ANCHORAGE:  In Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks, Gov. Parnell’s budget is forcing property tax rate increases and teacher layoffs.  By “locking in” three more years of education cuts, the legislature has forced local governments to choose between teacher layoffs and higher taxes.  The damage is even worse in Fairbanks because reduced pipeline property taxes are shifting costs from oil companies onto homeowners.

“Billion dollar deficits and teacher layoffs were bad enough, and now Alaskans are dealing with tax hikes because of Parnell’s fiscal disaster,” said Mike Wenstrup, Chair of the Alaska Democratic Party.

Teacher Layoffs and Tax Hikes Across Alaska:

ANCHORAGE: In response to the state’s failure to reverse education funding cuts, the Anchorage Assembly is raising $5.8 million in property taxes to minimize teacher layoffs, although homeowners are fortunate that increasing property values are offsetting that tax increase this year.  If the legislature had provided $404/student in classroom funding rather than a much smaller amount, this tax rate hike wouldn’t have happened.  Anchorage School District had 214 layoffs last year, including guidance counselors.  The Anchorage School District noted that more teacher layoffs may occur after this year since state funding will fall off even more precipitously in the 2015/2016 school year.

FAIRBANKS: Even more teachers are going to be laid off in Fairbanks because of the state’s failure to restore education funding.  A small, $250/student in additional classroom funding could have avoided additional layoffs but the state provided much less than that.  Dozens of teacher jobs and the local school board’s number one priority, class size, now are on the chopping block as the Borough faces a multi-million dollar education funding shortfall.

In addition, the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly was forced to raise taxes on local homeowners because of reduced  property taxes oil companies are paying for the TAPS in Fairbanks.  As the News-Miner reported, “The average homeowner would pay about $40 more to the borough per $100,000 of value on their property if the tax hike is approved.  The borough would collect the same amount in total property tax revenue, $89.8 million, this year as last year. What would change is homeowners and businesses would contribute more as the pipeline owners contribute less.”

JUNEAU: Some 14 teachers probably will be laid off in Juneau as a result of the state’s failure to restore education funding that was cut over the last four years.  The Juneau Assembly likely will vote in May on whether to raise local property taxes to fill the budget hole left by Gov. Parnell and state legislators.

Teacher layoffs could accelerate if Congress passes the Ryan Budget, which would eliminate 60 teachers’ jobs and 850 Pell Grants for Alaska students.

Teacher layoffs also may accelerate next year because the legislature’s small funding increase likely will not even be equal to the rate of inflation in school costs.

  Alaska, budget, layoffs, parnell, school, tax hikes, teacher