Extended interview: ASD Superintendent sits down for one-on-one with Alaska’s News Source

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The Anchorage School District is facing a double whammy financial impact going into the start of the new school year. This comes after the U.S. Department of Education froze over $14 million of education grant for the district, in addition to Gov. Mike Dunleavy slashing more education funding.

“This is not normal. This is not a normal process,” Dr. Jharrett Bryantt, the district superintendent, said.

Bryantt confirmed to Alaska’s News Source on Friday that five people were laid off this week due to the funding freeze and state cuts. ASD said those positions supported information technology and English Language Learner services.

“It’s very devastating that my team had to call multiple people, some of them on cruise ships, some of them traveling, and let them know that they have 90 days for their job. Those are real people. Those are real losses and it’s upsetting,” Bryantt said.

The cuts come at a time when ASD teachers will already be facing larger class sizes starting next month, linked to budget cuts made earlier in the year.

At the same time, Anchorage students are struggling to hit proficiency rates in certain academic subjects. In the 2023-24 school year, only 35.5% of 3rd to 9th grade students hit at least proficiency in the language arts and mathematics portion of the Alaska System of Academic Readiness assessment known as STAR.

“I believe that Commissioner Bishop is shooting her prized Alaska Reads Act in the foot because she just released a story this week where she was touting how we’ve increased scores,” Bryantt said. “But now that was based off of a BSA that’s now been decreased by the governor.”

Alaska’s News Source reached out to both Bishop and Dunleavy for a response but did not hear back from Bishop’s office. Dunleavy’s team did not directly answer the question but responded via email, “Alaska has seen two consecutive years of K-3 reading growth as a result of implementing the Alaska Reads Act. This growth came during a period when the BSA was $500 lower than the current fiscal year. A $500 increase to the BSA means that school districts will receive more funding, not less.”

You can watch an extended version of the interview on this article.

See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com