Anchorage School District Community Budget …...2015/12/14 · 2016-17, the Anchorage School...

1 | P a g e A S D C o m m u n i t y B u d g e t C o n v e r s a t i o n s | 2 0 1 5

Anchorage School District Community Budget Conversations December 2015 Prepared by Agnew::Beck Consulting


Contents Executive Summary ...................................................................................................... 5

Introduction .............................................................................................................. 5

Report Organization .................................................................................................. 6

Participation.............................................................................................................. 6

Key Findings ............................................................................................................. 8

Educational Values ..................................................................................................... 12

Key Themes from Small Group Discussions ............................................................. 12

Audience Polling Results ......................................................................................... 13

Statewide Budget ....................................................................................................... 14


ASD Budget ................................................................................................................ 15



Course Offerings + Class Size .................................................................................... 21



Appendix A: Audience Polling Results by Meeting Location

Appendix B: Notes from Small Group Meetings

Appendix C: Materials Shared at the Meetings


List of Figures Figure 1: Meeting Locations, Dates and Participation Numbers ..................................... 7

Figure 2: Voting Results to the Question, "The primary role of public education is to..." .................................................................................................................................. 13

Figure 3: Voting Results to the Question, "What percentage of the ASD budget do you think is spent on worthwhile programs and services?" ................................................ 16

Figure 4: Voting Results to the Question, "For this next fiscal year, how much should ASD increase (+) or decrease (-) its budget? ............................................................... 17

Figure 5: Voting Results to the Question, “In what categories should we increase ASD's budget/capacity? Please submit your top five in order of importance." ....................... 18

Figure 6: Voting Results to the Question, “In what categories should we decrease ASD's budget/capacity? Please submit your top five in order of importance." ....................... 19

Figure 7: Voting Results to the Question, "What subject areas are most important? Please submit your top three in order of importance." ................................................ 22

Figure 8: Voting Results to the Question, "How important is class size to a quality education?" ................................................................................................................ 23

Figure 9: Voting Results to the Question, "If class size were to be increased, which areas would you protect from class size increases?" ................................................... 23


Executive Summary Introduction Faced with an estimated $10-13 million budget gap for the fiscal year 2016-17, the Anchorage School District (ASD) hosted a series of community conversations during November and December 2015. The purpose of the meetings was to provide information to the community on the ASD’s budget situation, solicit feedback on what the community values in education, get community feedback on State of Alaska budget strategies because the State is a primary funding source of the ASD, and specifically, identify community preferences regarding future ASD budget approaches.

The ASD is also hosting a web-based dialogue called Thoughtexchange to complement the results of the four community meetings. Thoughtexchange is a three-step online engagement process. Step one includes open-ended questions and opportunities for participants to share their thoughts. During step two, participants can log in and use stars to show support for thoughts and ideas from other users. ASD is currently at step two in the process. On December 19, 2015 the process will advance to step three, where everyone’s thoughts and stars are shared publicly. As of December 2, more than 2,700 community residents have contributed their thoughts and ideas to Thoughtexchange. The Thoughtexchange process provides a way for community members to provide input to the ASD online, while the community workshops offer an in-person opportunity for dialogue around the ASD’s budget.

At each meeting, Superintendent Ed Graff provided an overview of the ASD. After the overview, Chief Financial Officer Mark Foster presented information on the projected ASD budget gap at the first two meetings, with Andy Ratliff, Executive Director for the Office of Management and Budget, sharing the information at the second two meetings. Chief Academic Officer Mike Graham presented the return on financial investment by highlighting recent accomplishments toward key ASD benchmarks and the positive impacts the ASD educational system has had on individual students.

Participants at the Wendler Middle School meeting.


Throughout the presentation, the audience responded to a series of questions using audience polling technology. This technology allows participants to vote on questions and to see the results instantaneously. Following each set of audience polling questions, participants engaged in small group conversations to discuss why they voted the way they did for specific questions, share their reactions to the survey results and further discuss the meeting topics. The four topics were:

• Educational values. • The statewide budget. • The ASD budget. • Course offerings and class size.

The ASD hired the local Anchorage firm Agnew::Beck Consulting to provide professional facilitation, meeting support, material preparation and a report summarizing the results. Small group discussions were facilitated and documented by ASD staff.

Report Organization Following this Executive Summary, there are four sections summarizing the consolidated outcomes of the audience polling results and small group discussions, organized by discussion topic (educational values, the statewide budget, the ASD budget and course offerings and class size) and key themes (participant input on topics). Appendix A provides information specific to each meeting, including survey results. Appendix B includes notes form the small group discussions. Appendix C includes copies of the agenda, PowerPoint slide presentation, and meeting handouts. Participants were also encouraged to submit comments using a paper comment form. Agnew::Beck collected the forms at the end of each meeting and has compiled them as a separate document.

Participation From Agnew::Beck’s experience conducting community workshops across the state, these forums typically draw between 10 and 50 people, and sometimes as many as 100. Attendance at the ASD budget conversations ranged from approximately 25 to 70 participants. The most highly participated meeting occurred at Gruening Middle School in Eagle River, with 69 voting participants. The lowest participation was at the first meeting held at Hanshew Middle School (36 voting participants). The table below summarizes participation by meeting. Included are the total number of participants who signed in at each meeting and the number of attendees who participated in the voting process. More people participated in voting than is listed on the sign-in sheets, indicating that not all attendees signed into the meeting. Additionally, many ASD


administrative staff attended meetings to help facilitate or observe; not all of them are represented in the counts below. Overall, 206 people participated in the four meetings.

Figure 1: Meeting Locations, Dates and Participation Numbers

Meeting Location Date and Time Attendees (sign-in sheets)

Participated in voting

Hanshew Middle School 6-8 pm on Monday, November 23rd

25 36

Gruening Middle School 6-8 pm on Monday, November 30th

63 69

Wendler Middle School 6-8 pm on Tuesday, December 1st

54 61

Mears Middle School 6-8 pm on Wednesday, December 9th

34 40

Total 176 206

The following describes key characteristics of the participants:

• Forty-eight percent of voting participants work for the ASD, seven percent of participants have someone in their household who works for the ASD, and 13 percent of participants say both they and someone in their household works for the ASD. Thirty-two percent of participants say neither they nor their household members works for the ASD.

Students, staff, community members and parents participate in a small group

discussion at the Gruening Middle School meeting.


• More than 74 percent of participants have lived in Anchorage for more than 11 years, and 46 percent have lived here for more than 20 years.

• Meeting attendees are overwhelmingly parents, with 75 percent of participants indicating they either have children in the ASD, will have children in the ASD, or are parents to ASD graduates. Almost half of the participants (92 or 44 percent) are currently parents of ASD students, with an almost even split between elementary and secondary schools. Thirteen percent of people do not have children that have attended or will attend the ASD. Another 12 percent of participants (24 individuals) are ASD students.

Key Findings The following section describes the key findings from the meeting workshops. This section characterizes the consolidated voting results as well as key themes from the small group discussions. The rest of the document provides charts and more detailed information about the meeting results.

• The role of education should be to help educate students for success in life. Participants clearly think the role of public education is “to prepare students to be successful in life” (41%) and “to contribute positively to the community” (35%). Options receiving fewer votes included “to teach reading, writing and math” (13%), “prepare students for the workforce” (7%), and “to prepare students for college” (4%). This distribution is very similar to the way community members voted during the ASD’s 2013 budget conversation process.

• Solving the state’s budget problems will require both cuts and new revenue sources. Fifty-seven percent of the ASD budget is from the State budget and the current State budget gap has the potential to significantly impact the ASD budget. Meeting participants heard a presentation about the State’s budget issues and were asked to discuss their ideas regarding cuts and new revenues. Participants overwhelmingly identified the need to take a

“Prepare students to be successful in life; not everyone will enter the workforce or go to college and if everyone is successful, then we are doing a good job.” -- Participant at Hanshew meeting

“The gap is too big to cut our way out.” “We can’t tax our way out of the problem.” -- Participants at Mears meeting


balanced approach to the budget situation, including cuts as well as new revenues. Participants identified a range of new revenue options including reinstating the state income tax and the school tax, implementing a marijuana tax and establishing a lottery to help fund schools. Participants also identified the permanent fund earnings as a revenue source to help fund state government, including education. Individuals also described the difficulties involved in securing new revenues and that community resistance is likely to occur.

• Participants think the ASD is spending their budget on worthwhile programs and services. When asked what share of the budget the ASD spends on worthwhile programs, 73 percent of participants answered either “81-90 percent” or “91-100 percent.”

• Most meeting attendees prefer to increase the ASD’s budget or keep it the same. This question was asked twice; the first time was before the small group discussions; the second time was at the very end of the meeting. The first time, 55 percent of participants voted for an increase, 21 percent opted to keep the budget the same and 24 percent chose a budget decrease. The second time, the percent of attendees who wanted to see an increase in the ASD budget increased by 12 percent to 67 percent, the percent of attendees who wanted the budget to remain the same increased slightly to 22 percent, and the number who would like the budget to decrease went down 13 percent to 11 percent.

• Participants would like to see budget increases for classroom personnel. When

asked their top choice for budget increases, participations overwhelmingly picked classroom personnel. In order of ranking, the participants selected classroom teachers, elementary support teachers, specialized support teachers (includes Special Education, English Language Learners, Gifted/Ignite, Indian Ed, Vocational Education/Career & Technical Education), teaching assistants and specialized support for the top five.

• When asked in what categories the ASD should decrease budgets, the highest rank went to “Don’t decrease the budget for any of those items.” After that, the

“I did not change my vote. I said we should decrease the budget. We need to come together to figure out how to pay for this. We have to realize that something has to be cut.” -- Participant at Wendler meeting


top vote getters in priority order included “pupil transportation,” “principals, assistant principals, and administrative assistants,” “central support services” and “student nutrition.” In the small groups, participants mostly discussed their preference not to cut education but did identify possible cuts to pupil transportation and alternative methods for ensuring students can get to school. Student nutrition was also discussed as an option for cuts; however, many individuals stated how important it is to make sure students are fed and are prepared to learn. Participants also raised the question as to why student nutrition is an option for cuts since most of the funding comes from federal dollars or payments for meals by students and their families.

• The basics (reading, writing, and math) received the highest ranking in terms of importance while group discussions also indicated a strong preference for a balanced approach to education that places value on music, art and physical education, as well as social studies and science. When asked what subject areas were most important, the majority of votes went to the basics but attendees expressed frustration at having to choose between reading, writing and math and other subjects are also of high value. Many attendees would have preferred if the question had asked, “Which subjects do you value in addition to the basics of reading, writing and math?” Many participants described the importance of art, music and sports as a way to keep students engaged in school.

• Class size is considered very important. Participants were asked to consider how

important class size was to quality education; 54 percent indicated it is “very important” with 27 percent saying it is “important.” In total, approximately 81 percent of participants indicated class size is either “very important” or “important.” When this question was asked in 2013, the exact same percentage of participants indicated class size was either “very important” or “important” (although a larger share of attendees voted for “very important” in 2015). Only two participants thought class size was “not important at all.” When asked

“It is hard to vote on these because so much of this is intertwined. For my son, theater was critical. For the middle child it was art and for the youngest it was music. These are the things that kept the kids going, but now class size is getting so large that it has become a problem.” -- Participant at Hanshew meeting


whether certain areas of the education system should NOT be impacted by increased class size, the majority of participants voted to protect the primary grades (kindergarten, first and second) from impacts. In the small group discussions, participants discussed the need to ensure high school students also have reasonably sized classes so that students can connect with teachers more effectively. Participants were more concerned with protecting class size for first and second graders because people identified this as the time when core competencies are developed. In comparison, kindergarten classrooms often have teaching assistants to support the classroom.

Small class size is not the only factor that leads to a quality education; but if you have to protect class sizes, it is important for the smaller grades. -Participant at Gruening meeting


Educational Values The first conversation at each community meeting was about educational values. A series of questions were asked of the audience using the audience polling technology followed by small group discussions on survey results. Participants were provided the following questions to guide their conversations:

1. What do you value most about education? 2. What is most important? 3. Why are those things important to you?

Key Themes from Small Group Discussions The audience polling results showed the majority of participants believe the primary role of public education is “to prepare students to be successful in life” and “to prepare students to be adults who contribute positively to the community.” Given these results, one of the major themes from the small group discussions is that education includes all of the different options available. People reported that education is about preparing students to be successful in life and teaching them the basics. Participants also identified the importance of parents in ensuring students contribute positively to the community and are successful in life.

“This question is misleading; it is important to teach the basics, but we also need to prepare students to be successful in life.” -- Participant at Wendler meeting


Audience Polling Results When polled about the primary role of public education, forty-one percent of participants voted the primary role of public education is to “prepare students to be successful in life” (Figure 1). Notably, this is also the mission of the ASD. The second most common answer was “prepare students to be adults who contribute positively to the community.”

Figure 2: Voting Results to the Question, "The primary role of public education is to..."

Total: 158 votes


Statewide Budget The second conversation at each community meeting was about the State budget deficit and financing outlook. ASD budget staff shared background on the proportion of the ASD budget funded by the State (57%), and provided some initial information on the State’s estimated $3.2 billion budget gap for FY 2016-17. There were no audience polling questions associated with this topic; instead, ASD staff facilitators talked with attendees in small groups to better understand participant ideas for addressing the State’s budget shortfall. Small groups used the following questions to guide their discussion on the State budget deficit:

• How would you prefer to see the governor and legislature address the State’s budget shortfall?

o Would you like to see spending cuts? If so, in what categories should the State cut their budget?

o Would you like to see new revenue? If so, what are some potential new revenue sources?

Key Themes from Small Group Discussions At each meeting, participants indicated a mix of new revenue sources and cuts is necessary to address the State’s budget shortfall. Cuts to large transportation projects, reductions in health care costs and the Medicaid budget, and elimination of travel and special session costs for legislators were all mentioned as ways to cut the State budget. Participants identified a range of revenue generation ideas including reinstating Alaska’s income tax and school tax, creating a statewide sales tax, the use of a lottery, and the use of earnings from the permanent fund. Participants also acknowledged that any of these solutions will be difficult to implement and community resistance should be expected.

“Our group all agreed that new revenue is necessary and we may need to cap the PFD, but there needs to be a lot of discussion around those ideas.” -- Participant at Mears meeting


ASD Budget The third conversation at each community meeting was about the ASD budget. ASD budget staff shared some additional information about the ASD budget, including the proportion of the budget allocated toward staffing and the distribution of staffing by ASD activity. Chief Academic Officer Mike Graham shared information about outcomes, including increased graduation rates and student success stories. He also discussed the value and contributions of the ASD toward the Anchorage community. Following the presentations, attendees were asked a series of audience polling questions on the ASD budget, including the amount spent on worthwhile programs and services, whether the budget should be increased, decreased, or stay the same, and in what areas participants would like to see increases and decreases. Following the audience polling questions, ASD staff led small group discussions to learn more about why participants voted the way they did, and how they would like to see the ASD address budgeting in the future. Guiding questions included the following:

1. Which of ASD’s programs do you consider the most worthwhile? Why? 2. Please describe why you chose to increase, decrease, or keep the ASD budget

the same? 3. What are your reasons for increasing budgets for specific categories? 4. What are your reasons for decreasing budgets for specific categories?

Key Themes from Small Group Discussions In the small groups, participants discussed the value of classroom teachers and teaching assistants as most worthwhile because of their role in the classrooms. During small group discussions, participants indicated a preference to increase the budget for classroom teachers. There was a willingness to consider budget cuts in pupil transportation and try alternative ways to transport students to schools, such as a partnership with People Mover, or reducing transportation services for high school

“Do not cut student nutrition because if the students are hungry, they will not learn.” -- Participant at Gruening meeting

“Families can provide food and nutrition, so that program could be reduced.” -- Participant at Gruening meeting


students. Student nutrition was identified for cuts but many participants also feel strongly that students must be fed or they will not learn. Participants identified other areas for possible cuts, including assistant principals. Other ideas for efficiencies included requiring principals and assistant principals to teach at least one class, and changing the classroom schedule to allow for more classes in a day. Individuals also expressed frustration about this question because they did not have adequate information on the different budget categories to provide realistic solutions.

Audience Polling Results Meeting participants were asked about the percentage of the ASD budget spent on worthwhile programs and services. Approximately 73 percent of participants voted for either the “81-90%” category or the “91-100 %” category, indicating participants believe the ASD is spending their budget on worthwhile programs. A combined eight percent of meeting participants selected options between zero percent and 40 percent, while five percent had no opinion.

Attendees at the ASD meetings were also asked whether the ASD should increase or decrease their budget for the next fiscal year (see Figure 3). This question was asked

twice at each meeting: it was asked the first time after the ASD budget presentation,

Total: 155 votes

Figure 3: Voting Results to the Question, "What percentage of the ASD budget do you think is spent on worthwhile programs and services?"


and again at the very end of the meeting, after small group discussions related to spending increases, cuts, classroom size and other topics. Results for both rounds are shown below.

Overall, meeting participants voiced a full range of options regarding recommended changes to the ASD budget. The first time the question was asked, 55 percent of voters opted for an increase, 21 percent chose keeping the budget the same, and 24 percent voted for a decrease. The second time the question was asked, there was an increase in the number of participants who preferred an increase in the ASD budget (up to 67 percent), the percent of attendees who wanted the budget to remain the same increased slightly to 22 percent, and the number who would like for the budget to decrease went down 13 percent to 11 percent.

Meeting participants were asked to share why they opted to change their vote. Participants stated a variety of reasons for changing their vote between rounds. While

there was an obvious shift toward increasing the budget between the first and second round of voting, many of the comments volunteered from participants reflected views

Figure 4: Voting Results to the Question, "For this next fiscal year, how much should ASD increase (+) or decrease (-) its budget?


about staying the same or decreasing the budget. At this point during many of the meetings, participants were more vocal regarding the need to be realistic about budgets and available funding. One attendee said she originally selected “stay the same” but realized in order to keep up with inflation the budget would actually need to increase to three percent, which was her revised selection.

Figure 5: Voting Results to the Question, “In what categories should we increase ASD's budget/capacity? Please submit your top five in order of importance."

Rank Total Points

Category to INCREASE Explanation of scores

1 575 Classroom teachers This table shows the total points for each selection. Each participant had 15 possible points:

1st choice = 5 points 2nd choice = 4 points 3rd choice = 3 points 4th choice = 2 points 5th choice = 1 point

This question had 173 voters and

2303 total points.

2 313 Elementary support teachers 3 293 Specialized support teachers 4 225 Teaching assistants 5 169 Specialized support 6 165 Central support services

7 120 Building support services 8 119 Don’t increase the budget for any of

these items 9 113 General certificated support 10 94 Building principals, assistant principals,

administrative assistants 11 79 Student nutrition 12 38 Pupil transportation

Next, participants were asked where they would like to see increases in the ASD budget (Figure 4). Participants were presented with a list of twelve options and were asked to vote for their top five selections in order of importance. One of the options was “Don’t increase the budget for any of these items.” Each participant received a handout defining each of the categories used for this question and the following question (see Appendix C for a copy of the handout). The results were weighted, with the first selection receiving five points and the fifth selection receiving one point. The audience polling system tallied the total votes for each selection and placed them into a ranked


order. The polling technology does not allow participants to select the same option more than once.

The most popular item on the list was “classroom teachers” which received 575 points, resulting in a significant lead over the other options. In total, 88 participants—just over 50 percent of all voters for this question—selected “classroom teachers” as their top choice for increased funding. The second highest was “elementary support teachers” (313 points), followed by “specialized support teachers” (293), “teaching assistants” (225) and “specialized support” (169), followed closely by “central support services” (165).

Figure 6: Voting Results to the Question, “In what categories should we decrease ASD's budget/capacity? Please submit your top five in order of importance."

Rank Total Points

Category to DECREASE Explanation of scores

1 382 Don’t decrease the budget for any of these items

This table shows the total points for each selection. Each participant had 15 possible points:

1st choice = 5 points 2nd choice = 4 points 3rd choice = 3 points 4th choice = 2 points 5th choice = 1 point

This question had 168 voters and

1882 total points.

2 273 Pupil transportation 3 229 Building principals, assistant principals,

administrative assistants 4 198 Central support services 5 189 Student nutrition

6 188 Building support services 7 115 Teaching assistants 8 105 General certificated support 9 66 Specialized support 10 48 Elementary support teachers 11 46 Specialized support teachers

12 33 Classroom teachers Following the vote on budget increases, meeting attendees were asked where they would like to see decreases in the ASD budget (Figure 5). Participants were presented with the same list of twelve options in the previous question, and were asked to vote for their top five selections in order of importance. One of the options was “Don’t


decrease the budget for any of these items.” The results were weighted, with the first selection receiving five points and the fifth selection receiving one point. The audience polling system tallied the total votes for each selection and placed them in ranked order. The polling technology does not allow participants to select the same option more than once.

The most popular item on the list was “Don’t decrease the budget for any of these items” with 382 points. The second item that participants selected for decreases was “pupil transportation” (273 points), followed by “building principals, assistant principals, administrative assistants” (229 points), “central support services” (198 points), and “student nutrition” (189 points), followed closely by “building support services” (188 points).

There is a long term impact to cutting transportation and nutrition. We don’t want kids to go hungry and we want to get kids to school. But the more the ASD assumes responsibility, the less the parents will do. -Participant at Wendler meeting


Course Offerings + Class Size The last conversation at each community meeting was about classroom experience and course offerings. A series of questions were asked of the audience using audience polling and afterward small groups discussed their reactions to the survey results according to the following questions.

1. What are your reasons for selecting your top three subjects? What about those subjects make them the most important?

2. What aspects of class size are most important to you?

Key Themes from Small Group Discussions

Participants expressed frustration over having to identify their top three subjects while having the option to choose reading and writing as well math. Instead, many participants would have preferred the question ask what subjects are your top three in addition to reading, writing and math. The groups felt strongly that these core subjects were always going to be a priority. At the same time, participants expressed strong preferences for art, music, physical education and sports. These are the activities that kept students engaged in school and are critical to learning. Participants mentioned it is possible to practice math while doing science and to learn to read and write while doing social studies. Choosing one over the other is not as helpful as finding ways to provide students with the full range of subjects necessary to be successful in life.

Overall, participants were concerned about class size and felt it was important to student success. Many cited class sizes that are already large and articulated challenges for students and teachers as a result. Participants overwhelmingly reported that the lower primary grades needed to be protected from class size increases but more people indicated this was critical in first and second grades. Individuals said that kindergarten was also important but those classes often had teaching assistants. Instead, participants said that first and second grade is when students learn the fundamentals of reading, writing and math so small classes are critical. More than

Art is extremely important because art saves lives and keeps kids in schools. It teaches kids to be creative instead of violent. When we look at violence in our communities, this is critical. -Participant at Mears meeting


once, participants mentioned the importance of third grade; stating that this is the grade that students often check-out, especially if the teacher cannot connect with the student. While some participants stated the importance of smaller class sizes in younger grades, many of the concerns around existing large classes were for high school students. Individuals, including students, mentioned high school is when parents are less involved and large classes make it difficult to connect with teachers and improve learning.

Audience Polling Results

Rank Total Points

Subject Area Explanation of scores

1 319 Reading and Writing This table shows the total points for each selection. Each participant had 6 possible points:

1st choice = 3 points 2nd choice = 2 points 3rd choice = 1 point

This question had

171 voters and 973 total points.

2 216 Math 3 159 Science and Technology 4 68 Career and Technical Education

5 58 Social Studies and History 6 52 Music 7 48 Art 8 31 Health and Physical Education 9 16 World Languages 10 6 Drama

To begin the conversation regarding course offerings, meeting attendees were asked to vote for their top three most important subjects. The top choice was “Reading and Writing” with 319 votes, followed by math with 216 votes. Following the core subjects, the top subject areas were “Science and Technology” (159 votes), “Career and Technical Education” (68 votes) and “Social Studies and History” (58 votes).

Figure 7: Voting Results to the Question, "What subject areas are most important? Please submit your top three in order of importance."

“It is bad when high school classes are so large that I cannot participate in class the same way that I am participating tonight at this meeting.” -- High school student participant at Wendler meeting


After the subject area question, participants were asked to provide feedback on the importance of class size. The majority of participants voted that class size was either “very important” (54 percent) or “important” (27 percent). Subsequent discussions supported these results, as most participants felt that class sizes are already at or above capacity.

In order to learn more about class size preferences, participants were asked which grades they would like to see protected from class size increases. Each attendee was allowed to select two options; percentages therefore total to more than 100 percent. In general, lower grades received higher votes, with “Grades 1 and 2” selected as the highest priority with 58 percent, followed by “Kindergarten” (42 percent) and “Grades 3 through 5” with 31 percent.

Figure 8: Voting Results to the Question, "How important is class size to a quality education?"

171 total votes

Figure 9: Voting Results to the Question, "If class size were to be increased, which areas would you protect from class size increases?"

168 voters, 302 total votes

Appendix A: Audience Polling Results by Meeting Location

Hanshew Middle School

Gruening Middle School

Wendler Middle School

Mears Middle School

ASD 2015 Community Budget Conversations Appendix A - 1

Community Budget ConversationPolling Results

Hanshew Middle SchoolNovember 23, 2015


50 %

62 %

70%

7 %

80%

1.What is ASD’s graduation rate?

0 0

56

9

50 % 62 % 70% 7 % 80%

2014 2015Hanshew

1. 1%

2. 3%

3. 6%

4. 15%

5. 20%

6. 30%

2.What is ASD’s dropout rate?

0

1

5

6

7

0

1% 3% 6% 15% 20% 30%

2015 Hanshew


1. I work for ASD.

2. Someone in my household works for ASD.

3. I work for ASD and someone in my household worksfor ASD.

4. I do not work for ASD and no one in my householdworks for ASD.

3. Do you or your family work forASD?

Hanshew

RESULTS: Works for ASD

14

0

1

8

I work for ASD.

Someone in my household works forASD.

I work for ASD and someone in myhousehold works for ASD.

I do not work for ASD and no one inmy household works for ASD.

HanshewASD 2015 Community Budget Conversations Appendix A - 4

1. I have no children that have attended or will attendASD.

2. I have younger children that will attend ASD.

3. I have children in elementary school.

4. I have children in secondary school.

5. My children are ASD graduates.

6. I am an ASD student.

4. Do you have children in ASD?Select all that apply.

Hanshew

RESULTS: Children in ASD

3

4

8

6

5

1

I have no children that have attended or willattend ASD.

I have younger children that will attendASD.

I have children in elementary school.

I have children in secondary school.

My children are ASD graduates.

I am an ASD student.


1. 0 to 5 years

2. 6 to 10 years

3. 11 to 20 years

4. More than 20 years

5. I don’t live in Anchorage

5. How many years have you lived inAnchorage?

32

5

9

0

Hanshew

1. Prepare students to be successful in life.

2. Prepare students to be adults who contributepositively to the community.

3. Teach reading, writing and math.

4. Prepare students for the workforce.

5. Prepare students for college.

6. The primary role of publiceducation is to…


RESULTS: Purpose of Public Education

8

7

3

1

0

Prepare students to be successfulin life.

Prepare students to be adults whocontribute positively to the

community.

Teach reading, writing and math.

Prepare students for theworkforce.

Prepare students for college.

Hanshew

7.What percentage of the ASD budget doyou think is spent on worthwhileprograms and services?

1. 0-10 %2. 11-20 %3. 21-30 %4. 31-40 %5. 41-50 %6. 51-60 %

7. 61-70 %8. 71-80 %9. 81-90 %10. 91-100 %11.No opinion


RESULTS: ASD budget spent on worthwhile programs + services

1

0 0 0

1

0 0

2

6

8

2

Hanshew

1. + 7 percent2. + 5 percent3. + 3 percent4. + 1 percent5. Make no change; same budget as this year6. - 1 percent7. - 3 percent8. - 5 percent9. - 7 percent

8. For this next fiscal year, how much should ASD increase (+) or decrease (-) its budget?


RESULTS: Desired change to ASD budget

5

3

4

4

5

2

1

0

0

+ 7 percent

+ 5 percent

+ 3 percent

+ 1 percent

Make no change; same…

- 1 percent

- 3 percent

- 5 percent

- 7 percent

Hanshew

1. Classroom teachers2. Elementary support teachers3. Specialized support teachers4. General certificated support5. Specialized support6. Teaching assistants7. Building principals, assistant principals, administrative assistants8. Building support services9. Pupil transportation10. Student nutrition11. Central support services12. Don’t increase the budget for any of these items

9. In what categories should we increase ASD’s budget/capacity?Please submit your top five in order of importance. Hit SEND between each response.


RESULTS: Where to increase ASD budget 84 Classroom teachers

74 Elementary support teachers

59 Specialized support teachers

41 Teaching assistants

33 Specialized support

24 Don’t increase the budget for any of these items

20 Central support services

14 Building support services

11 Student nutrition

11 General certificated support

5 Building principals, assistant principals, administrative assistants

4 Pupil transportation

Hanshew

10. In what categories should we decrease ASD’s budget/capacity?Please submit your top five in order of importance. Hit SEND between each response.

1. Classroom teachers2. Elementary support teachers3. Specialized support teachers4. General certificated support5. Specialized support6. Teaching assistants7. Building principals, assistant principals, administrative assistants8. Building support services9. Pupil transportation10. Student nutrition11. Central support services12. Don’t decrease the budget for any of these itemsHanshew


RESULTS: Where to decrease ASD budget 87 Don’t decrease the budget for any of these items








11 Classroom teachers




Hanshew

1. Reading and Writing2. Math3. Science and Technology4. Social Studies and History5. World Languages6. Health and Physical Education7. Music8. Art9. Drama10. Career and Technical Education

11. What subject areas are most important?Please submit your top three in order of importance. Hit SEND between each response.


RESULTS: most important subject areas

56 Reading and Writing

46 Math

26 Science and Technology

18 Career and Technical Education

15 Social Studies and History

5 Health and Physical Education

3 Art

1 World Languages

Hanshew

1. Very important

2. Important

3. Neutral

4. Not very important

5. Not important at all

12. How important is class size to a quality education?

15

10

13

0


1. Kindergarten2. Grades 1 and 23. Grades 3 through 54. Grades 6 through 85. Grades 9 and 106. Grades 11 and 12

13. If class size were to be increased, which areas would you protect from class size increases?

Please select two options. Hit SEND between each answer.

14

22

12

4 3 2

Hanshew




RESULTS: changes to the ASD budget, round 2

8

3

5

3

7

2

0

0

0

+ 7 percent

+ 5 percent

+ 3 percent

+ 1 percent

Make no change; same budget…

- 1 percent

- 3 percent

- 5 percent

- 7 percent

Hanshew

Let’s compare responses:For this next fiscal year, how much should ASD increase (+) or decrease (-) its budget?

5

3

4

4

5

2

1

0

0

+ 7 percent

+ 5 percent

+ 3 percent

+ 1 percent

Make no…

- 1 percent

- 3 percent

- 5 percent

- 7 percent

8

3

5

3

7

2

0

0

0

+ 7 percent

+ 5 percent

+ 3 percent

+ 1 percent

Make no…

- 1 percent

- 3 percent

- 5 percent

- 7 percent

Round 1 Round 2HanshewASD 2015 Community Budget Conversations Appendix A - 14


Gruening Middle SchoolNovember 30, 2015


1. 50 %

62 %

70%

7 %

80%


1

5

10

20 19

50 % 62 % 70% 7 % 80%

2014 2015

Gruening

1. 1%

2. 3%

3. 6%

4. 15%

5. 20%

6. 30%


0

6

13

21

14

1

1% 3% 6% 15% 20% 30%

2015

Gruening


1. I work for ASD.





Gruening


23

8

8

19

I work for ASD.




Gruening








4. Do you have children in ASD? Select all that apply.

Gruening


10

1

9

19

23

16







Gruening


1. 0 to 5 years

2. 6 to 10 years

3. 11 to 20 years



5. How many years have you lived in Anchorage?

9 9

20 21

1

Gruening


2. Prepare students to be adults who contributepositively to the community.




6. The primary role of public education is to…

Gruening



21

20

6

6

5



community.




Gruening

7. What percentage of the ASD budget do you think is spent on worthwhile programs and services?

1. 0 10 %2. 11 20 %3. 21 30 %4. 31 40 %5. 41 50 %6. 51 60 %

7. 61 70 %8. 71 80 %9. 81 90 %10. 91 100 %11.No opinion

Gruening



1 1 1 1 0 0

42

2225

0

Gruening

1. + 7 percent2. + 5 percent3. + 3 percent4. + 1 percent5. Make no change; same budget as this year6. 1 percent7. 3 percent8. 5 percent9. 7 percent


Gruening



5

3

11

6

15

4

8

4

1

+ 7 percent

+ 5 percent

+ 3 percent

+ 1 percent


- 1 percent

- 3 percent

- 5 percent

- 7 percent

Gruening


9. In what categories should we increase ASD’s budget/capacity?Please submit your top five in order of importance. Hit SEND between each response.

Gruening














Gruening

10. In what categories should we decrease ASD’s budget/capacity?Please submit your top five in order of importance. Hit SEND between each response.

1. Classroom teachers2. Elementary support teachers3. Specialized support teachers4. General certificated support5. Specialized support6. Teaching assistants7. Building principals, assistant principals, administrative assistants8. Building support services9. Pupil transportation10. Student nutrition11. Central support services12. Don’t decrease the budget for any of these items

Gruening


RESULTS: Where to decrease ASD budget 122 Pupil transportation

121 Don’t decrease the budget for any of these items











Gruening



11. What subject areas are most important?Please submit your top three in order of importance. Hit SEND between each response.

Gruening

RESULTS: most important subject areas120 Reading and Writing

69 Math



24 Music



7 World Languages

3 Drama

2 Art

Gruening


1. Very important

2. Important

3. Neutral



12. How important is class size to aquality education?

29

18

6 50

Gruening


13. If class size were to be increased, which areas wouldyou protect from class size increases?


18

30

18 16

10 8

Gruening



14. For this next fiscal year, how muchshould ASD increase (+) or decrease (-)its budget?

Gruening



6

2

22

5

15

2

4

1

1

+ 7 percent

+ 5 percent

+ 3 percent

+ 1 percent


- 1 percent

- 3 percent

- 5 percent

- 7 percent

Gruening


5

3

11

6

15

4

8

4

1

+ 7 percent

+ 5 percent

+ 3 percent

+ 1 percent

Make no…

- 1 percent

- 3 percent

- 5 percent

- 7 percent

6

2

22

5

15

2

4

1

1

+ 7 percent

+ 5 percent

+ 3 percent

+ 1 percent

Make no…

- 1 percent

- 3 percent

- 5 percent

- 7 percent

Round 1 Round 2Gruening



Wendler Middle SchoolDecember 1, 2015


50 %

62 %

70%

7 %

80%


0

3

11

16

14

50 % 62 % 70% 7 % 80%

2014 2015Wendler

1. 1%

2. 3%

3. 6%

4. 15%

5. 20%

6. 30%


1

79

19

6

1

1% 3% 6% 15% 20% 30%

2015 Wendler


1. I work for ASD.


3. I work for ASD and someone in my household works for ASD.

4. I do not work for ASD and no one in my household works for ASD.

3. Do you or your family work for ASD?

Wendler


19

2

9

15

I work for ASD.




WendlerASD 2015 Community Budget Conversations Appendix A - 31







4. Do you have children in ASD?

Select all that apply.

Wendler


7

4

10

15

15

6








1. 0 to 5 years

2. 6 to 10 years

3. 11 to 20 years




4 3

12

27

1

Wendler


2.Prepare students to be adults who contribute positively to the community.







19

17

6

3

1



community.




Wendler


1. 0-10 % 2. 11-20 % 3. 21-30 % 4. 31-40 %5. 41-50 % 6. 51-60 %

7. 61-70 % 8. 71-80 % 9. 81-90 % 10. 91-100 % 11.No opinion



0 1 0 1 2 13

68

20

4

Wendler





11

4

13

4

6

1

4

1

4

+ 7 percent

+ 5 percent

+ 3 percent

+ 1 percent


- 1 percent

- 3 percent

- 5 percent

- 7 percent

Wendler


9. In what categories should we increase ASD’s budget/capacity?

Please submit your top five in order of importance. Hit SEND between each response.














Wendler

10. In what categories should we decrease ASD’sbudget/capacity?

Please submit your top five in order of importance. Hit SEND between each response.1. Classroom teachers2. Elementary support teachers3. Specialized support teachers4. General certificated support5. Specialized support6. Teaching assistants7. Building principals, assistant principals, administrative assistants8. Building support services9. Pupil transportation10. Student nutrition11. Central support services12. Don’t decrease the budget for any of these items














Wendler



11.What subject areas are most important?

Please submit your top three in order of importance. Hit SEND between each response.

Wendler


55 Math


33 Art




11 Music

4 World Languages

2 DramaWendler


1. Very important

2. Important

3. Neutral



12. How important is class size to a quality education?

28

12

53

1

Wendler


13. If class size were to be increased, which areas would you protect from class size increases?


21

28

1511

4 5



16

8

12

1

7

0

2

0

1

+ 7 percent

+ 5 percent

+ 3 percent

+ 1 percent


- 1 percent

- 3 percent

- 5 percent

- 7 percent

Wendler


11

4

13

4

6

1

4

1

4

+ 7 percent

+ 5 percent

+ 3 percent

+ 1 percent

Make no…

- 1 percent

- 3 percent

- 5 percent

- 7 percent

16

8

12

1

7

0

2

0

1

+ 7 percent

+ 5 percent

+ 3 percent

+ 1 percent

Make no…

- 1 percent

- 3 percent

- 5 percent

- 7 percent

Round 1 Round 2WendlerASD 2015 Community Budget Conversations Appendix A - 42


Mears Middle SchoolDecember 9, 2015


1. 50 %

2. 62 %

3. 70%

4. 74%

5. 80%


0 02

9

24

50 % 62 % 70% 74% 80%

2014 2015Mears

1. 1%

2. 3%

3. 6%

4. 15%

5. 20%

6. 30%


1

7 7

12

7

1

1% 3% 6% 15% 20% 30%

2015Mears


1. I work for ASD.


3. I work for ASD and someone in my household works for ASD.

4. I do not work for ASD and no one in my household works for ASD.

3. Do you or your family work for ASD?

Mears


21

1

3

10

I work for ASD.




Mears


1. I have no children that have attended or will attend ASD.








Mears


6

5

13

12

8

1







Mears


1. 0 to 5 years

2. 6 to 10 years

3. 11 to 20 years




3

79

17

0

Mears


2.Prepare students to be adults who contribute positively to the community.





Mears



17

12

5

1

0



community.




Mears


1. 0-10 % 2. 11-20 % 3. 21-30 % 4. 31-40 %5. 41-50 % 6. 51-60 %

7. 61-70 % 8. 71-80 % 9. 81-90 % 10. 91-100 % 11.No opinion

Mears



01

0 01

01

4

7

17

1

Mears



Mears



3

4

5

3

8

4

3

0

2

+ 7 percent

+ 5 percent

+ 3 percent

+ 1 percent


- 1 percent

- 3 percent

- 5 percent

- 7 percent

Mears


9. In what categories should we increase ASD’s budget/capacity?


Mears














Mears

10. In what categories should we decrease ASD’s budget/capacity?


Mears














Mears





Mears


46 Math


17 Music

10 Art



4 World Languages


1 DramaMears


1. Very important

2. Important

3. Neutral




20

75

1 2

Mears




18 18

7 8

46

Mears




Mears



6

2

9

4

8

1

3

1

1

+ 7 percent

+ 5 percent

+ 3 percent

+ 1 percent


- 1 percent

- 3 percent

- 5 percent

- 7 percent

Mears


3

4

5

3

8

4

3

0

2

+ 7 percent

+ 5 percent

+ 3 percent

+ 1 percent

Make no…

- 1 percent

- 3 percent

- 5 percent

- 7 percent

6

2

9

4

8

1

3

1

1

+ 7 percent

+ 5 percent

+ 3 percent

+ 1 percent

Make no…

- 1 percent

- 3 percent

- 5 percent

- 7 percent

Round 1 Round 2Mears


Appendix B: Notes from Small Group Meetings

Hanshew Middle School

Gruening Middle School

Wendler Middle School

Mears Middle School

ASD Community Budget Conversations Appendix B - 1

Community Budget Conversation Notes from Small Group Discussions

Hanshew Middle School – November 23rd 2015

Topic Comments from Small Group Discussion

Educational Values (large group)

What do you value most about education?

What is most important?

Why are those things important to you?

• The primary goals are not mutually exclusive. Need all the optionsto be successful.

• It’s hard to pick one without the other.

• Prepare students to be successful in life; not everyone will enter theworkforce or go to college and if everyone is successful, then weare doing a good job.

Budget Discussion (small group) How would you prefer to see the Governor and Legislature address the State’s budget shortfall?

Would you like to see spending cuts? If so, in what categories should the State cut their budget?

Would you like to see new revenue? If so, what are some potential new revenue sources?

• Identify and cut the low hanging fruit; what can be easily cut?• Cannot solve the problem with only cuts.

• Legislators understood, at statehood, that the job as a legislator wasvolunteer only. Now that is not the case. They travel to Norway.There is always a need to cut things that are not a necessary. Canwe keep the role of the legislator a volunteer position and stop thetravel?

• Department of Natural Resources could be a start for cutting.

• Cuts to capital projects – the bridge to nowhere. The road downBragaw to Elmore; these are not a priority.

• Legislative pay during special sessions should not happen.

• Cannot afford any more cuts, no more special sessions and reducelegislative pay

• I do not see a lot of places where they can cut. We are not going toget there by cutting; what is the alternative to cutting?

• People from the outside see the PFD sitting there and do notunderstand our situation.

• Used to have a school tax that came out of your first pay check ofthe year; need to have a school tax again. That was dropped whenwe dropped the state income tax.

• Permanent fund; look at a Percent of Market Value to distribute theearnings. Inflation proof the permanent fund and then use earningsfor state funds.

• An education endowment is another idea that could work.

• State tax is deductible from the federal taxes to that will help with astate income tax.





• Since we cannot travel in AK without flying, the state could createan airline business, where they own the airline and they generaterevenue with flights.

• Cap the permanent fund; use the earnings for services; create aneducation tax

• Sales tax and income tax were discussed as well.

• Sense of urgency; need to have our elected leaders make decisionsnow to give us enough time to so we don’t blow through all of oursavings.

• Look at state income tax; oppose raiding the permanent fund,eliminate capital projects (road projects, etc.), Sales tax (everybodypitches in).

• Pay taxes or re-institute school tax. My only other thought is thelottery; if we start it we get first dibs. It's tough questions that wehave to start answering.

• We have to use a combination of things and not just one thing.

• Lottery, school tax and income taxes, PFD and bake sales / carwash

Set Two (small group) Which of ASD’s programs do you consider the most worthwhile? Why?

Please describe why you chose to increase, decrease, or keep the ASD budget the same?

What are your reasons for increasing budgets for specific categories?

What are your reasons for decreasing budgets for specific categories?

• Classroom teachers; they are in the trenches and need to beprotected

• Student nutrition is really important.

• Elementary support teachers; they need the music and art and itneeds to be there.

• Classroom teachers; IGNITE are critical

• Special education, pupil transportation, core instruction.

• Hard to vote on these because so much of this is intertwined. Formy son it was theater, for the middle child it was art, and for theyoungest it was music. These are the things that kept the kids goingbut class size is getting so large that it becomes a problem.

• My kids went to ASD and now I am a special education teacherassistant and I have 12 kids in a class who I am supporting and Ionly make $24,000 a year and there is not enough of me to do thejobs that are needed. My brother was special needs so I’m devotedto it.

• Most important is pre-k; we need to create that program.





• There were big cuts during the previous superintendent in 2012 andwe are still dealing with those. We are under staffed because ofthat.

• Previous superintendent wanted to cut the budget (SPED,counselors, ELL) – a lot of programs have just gone away; havealready made significant cuts and we are not keeping up withinflation; work is still there but the people are not.

• Student to teacher ratio is important (example is the combined 3/4class), teacher assistants (to help with behavior issues), specializedsupport (diversity in schools requires a responsibility to thosestudents; example math teacher working with ELL students whoneed special support, SPED, Gifted, etc.). Need for teachersbecause overwhelmed teachers cannot be effective.

• You must have all the support systems to assure student health andsafety.

• How do we keep good people here in the state? What would it taketo keep young people here?

• Back in the day, we were some of the highest paid teachers, butnow we are tier 3 and 4 so there is nothing to keep us here.

• People do not have the sense of adventure to move to AK.

• There are people who are stuck in their job because of theirpension.

• We should take more responsibility for our own children; maybeprovide transportation. Increases because I want to see summerprograms for readers who need help. Would like the ASD to hirereading support specialists.

• Thought all programs were valuable but determining whichprograms had more or less value is difficult because the outcomedata is not readily available.

• Classroom teachers and elementary support teachers needincreases because they are critical.

• It does not seem fair to ask about increases; it might be somethingto hope for but not realistic. It's a matter of positing in positive andnot negative The possibility of keeping it the same is to maintainsome of the good things going forward such as interventions,supports, professional development.

• Increase budget for teachers and other direct services for kids.

• Increase counselors.






• Transportation because we don’t provide transportation tospecialized programs so let’s not give it to just a few.

• We need buses but there are a lot of empty spaces on them,although it depends on the route and when you actually see thebuses.

• Cut sports which would be $5 million and we are half way there.

• Student nutrition is parent’s responsibilitySet Three (small group) What are your reasons for selecting your top three subjects? What about those subjects make them the most important?

What aspects of class size are most important to you?

• Reading and writing because was shocked that kids aren’t able toread and write and are behind grade level.

• Science and technology is critical for students to be able toadvance.

• Reading and writing can be taught through social studies andscience and technology.

• Without RRM, S&Tech you cannot function in society; cannot beglobally competitive.

• Top three: Reading and writing (basis of communication), math(universal language), world language (improves performance inother subject areas). We shouldn’t have to choose! We don’t allowstudents to learn through the child’s favored subject (Ex. – Music,Art). Career and technical education provides a diversity in the waychild grows and learns and becomes passionate about learning.

• Class size: Documentary “Waiting for Superman” – middle schoolage is when you start losing kids, age that parents cannot help themwith homework anymore, huge “break point” in education wherekids get behind and can never get caught up.

• Maybe you do not teach the same class every day so you can havethe same staff to teach the range of subjects.

• Reading, writing and math are critical for society and for individualsto be successful.

• 1st and 2nd grade is critical because that is when fundamental skillsare developed. Kindergarten is also important but there are moreteaching assistants.

• High school English teachers with 35 students that are 5 times aday; no time to do meaningful assignments and prep for them.





• Two equally important points to consider. K, 1, 2 are important. Buthigh school AP has some of the largest class sizes, which isproblematic.

• K,1,2 – need to master English, Language Arts, Reading and needsmaller class size.

• 3rd grade is where you see a huge break point in education andwhere kids get behind and they cannot catch up.

• K-5 is important

• K is not mandatory in this state

• Return to half day kindergarten but price to pay one way or anotherK seen as too SEL. We want more socialization and less academic

Final (large group) For this next fiscal year, how much should ASD increase (+) and/or decrease (-) its budget?”, did you change your response from the first time you answered the question? Why or why not?

• If we have gap of $12 million, we have to decrease by x %, we haveno choice.



Gruening Middle School – November 30, 2015






• Seemed the answers precluded each other; need a mix of thoseanswers to be successful.

• Reflecting back as high school seniors, there is a need for multipleopportunities for the future.

• Some people thought it was important for the students to be adultsin the community; others were focused on how the schools teachpeople to be ready for the workforce.

• Would like college for my kids, but they may not feel that way.

• Want them to know how to take care of themselves.

• Adults who contribute; more important that they can function insociety.

• Have to be able to take care of themselves before they cancontribute to society.

• If you can’t have a relationship, all that education will be for not.Social emotional side has to be an important part of that.

• Have to be able to transfer knowledge into real situations.

• Education is one of the big steps in your life.

• Education needs rigor.




• Need to look for revenue options and cuts.

• State should share more information on their budget.

• Police departments do not need the brand new cars all the time;but even trimming off the police budget, won’t fix the $3 billion inthe budget deficit.

• Could cut the amount of money that we spend on our wildliferesources; maybe we invest less in the management of the wildlife;go with survival of the fittest for the animals.

• Cut the legislative travel; bring them closer to where people are(Anchorage). Then everyone could drive and participate more.

• Cannot see how cutting one program over the other benefits thesituation; husband is police officer and it’s important that they havethe best equipment to be safe.

• Cuts should include legislative travel and the LIO building.





• Cuts to programs that are oil and gas tax credits in Cook Inlet.

• I don’t think the ASD can cut anymore. There needs to be newrevenue somehow. Maybe a position here and there, but with allthe needs – I can’t see where we can cut.

• Cannot cut enough to close the gap. The gap is too big.

• One participant shared how she had to travel for sports and wehave many communities that are not on the road system. The costto send students to travel for sports state-wide might be an area tolook at to cut.

• Legislature should eliminate extras such as a special session oroutside trips.

• Other possible cuts; consultants, legal fees for Medicaid lawsuit,new roads that require more maintenance.

• Let’s impose a state tax

• Can we have oil refineries in Alaska to generate more revenue?We had an oil refinery and we couldn’t sustain it and it went away(in Fairbanks area). Needs to be close to a port but maybe there isa better location for this type of business.

• Sales tax would be good; do not exempt food so everyone sharesin the cost.

• Reallocating the PFD.

• Talked about Permanent Fund to help fund the state government

• Combine the services that are done at ASD and MOA to reduceduplication; maintenance, equipment and others.

• Definitely continue to maintain a moratorium on the big capitalprojects; no need for a Knik Arm Crossing or a road to Ambler.

• How about a lottery? This could raise revenue.

• Also supported the use of the dividend.

• We’ve cut so much from the ASD, we can’t cut any more. We’vealready squeezed blood from a turnip. So we need new revenue;sales tax; PFD reallocation.

• Marijuana tax

• Before oil there used to be taxes when oil came the taxes wereeliminated. If there is no oil, we need to think of taxes again.





• PFD was designed for a rainy day; we should look at it as a loan.When income is good again, we will pay it back.

• Tax marijuana.

• Start a lottery.

• Is there anything that can be done with the PFD? Can the PFD begraduated? The amount you receive increases the longer you stayin Alaska.

• Alaska is unique because we only have a property tax. We arespoiled here. You go other places there are sales tax. Forexample, when I am in Seattle, I show my AK driver’s license and Ido not pay a sales tax.

• There’s not one answer; we need many sources.

• State needs to figure out how to generate new revenue.

• There is only a small number of people having these discussions.

• Obvious choice is to raise revenue

• Sales tax

• Income tax

• PFD cap; have mixed feelings about this one

• Annual school tax

• Consider a lottery. AK is one of six states that does not have alottery. Out of the states that do have a lottery, 35 of the 44 usemost of the revenue for K-12 education. The revenue from thelottery typically makes up 4 percent of the school’s budget.However, would a lottery negatively affect the people who leastcan afford it?

• Marijuana tax

• Cap permanent fund

• Reinstate personal income tax law

• Oil revenue taxation; make sure it is their fair share


• Classroom teachers are needed for successful education.• Teacher assistants can provide extra support to students.• Keep some programs, we cannot afford to increase.• Keep some programs and push for 1% increase.








• There is an increase in the cost of living by about 1.5%.• Need to be competitive.• Teaching needs to be appealing.• Wanted to increase classroom teachers. This allows there to be

smaller class sizes and allows them to do more one-on-one withthe students. This allows them to know what the strengths andweaknesses are for each of the students.

• However, because there are budget cuts, increasing the budget forteachers is not really feasible right now.

• Definitely hurting in a lot of areas; elementary schools in someareas have just as many people as the middle school with a lotless support. There are inequities between the administrative staffin elementary schools and middle schools. Redistribution andbalancing of administrative staff is necessary. If an elementaryschool has 500 students and so does a middle school, they shouldhave more of an equal number of administrative staff.

• Classroom teachers are critical and we need to keep them orincrease them. Teaching assistants were also important.

• If you have the same budget and there is a cost of living increase,then the ASD budget is actually decreasing.

• Wanted to decrease classroom size.

• Number one priority was classroom teachers; without them, thereis no district.

• Classroom teachers are quite overwhelmed with all the differentneeds of students.

• We need to support teachers who can help students with differentneeds.

• Teaching in a Title 1 school is vastly different than teaching in aregular school. Teaching in a Charter school is vastly different thanteaching in a regular school. The numbers in a charter school aremore manageable .

• The parents of non-Title schools will be up in arms if we cut thoseschools

• There are many reasons why families in Title 1 schools cannotreach out to the district

• The free lunches and breakfasts provided by the Title 1 schoolsare vital.





• We want to attract people to the ASD.

• We should try to better accommodate students.

• Cut the transportation at least for high school students becausethere are many ways to get high schools students to school.

• Get rid of recess at the elementary level but have gym every daythat way you do not need to pay noon duties or fill those positions.Problem is that PE teachers have to have the same number ofstudents as a classroom teacher so they cannot have 60 students.

• Some discussion around nutrition and busing; can they handle anymore cuts?

• Transportation – can we cut this program? Homeless studenttransportation is also included.

• Talked about an interesting idea; a lot of assistant principals at thehigh schools and it does not seem like they are always busy, soprincipals should teach one class per day. This could allow them tobe more integrated into the school community.

• Can we look at decreasing the budget at pupil transportation?Could it be merged with People Mover?

• A high school does not need 11 assistant principals. There used tobe an activities director and not a vice principal.

• Do not cut student nutrition because if the students are hungry;they will not learn.

• Would it be beneficial to change bus routes? Can we look atbussing programs like the ones for highly gifted students or travelfor sports teams?

• Shift to a four day school day with longer days

• There is not enough information on each program or position tomake informed decisions

• Central support services

• We are missing information that would help answer the question,what does transportation or nutrition look like?

• Families can provide food and nutrition, so that program could bereduced.

Set Three (small group) What are your reasons for selecting your top three subjects? What about

• Reading, writing and math is obvious so that should not be achoice.





those subjects make them the most important?


• You read, write, and do math in all the other subjects as well.

• Need to be able to write a proper paragraph in social studies.

• Science and technology is the top choice because without it, weare unable to advance as a society.

• Physical education is extremely important and its very fun.

• Career and technical education is important but you are not goingto focus on that in elementary school unless there is a pathwayprogram that is developed. Keyboarding is a skill that you have tohave.

• We are giving students lap tops when they go to college and theyuse tablets and type differently and more efficiently. Why teachkeyboarding anymore?

• We all knew that reading, writing and math should not be cut sothe question should ask what other areas should be cut?

• Reading writing and math are the foundations for learning

• Reading and math are such essential life skills.

• We need to create a seamless environment integrated withtechnology

• Kids have technology in front of them all the time, what kid doesn’thave a smart phone?

• There are skills required to use technology.

• I’m frustrated because I can only choose three. You cannot curreading, writing, and math so the question would be better wordedas “what three additional areas could be cut?”.

• Social studies can be taught in reading and math classes.

• Parents should pay for after school classes such as Worldlanguage, art, and drama.

• History, learning about past science and technology lagging behindis important. Also reading and writing needs to be emphasized.

• We are lacking in science and math as a country and as a district.Reading is an important basis for learning.

• Small class size is not the only factor that leads to a qualityeducation; but if you have to protect class size, it’s important forthe smaller grades.





• Grades 1 and 2 are foundational skills and so small class size isreally important.

• Middle school grades also include foundational skills and so classsize should be smaller.

• Grades 3 through 5 are also really important to keep class sizesmaller because foundational skills are being developed.

• In the minority for the grades to protect; thought that the higher upthat you go, you need to protect the students from an increase inclass size. For lower grades, there is more parent involvement.However, in high school, there is less parent involvement andlarger classes so you do not get to know your students; this isnecessary.

• Class size is important. You are lucky if you have less than 30 kidsin your class.

• Classroom size is vital to management and student behavior

• Smaller class size equates to better learning for each student

• We should evaluate to see if having half-day kindergarten couldsave money

• Some states have laws in place to regulate class size.

• It is important to maintain small class sizes for younger studentswho need the teacher to get to know them to build an educationalfoundation.

• It’s just as important at the other end to have relationships withstudents to help with graduation and keep students in school andmeeting their needs.

• In Europe they have larger class sizes in upper grades.

• Small groups are necessary for younger children due to the factthat they have such varied skill and ability levels.

• Larger classes can cause issues for students with behaviorproblems.

• If there is going to be a reduction in class size, it should besignificant enough to make a difference, cutting two students out ofa 30 person class won’t solve the problems.

• Larger classes cause issues for students with behavior problems• If going to reduce class size then it needs to be significant enough to

actually make a difference (e.g., 15 students). Cutting from 30 to 28students will not make a significant difference.






• If you don’t increase the budget, then you are actually decreasingthe budget because of inflation which is why I changed my mind.

• I changed from wanting to decrease the budget, with moreinformation about what student nutrition requires I didn’t want tocut the budget.



Wendler Middle School – December 1, 2015






• We want to inspire students to be lifelong learners.

• Students should build upon their own successes.

• We want what is best for our kids.

• Success in life and contributions to the community.

• Post-secondary school after high school; it’s really important toprepare students for that.

• Being successful in life and contributing to the community isdifferent for everyone and is subjective and it can’t bemeasured. So let’s pick something that can be measured.

• It’s important after college. It helps you in the real world.

• Primary education is what contributes to success in life.

• Primary education prepares students to be adults and whathelps them contribute to their communities.

• Primary education is critical to help learn core reading and mathskills.

• This question is misleading; it is important to teach the basics,but we also need to prepare students to be successful in life.Part of the group feels that the school can’t be responsible forcapturing all the responsibility and should focus on goals thatare quantifiable and achievable.

• The group was divided between trying to ensure academicsuccess and teaching life skills.




• Not crazy about spending cuts especially to the ASD; we feellike the ASD have had cuts after cuts given flat funding. Nomore cuts to the schools. Would like to see more revenue.

• No cuts to the school district, there have already been toomany. Perhaps the State of Alaska should consider cuttingcapital projects such as new highways, bridges and roads.

• The cuts shouldn’t come from schools. Flat funding for yearshas already resulted in too many cuts. It also shouldn’t comefrom social services.

• Cut into permanent fund budget reserve, 6-10% reduction inoperating budget.





• Cash out PFD-25%. Income tax, ½ oil into state operating, ½into new permanent fund; against sales tax.

• Will take combination of cuts and revenue.

• We have a concern with stopping PFD for those with lessincome.

• There is very little to cut.

• No cuts. Need to get out of the vicious cycle of where will thefunding come from.

• No more studies/ capital spending.

• PERS/TRS retirement debt.

• School tax; sales tax; income tax; want new industries for newrevenue; want to see everything come into play with regards torevenue.

• Pick Click Give to ASD. People give $20 to charities; can we bean option.

• Marijuana tax.

• Businesses that utilize the educated workforce as a source ofrevenue.

• Diversifying our economy and developing our own tourismindustry; no more Princess Tours. Husband’s idea is to cap thePFD at $500 (I think $1000) and the rest of the funds will go tothe State to meet the budget shortfall.

• Sales and income tax but that is low on the list.

• PFD cap

• Municipal sales tax

• Taxation of marijuana

• State lottery

• State income tax

• Annual school Tax

• Pic, Click, Give from PFD and ASD

• Lobby big businesses to provide funding for education andstudents. Could be sold as a great PR move.

• The use of permanent fund earnings





• Can keep a high PDF if we institute other taxes to account forthe difference.

• Income tax, including the summer fishermen.

• Institute a school tax. It won’t do much, but it will help in thescheme of things..

• Sales tax, potentially even just a seasonal tax.

• Look for other industries.

• Other States don’t understand why we are paying our residents(PFD) if we are in trouble.

• Lottery dedicated to education.

• Green technology.

• A progressive income tax based on level of income.

• A combination of income and sales tax.

• Take a percentage of the funding yielded from PFDs and or capout PFD level.

• Tolls between Butte and Anchorage.

• Lottery for schools and roads.

• Better leverage of health insurance.





• Beyond the traditional programs, the academy programs,health and wellness programs are very important. Model UNetc.

• They thought early intervention, arts, and counseling are criticalto keep people excited and motivated in schools.

• Besides counselors, we have a high ratio of students percounselor and its too many.

• Over half of the group voted that 80-90% of the programs wereworthwhile.

• What is worthwhile is subjective and varies from person toperson.

• Student nutrition and pupil transportation are funded throughfederal and State funding, and should not be part of thisdiscussion.





• Student nutrition and pupil transportation should have adecrease in funding. These programs incentivize entitlementand dis-incentivizes parents from taking responsibility.

• Quality core instruction.

• Literacy development.

• Professional development is key.

• Classroom first.

• Unfunded mandates.

• Seminar programs.

• College career guidance.

• Model UN.

• Wellness – student nutrition and healthy foods.

• Did not discuss this in the group. Work with elementary schoolswith 33 to 35 students and it’s important to think about whatpercent of the day is in crowd control versus actually teaching.

• The group had difficulty assessing these.

• We need to increase, because we have continued to loseground.

• Health care has continued to erode what is available forinstruction.

• Increase central support because there is a need for newreading adoption and PD.

• Technology in schools needs to grow. Currently there is notequitable distribution between schools.

• Increase, the budget is already short.

• Five year reductions.

• We need more teacher assistants.

• Want to point out the long term impact of the transportation andthe nutrition. We don’t want kids to go hungry and we want toget kids to school. But the more the ASD assumesresponsibility, the less the parents will do.

• Classroom first

• It is difficult to attract new talented teachers.





Set Three (small group) What are your reasons for selecting your top three subjects? What about those subjects make them the most important?


• Reading, writing and math is critical but you cannot have aneducation without the other items, such as drama and art andmusic.

• Reading, writing and math are a constant. We need all of theother items to grow as a student and a person.

• Top three important subject areas: reading, writing, and math.These should not be included in this conversation since theywill always be ranked this way and will not lead to meaningfulconversation.

• Is there such a thing as more important? Education isindividual. To some students, math and writing might be themost important, to others it could be the arts.

• A more important question is “what will get us from 80% to 90%graduation rates?” If that is our goal, let’s figure out what weneed to get there and focus on those subject areas.

• All of the subjects are important

• Electives are the classes that bring students to school and keepthem in class.

• Electives help students make decisions about their futures

• All subjects are important

• Math, reading, and science

• Vocational training and education is important.

• We want to keep all the subjects. Prioritizing subjects at theelementary level is pointless. Cutting social studies atelementariness doesn’t save money. This question was veryupsetting to this table.

• Please take into consideration how critical class size. If theydon’t get the basics, they will fall behind later. By middle school,if they do not have the basics, they feel stupid and they are notstupid.

• High school student; It is bad when our classes are so largethat I can’t participate in the same way I am participatingtonight.

• Class size is very important in the early grades to ensure thatstudents are able to gain strong foundations that are needed forthe rest of their academic careers.





• We would protect k-6 for class size. High school is alsoimportant. There is a value in having smaller class sizes.

• Class sizes are most important at transitional periods, I.E. 9th

grade.

• All students need to be heard and need individual attention.

• It is too crowded in classes right now.

• The situation provides students who need help with only limitedtime.

• Literacy coaching is important, but are not well utilized.

• Stop making knee-jerk reactions like establishing literacycoaches for one year, then cutting them the next. We need timeto determine effectiveness.


• Did not change my vote. I said we should decrease the budget.While we have these needs, we need to come together tofigure out how to pay for this. We have to realize thatsomething has to be cut.

• Stuck with the same answer which was the plus 3% becausewe know that’s how costs have risen in the past.

• After discussion, the group as a whole voted to increase thebudget.



Mears Middle School – December 9, 2015






• These are all important and they support each other.• This should be a ranking question.• Think it’s wonderful that the children have an opportunity in a

diverse community where they can practice social skills that areimportant for success in life.

• Reading, writing and math are critical; teachers have a lot to doand the parents have to play those other roles.

• Emphasis on sports and music and art and the value that thosebring to the students who want to succeed.




• Cost of medical is the driver in the state budget within educationand health and human services; the cost is very high in Alaska(e.g., higher Medicaid reimbursement, cost of specialists) –suggest bundled payments, true medical reform and medicalplans.

• Came to the same conclusion that budget change cannot bedone by cuts alone.

• Cut the legislative office here in Anchorage to drive down costs.• You can’t cut your way out of the problem.• Recidivism in housing (its less expensive to fund public housing

than prison).• Discussion about income tax vs. sales tax and who it impacts.• Exhaust cutting first. Start with redundancies. The State needs

to evaluate what it has, there are cuts than happen everywherefrom schools to prisons.

• We don’t want cuts to education. Other programs get funded, sohow can education be on the list of cuts?

• There needs to be cuts, we believe in helping people, but weshouldn’t be carrying them. The programs that we have arebuilding dependency.

• We want some cuts and some increases to revenue.• Bed taxes (tourism based) are low in Alaska; raise them –

potential revenue source.• Mining is a potential revenue source.• Marijuana tax as well as increase in alcohol and tobacco tax;

consumption tax.• Cap the PFD (e.g., $1000).• Reduce regulations so we have the oil money coming in.• Pull some of the earnings from the PDF.• Establish a sales tax vs. income tax. (don’t punish those who are

working hard).• Gaming, especially in the summer when tourists are present.





• Establish a graduated income tax.• Establish a sales tax. It works other places.• Don’t give away so much when it comes to the minerals in the

ground.• The gap is too big to be able to cut our way out.• We can’t tax our way out of the problem.• We want to diversify sources of funding.• Higher fees and tax rates.• Income tax.• Audit efficiency and effectiveness. We should be working

towards goals, and measuring needs vs. wants.• Pick Click Give to ASD.• New Marijuana tax.• Use PFD earning (as it was intended) and put a limit on how

much goes out to people.• Add an additional tax for schools.• Create a reserve fund for schools.• All agreed that new revenue is necessary and we may need to

cap the PFD but there needs to be a lot of discussion aroundthose ideas.

• Let’s create a toll road for the commuters on the Glenn Highway.• State lottery to cover the budget gaps.





• We have to look at some ways to make reductions and not cutsto people (i.e. programs such as sports, or drama on theweekends). If there were no events on the weekends, we couldrent out the school to generate revenue.

• Internal audit reports show findings where purchaseprocedures were not followed; this and other systemicproblems, a lack of accountability and follow through are allreasons to re-evaluate budget.

• Should we be cutting the programs that are the most engagingto students?

• We can cut 6th grade band and orchestra since we alreadyhave a music class.

• Students need nutrition to learn, so that shouldn’t be in thedecreased budget section.

• Cost savings could come from combining elementary schools.• Reading, Writing, Math, Special education.• Class size.• We don’t appreciate the lack of honesty regarding the

graduation sales pitch.





• Increase to keep the class size down and increase the numberof teachers.

• Increase to support student nutrition. Kids don’t perform orlearn well while they are hungry.

• Increase to have better core classes, electives and producebetter citizens.

• Increase to keep classrooms hands on.• Increase to have teaching aids to support• Decrease money spent on smartboards. We got by with

whiteboards and projectors.• Decrease transportation costs by using city buses. Some bus

routes provide too much service.• Any cuts will likely result in cutting staff, since most of the

budget goes towards staffing.• We need strong leadership. The central office is very lean and

can’t provide what is needed.• We are very surprised that transportation was on the list for

possible cuts. We have to have a way to get kids to school.• If we cut staff, it will result in larger class sizes.• Increasing passionate teachers to meet the needs of our

students.• Student nutrition is critical to making sure students are

prepared to learn.• It’s difficult to cut transportation; parents need it.• How do we create fiscal solutions that avoid future pitfalls?• The places to decrease the budget have heavy federal funding

and it doesn’t make sense to decrease student nutrition andpupil transportation.

• I really appreciated the graduation rate pitch but if 30 to 40% ofthe graduates are not proficient in math. And, when graduatesgo to UAA and 2/3 have to take remedial classes, that’s notsuccess.

• Health insurance is a big problem and it has big impacts on theASD budget. This should be the focus of the discussions.

Set Three (small group) What are your reasons for selecting your top three subjects? What about those subjects make them the most important?


• We can teach a lot of subjects through other subjects, i.e.math, science and STEM.

• Bringing technology into the classrooms is important, how dowe do this?

• It is difficult to rank subjects.• Social studies are important to educate youth about being

productive citizens and to learn lessons from history.• Personal finance should be part of math class as it is such

important content.





• Can we shift to 21st century teaching?• Reading, writing, math.• Reading writing, and math are the foundations.• World languages are important and are related to many other

subjects.• Math is extremely important.• Physical education is important as it leads to social interaction

and skills, as well as health.• Art classes teach kids creativity, which is needed in writing and

the professional world.• Art saves lives. Creativity and math integrate very well.• Reading, Writing and math are the core foundation.• Social science is important to help us learn from our mistakes• CTE provides direction and purpose.• We believe that safeguarding elementary class sizes is key.

This will help benefit the students in high school as well.• Young kids need more attention to build the educational

foundation.• The class sizes are decent in k-12 neighborhood schools.• High school size should be protected to ensure graduation.• Everyone agreed that classroom size is very important for

elementary schools.• People thought that 3rd grade was a critical grade to keep

class size smaller.• Group wanted to protect class sizes for high school students as

well.• Art is extremely important because art saves lives and keeps

kids in schools. It teaches kids to be creative instead of violent.When we look at violence in our communities, this is critical.I’m tearing up here.

• Class sizes for high school students are high; English class has36 students. Did not get as much as I could get out of this classwith this large of a class.

• Reading, writing and math are important to teach. Career andtechnical skills are also critical to teach.

• Questions arose about who is responsible for deciding on classsize. Superintendent Graff indicated that the pupil to teacherratio is used to set standards but they are threshold minimums.If the ratio is 1 student to 25 and you have 27, you don’t getanother teacher. If there is an unbalance, then other optionsare looked at, such as teaching assistants or creating anotherperiod for a secondary school.






• 3 of the 4 table members stayed the same, one moved to astance of increasing.

• Oil is $35 dollars a barrel. I’m scared as a parent. There will bea big backlash for property taxes and income taxes. I love mysons and I would love to have more programs but it’s going tobe tough times.

• I am the lone cut the budget by 7 percent. I tend to be a financialrealist.

• Kept my answer the same and it was to keep a stable budgetand the reason I did this is because there are someinefficiencies, which also occurs in other districts. We are noteffectively and efficiently teaching our students to read. We trainpeople in a certain method and then we do not require staff touse those methods. Sometimes we purchase technology andthat material cannot be found.

• Critical inefficiencies are in large part on the parents. Parentsare not stepping up. I do not think it’s the teachers. If the parentsdo nothing and if the child goes home and takes out an iPad, youcan’t blame the teachers.


Appendix C: Materials Shared at the Meetings

1. Agenda

2. Conversation Guidelines

3. Feedback Form

4. Small Group Questions

5. Handout with defined categories for Question 9 and Question 10

6. PowerPoint Presentation

Note: Comment forms were collected at each meeting and have been submitted separately to the ASD.

ASD Community Budget Conversations Appendix C - 1

Community Budget Conversation 2015 Workshop Agenda

Total Meeting Time: 2 hours

5:45-6:00 pm Check-in and Get Comfortable

6:00-6:20 pm Welcome, District Overview, About You and Your Educational Values • District and Team Introductions• Meeting Purpose• Participant Feedback

6:20-7:45 pm Budget Overview and Discussion • Budget Presentation• Participant Feedback

7:45-8:00 pm Wrap Up • Budget Next Steps• Other Ways to Share Your Feedback/Get Involved


Community Budget Conversation November-December 2015 Conversation Guidelines

1. Stay on topic.

2. Be specific.

3. One speaker at a time.

4. Listen with care.

5. Everyone participate, no one dominate.

6. Respect each other’s thinking; value every person’scontributions.

7. Critique issues, not people.

8. With every critique, share ideas for improvements.


Community Budget Conversation November-December 2015

Community Feedback Form

Thank you for providing feedback to the Anchorage School District. We want to know what you think is working and what we could improve on. Please provide examples of what is working and let us know what ideas you have for improvement.

What is working? What can we improve?


Community Budget Conversation November –December 2015

Group Discussion Questions


1. What do you value most about education?2. What is most important?3. Why are those things important to you?

Budget Discussion

Set One (small group):

1. How would you prefer to see the Governor and Legislature address the State’s budget shortfall?2. Would you like to see spending cuts? If so, in what categories should the State cut their budget?3. Would you like to see new revenue? If so, what are some potential new revenue sources?

Set Two (small group):

1. Which of ASD’s programs do you consider the most worthwhile? Why?2. Please describe why you chose to increase, decrease, or keep the ASD budget the same?3. What are your reasons for increasing budgets for specific categories?4. What are your reasons for decreasing budgets for specific categories?

Set Three (small group):

1. What are your reasons for selecting your top three subjects? What about those subjects make themthe most important?

2. What aspects of class size are most important to you?

FINAL (large group)

1. For the final polling question: “For this next fiscal year, how much should ASD increase (+) and/ordecrease (-) its budget?”, did you change your response from the first time you answered thequestion? Why or why not?


Anchorage School District Community Budget Conversations

Expanded Definitions for Question 9 and Question 10

1. Classroom teachers

2. Elementary support teachers (includes music, art, PE, health)

3. Specialized support teachers (includes Special Education, English Language Learners,Gifted/Ignite, Indian Ed, Vocational Education/Career & Technical Education)

4. General certificated support (includes counselors, nurses, librarians)

5. Specialized support (includes psychologists, occupational/physical therapy, speechpathologists, audiologists)

6. Teaching assistants

7. Building principals, assistant principals, administrative assistants

8. Building support services (includes Security, Custodial, Operations & Maintenance)

9. Pupil transportation

10. Student nutrition

11. Central Support Services (includes Board, Superintendent, Business Management, HumanResources, Curriculum & Instruction, Professional Development, IT/ManagementInformation Systems, Purchasing/Warehouse)

12. Don’t increase/decrease the budget for any of these items.


ASD Community Budget ConversationsAudience Response Electronic PollingFor the 2016-17 School Year

Meeting Purpose

Provide information on ASD andour budget.

Learn what the communityvalues about education.

Understand communitypreferences to help inform thebudget process.


Who We Are

More than 47,000 students – ASD is one of the 100 largest school districts in the nation.

25% of ASD students do not complete the year at the same school in which they started.

11% of students have limited English proficiency.

Special Education students make up 14% of student population.

100% of teachers are fully licensed.

ASD students speak more than 90 languages besides English.


About You + Your Educational Values

InstructionsUse your keypad toanswer.

Click the number thatcorresponds with youranswer, and press SEND.

Hit CLEAR to clear andresubmit your responseto a question.

NUMBER CHOICES

SENDCLEAR


1. 50 %

2. 62 %

3. 70%

4. 74%

5. 80%


0 0 0 0 0

50 % 62 % 70% 74% 80%

2014 2015

1. 1%

2. 3%

3. 6%

4. 15%

5. 20%

6. 30%


0 0 0 0 0 0

1% 3% 6% 15% 20% 30%

2015


1. I work for ASD.






0

0

0

0

I work for ASD.














0

0

0

0

0

0








1. 0 to 5 years

2. 6 to 10 years

3. 11 to 20 years



5. How many years have you lived inAnchorage?

0 0 0 0 0


2.Prepare students to be adults who contributepositively to the community.




6. The primary role of publiceducation is to…



0

0

0

0

0



community.




Pause for Conversation

Tell us more about why you voted the wayyou did on the previous question.



Why are those things important?


Budget Overview + Discussion

Overview of Budget Presentation

Where does the funding come from?

What is the funding outlook?

How do we invest in our students and staff?

What is the return on our investment in students andstaff and public engagement?

How can we continue to build on our success?


Where does the money come from?General Funds, Program Funds, School Construction Debt, Pension Payments

AnchorageFY16-17 outlook: continued100%

local funding support

= $206 Million

What is the outlook for local funding?• Anchorage historically supports public education.• Anchorage is 1 of 6 districts (out of 34 with a local property tax base in Alaska)

providing the maximum allowable local support under the state formula.


What is the outlook for State funding?• State funding outlook is challenging and remains uncertain• Large gap requires prompt action

Small Group Discussion

The State of Alaska is facing a budget shortfall of $3 billion dollars annually.

How would you prefer to see the governorand legislature address the state’s budgetshortfall?

Would you like to see spending cuts? If so, inwhat categories should the State cut theirbudget?Would you like to see new revenue? If so, whatare some potential new revenue sources?


Where do we invest in people? Full time equivalent positions by functional areas; all fundsTotal FTE = 6,241

42.0%

5.5%

16.2%

6.8%

29.5%


ASD OMB Page 25 23 Nov 2015

Current FY1617 Budget Outlook – Base CaseAll Funds – Base Case Projection

ASD OMB Page 26 23 Nov 2015

Current FY1617 Budget Outlook Stress TestAll Funds – Financial Outlook Stress Test, state revenue reduction, 1.5%


7.What percentage of the ASD budget doyou think is spent on worthwhileprograms and services?

1. 0 10 %2. 11 20 %3. 21 30 %4. 31 40 %5. 41 50 %6. 51 60 %

7. 61 70 %8. 71 80 %9. 81 90 %10. 91 100 %11.No opinion


0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0





0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

+ 7 percent

+ 5 percent

+ 3 percent

+ 1 percent


- 1 percent

- 3 percent

- 5 percent

- 7 percent



9. In what categories should we increase ASD’sbudget/capacity?


RESULTS: Where to increase ASD budget 0 Sample Choice


10. In what categories should we decrease ASD’sbudget/capacity?


RESULTS: Where to decrease ASD budget 0 Sample Choice


Small Group DiscussionTell us more about why you voted the wayyou did on the previous questions.

Which of ASD’s programs do you consider themost worthwhile? Why?

Please describe why you chose to increase,decrease or keep the ASD budget the same?

What are your reasons for increasing budgetsfor specific categories?

What are your reasons for decreasing budgetsfor specific categories?

RESULTSASD Budget spent on worthwhile programs + services

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Desired change to ASD budget

000000000

+ 7 percent+ 5 percent+ 3 percent+ 1 percent

Make no…- 1 percent- 3 percent- 5 percent- 7 percent

Where to increase ASD budget (top 5 selections)

Where to decrease ASD budget (top 5 selections)

0 Sample Choice 0 Sample Choice





RESULTS: most important subject areas0 Sample Choice


1. Very important

2. Important

3. Neutral




0 0 0 0 0




0 0 0 0 0 0


Small Group Discussion

Tell us more about why you voted theway you did on the previousquestions.

What are your reasons for selecting your topthree subjects? What about those subjectsmake them the most important?

What aspects of class size are most important toyou?

RESULTS

Most important subject areas0 Sample Choice

Importance of class size

0 0 0 0 0

Veryimportant

Important Neutral Not veryimportant

Notimportant

at all

Grades to protect from class size increases

0 0 0 0 0 0





0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

+ 7 percent

+ 5 percent

+ 3 percent

+ 1 percent


- 1 percent

- 3 percent

- 5 percent

- 7 percent



0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

+ 7 percent

+ 5 percent

+ 3 percent

+ 1 percent

Make no…

- 1 percent

- 3 percent

- 5 percent

- 7 percent

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

+ 7 percent

+ 5 percent

+ 3 percent

+ 1 percent

Make no…

- 1 percent

- 3 percent

- 5 percent

- 7 percent

Round 1 Round 2

Pause for Conversation

For the final polling question:

“For this next fiscal year, how much should ASD increase (+) or decrease (-) its budget?”

Did you change your response from the first time you answered the question?

Why or why not?


What’s Next

• Remaining Community BudgetConversations

• Budget DevelopmentNov-Dec

• School Board + Assembly BudgetMeetingsDec - Feb

• State Legislative Budget Meetings• Budget FinalizationJan - Apr

Other Ways to Stay Involved

Thought Exchange:asdk12.thoughtexchange.com/invitation

Public Testimony to the Anchorage School Board

Email: [email protected]

Contact your legislators

THANK YOU!ASD Community Budget Conversations Appendix C - 30

Anchorage School District Community Budget …...2015/12/14 · 2016-17, the Anchorage School...

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