend and it was extraordinary and I want to read what the director wrote um about his uh he said he's the luckiest director in the city um but what he said about his students was this these perform it is a story
337I should say uh about it says or about orus and orus could see how the world could be in spite of the way it is and he says of his students these performers designed miners technicians and musicians see past today's mess and boldly try to make the world better and that has just been um a really uplifting thought for me over the past few days so I wanted to share that um and in that spirit I will say I have a shopping list about $71 million long to try to boldly take to boldly make the Anchorage School District better and in order to afford a 71.1 mill million dollar shopping list give or take um we need a significant base student allocation uh increase a change in statute and I did a quick tally a
338very rough tally of the different topics that people spoke about today and I think folks asked for at least $33 Million worth of investments in our schools here and here and here right everything has a price tag it's all in the budget book um it all has value and in order to make that work we need significant action from the legislature but I have my shopping list I know what I want I'm eager to look at for collaborators and um see how we can um see how the world could be in spite of the way it is thanks member Bellamy I don't even think I can compose the sentence right now so I'm going to pass um that comes to me normally I I have nothing or maybe one or two things I actually have
339a long list tonight um but I had a former colleague call me up to say that his son was directing Hades town at West and I really should go see it and we did and it it really was a phenomenal performance I mean the energy and skill of the students that just overwhelming it's a complex choreography as well as a lot of singing and acting and and it was all just great and it says walking out there was a non-asd non riant school bus in the parking lot um Matt Sue students are putting on the same production this coming weekend and I think as member wson said it is being held over um West high is doing it again 26 2728 so you don't have to drive to the valley but those students came in
340to watch and got to spend time with the cast after they got to meet the characters they're about to play this coming weekend um the interaction between our students with other districts is something I think just doesn't happen enough but I I think it's very cool that matu students came in to watch an ASD production and and have that cross fertilization ation um from that another thing that's going on right now we have a number of students that are in Gnome and possibly other places on the iron doog Trail if you go to irondog.org all the video that's on there showing people coming into checkpoints and being interviewed are from South High students uh and GCI portions out the bandwidth they need to broadcast um so they are reporting as they have done every year
341for a number of years now they covered the start at Pig Lake um it's a big event and it is something that really getes a lot of practical experience um and I last year uh the story was they their flight back actually got cancelled because of weather they wound up going out with someone on Norton sound to pull cramp pots and have a uh snow crab Feast um after every parent was called and advised of what was going on and gave their permission but again they also work with students from uh gnome and some of the villages to uh have them participate in this as well so students get to spend some time in remote parts of Alaska and working alongside of rural students which is something we we simply don't let happen enough or
342make happen enough um Chugiak Eagle River High School combined their art Department's having a show this Friday uh and on um Saturday at East High the ukulele Festival is happening it will U obviously feature the ukulele band from East but actually have activities and workshops for students of all ages so if you have a little bit of musical inclination that would be a great event to catch as well uh and again I was in you know uh our aasb uh student leadership we had four or five of our students there participating uh and also seeing upfront how uh how government works or does not work in Alaska and and warning a great deal about it and that like many of the students that were here tonight they represented us exceptionally well um those are the
343the main highlights I just wanted to hit real quick and thank you all for staying long enough to to where we are speaking to somebody but other than that I will say so many times over the past couple weeks have watched our students in action and just been astounded at the capability and the passion that they have shown for what they are doing and we need funds to sustain that and provide the programs that that generate it and I hope we get them other than that if the superintendent has comments or any of the staff has comments I would entertain second no second moved and seconded to adjourn we're done