Fairbanks North Star Borough School District to reevaluate budget after Gov. Dunleavy vetoes education funding

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - In a series of item line vetoes to the state budget, Gov. Mike Dunleavy has cut under $90 million in education funding. The impact of the cut will be quite noticeable according to the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District.

After months of of debating a rise in the base student allocation, the legislature was delivered a half victory. While Gov. Dunleavy was signing the state budget, education funding was cut by 50% of what had been approved by the legislature, bringing the base student allocation to $340 per student.

While this still represents an increase of about $30 million to education funding, the cuts will have a direct impact on the Fairbanks NorthStar Borough School District. The reduction to education funding will require the school district to reevaluate the recommended budget put together for fiscal year 2024.

The next board meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 27 is expected to include an approved budget to be adopted by the school board.

“Unfortunately, several of the programs and staff positions we hoped to maintain for this next school year may not be kept due to lack of state funding,” said Karen Melin, the chief school administrator for the district. “Those weighty decisions have not been finalized yet.”

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