Anchorage School District faces $90M deficit, proposes cutting hundreds of positions

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The Anchorage School District is facing a $90 million deficit for fiscal year 2027, prompting officials to propose sweeping cuts that would eliminate more than 300 full-time teaching positions and numerous programs, district officials announced Friday.

The preliminary budget proposal includes cuts to nursing staff, library assistants, the Ignite gifted program and special needs teachers. The district said the reductions would increase class sizes by an average of four students per teacher.

The proposed cuts would eliminate multiple high school sports programs, including tennis, gymnastics, volleyball, swimming and diving, eSports, hockey, wrestling, Nordic skiing, soccer and riflery. The district is also proposing ending its contract with The Dome facility.

All middle school sports programs would be eliminated under the proposal.

The district said the budget calculations assume state-based funding remains at current levels. Officials emphasized the proposal is preliminary and requires approval from both the school board and municipality before any cuts take effect.

The deficit mirrors challenges the district faced last year, when it also confronted significant budget shortfalls; In February 2025, it was reported to be roughly $107 million.

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