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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRes2022-043 School Funding Request Sponsored by: Mayor Terry CITY OF SEWARD,ALASKA RESOLUTION 2022-043 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA, REQUESTING FUNDING CHANGES TO THE SEWARD SCHOOLS TO ENSURE EQUITABLE EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE YOUTH OF SEWARD WHEREAS,the State of Alaska provides the majority of the funding the KPBSD receives through the Base Student Allocation(BSA) formula; and WHEREAS, there are two multipliers in this formula that recognize the uniqueness of Seward Schools. First,the School Size Factor multiplies the actual enrollment of Seward Middle and High Schools by 1.27, as compared to the Central Peninsula schools which are below 1.0. This significantly increases the District's revenue. Additionally,the District Cost Factor multiplies the District's total adjusted Average Daily Membership (ADM) by 1.171 in recognition of the additional costs the District incurs due to the unique geographic characteristics of the Kenai Peninsula; and WHEREAS, when the District Cost Factor was increased in 2012, KPBSD added a 15% increase to the large middle and high schools in the district, labeled as, "programmatic funding.' This formula change did not reach the schools it was intended for. It gave the large schools in the Central Peninsula large staffing increases and the small, remote schools struggling to stabilize programs and staffing,received no increase in staffing; and WHEREAS, Seward Middle School and Seward High are in the same staffing classification as Kenai, Soldotna, Nikiski and Homer schools. However, Seward Schools have significantly fewer(less than half) enrolled since Seward is a smaller, more isolated community. Despite the State of Alaska recognition of Seward schools as unique in size and remoteness, Seward is subjected to the same formula as these large, centrally located schools; and WHEREAS, Seward Middle and High Schools are expected to compete and perform at the same level as these other large regional schools with a drastic difference in resources provided; and WHEREAS, the lower student enrollment and year-to-year fluctuations in student populations in Seward severely limit the quality of the education and opportunities, and the slightest change in enrollment can drastically limit class offerings. For the 2022-2023 school year, based on the district's formula, Seward High School has 6.5 Full Time Equivalencies (FTR) allocated. When a decrease of even 0.5 FTE occurs,this significantly impacts the core and elective classes offered; and WHEREAS,with the current formula, Seward Middle School and High School are barely able to cover core curriculum or provide more than minimal electives; and CITY OF SEWARD,ALASKA RESOLUTION 2022-043 WHEREAS, Seward schools have worked hard to be creative in order to mitigate these low and constantly fluctuating staffing levels. Past creative methods/ideas have included consolidating campuses, reconfiguring schools, moving grades to different campuses, changing bell schedules,experimenting with a hybrid high school model(which effectively excused our 11 th and 12th graders to home release for all but 1-2 classes per year) and graduating kids early; and WHEREAS, Seward's middle and high schools are not able to set their class schedules until the week before school since staffing fluctuations dramatically affect which classes can be offered. Seward is allocated minimal FTEs in the spring. When this is not enough to cover core curriculum, the District frequently allocates additional staffing. However, additional staffing doesn't not happen until all budgets are approved,often in the summer after schedules should have been set and teachers should have been hired. Usually, Seward students are assigned classes a few days before school starts; therefore, they and their parents cannot actively participate in planning their education; and WHEREAS,Seward High School is only allocated 0.5 FTE for a counselor. This position should be 1.0 FTE for the counselor to be able to adequately perform the job requirements. Especially with the minimal cou8rse offerings in a school like Seward High School, additional time is required to creatively assist the students with attaining graduation requirement and guiding them towards post-secondary goals and careers. It is not possible for any regional high school counselor with more than 75 students to perform the job requirements working half-time. Counselors are most valuable when they can form relationships and get to know the students. These relationships and true guidance from a counselor cannot happen with 0.5 FTE; and WHEREAS, Seward schools are expected to compete at all the same sporting events as the rest of the schools in our classification. These sporting events/activities required extensive scheduling and planning. Due to the artificial threshold of 250 ADM, Seward High School is not allocated any staffing for the Athletic Director position. Minimal existing teacher/staff FTE has to be used to perform these required duties, further reducing the course offerings at the school. In addition the 0.5 FTE principal at the middle school has to attend all the sporting events at the school and perform all the required scheduling and planning duties; and WHEREAS, Seward schools do not have a full-time secretary,either other employees are forced to cover these positions when necessary or the required secretarial work simply does not get completed. Seward High School's Library Aide has largely performed secretarial duties in the office instead of being able to work in the library. As the secretarial workload increases, we continue to have 0.5 or 0.8 FTE of a secretary at these schools,despite the clear need; and WHEREAS, KPBSD invested heavily in Personalized Learning in recent years, spending millions of budget dollars. Teachers were required to learn about this for multiple years, but our secondary schools are not able to personalize student learning. Seward schools simply do not have the staffing nor the stability needed to provide this valuable opportunity to our students and are CITY OF SEWARD,ALASKA RESOLUTION 2022-043 providing just the basic graduation requirements to our Seward students. Personalized learning outside of these core requirements is "home release." To personalize learning in our schools, parents choose Connections or other homeschool programs; and WHEREAS,the basic problem is that our secondary schools do not have sufficient staffing to provide classes for our students for all four years of their education. There are simply not enough classes to keep our kids in school. 11 and 12`h graders in our High School largely take 1- 2 classes in the building,then have home release for the remainder of the day; and WHEREAS, Seward has a significant number of students needing special attention and alte4rnative pathways to graduation. Kenai, Soldotna and Homer all have alternative or flex- school options with significant additional staffing to meet kids' needs. Seward has had non(other than one half-time position this spring)of this additional staffing in the formula,and the very basic level of existing staffing covers some of these critical tasks; and WHEREAS, KPBSD received over 1.5 million from the State of Alaska for Career and Technical Education. Only 0.5 FTE is allocated to Seward High School which only allows two classes to be taught at the school. Seward students want and need more vocational education opportunities. Seward is isolated from the rest of the district's CTE resources, and it needs more class offerings to keep student in school and engaged; and WHEREAS,there are no other schools in the Seward area,therefore,students do not have any alternatives besides our KPBSD schools. Every years,multiple families leave the community because they want a more diverse, engaging education for their children. Every year, more secondary parents choose to homeschool their kids to provide some diversity and more opportunities for them. In Seward, 25%of our students are in Connections, which is significantly higher than the 10%district average. Seward is also losing increasing numbers of students to GED programs or to dropping out of school altogether; and WHEREAS, to fulfill the mission of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, to develop productive responsible citizens who are prepared to be successful in a dynamic world, students need opportunities to learn from highly-qualified, effective teachers in their core classes and they need opportunities for exploration in relevant and engaging activities; and WHEREAS, Seward schools need stability and equity to be successful, yet the current formula does not provide this. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD,ALASKA that: Section 1.Re-examine the formula and find a way to accommodate for the unique size and remoteness of our schools. CITY OF SEWARD,ALASKA RESOLUTION 2022-043 Section 2. Set a base level of core and elective teachers the district deems as acceptable for a school,thus creating true"programmatic staffing". Section 3. Find a way to insulate small schools such as ours from small, enrollment changes that cause our staffing numbers to fluctuate. Section 4. Change the 150 Average Daily Membership (ADM) threshold for a full time Principal at both schools. Neither of these schools can perform the required duties with only a 0.5 FTE principal. Section 5. Change the 250 ADM threshold for an athletic director so that Seward has 0.5 FTE to perform the required duties of an athletic director. Section 6. Allocate sufficient and permanent alternative education staffing for the Seward area. Section 7. Change the formula to allocate 1.0 FTE for a counselor at Seward High School. Section 8. Increase Career&Technical Education(CTE)staffing for Seward High School to 1.0 FTE. Section 9. Change the formula to allocate 1.0 FTE for a secretary at Seward High and Middle Schools. Section 10. This resolution and recommendations will be sent to the Kenai Peninsula Borough School Board Assembly and Superintendent. PASSED AND APPROVED by the City Council of the City of Seward, Alaska,this 29th day of March,2022. TH CI , Christy Terry, ayor AYES: Osenga, McClure, Casagranda, Calhoon,Wells,Terry NOES: None ABSENT: DeMoss ABSTAIN: None CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA LRESOLUTION 2022-043 ATTEST: rends J. Ba11ou, MC City Clerk (City Sea44' F be„, • ...........•. ;'V.• .•'.GAR �;... �, = • € SEAL I OF A� 0 City Council Agenda Statement r Meeting Date: 03/29/2022 � To: City Council From: Mayor Christy Terry -- Agenda Item: Resolution 2022-043: Requesting Funding Changes to the Seward Schools to Ensure Equitable Education Opportunities for the Youth of Seward Background and justification: The resolution attached pertains to concerns of the community and site council for at least the last 12 years. As the years progressed these issues became increasingly urgent and we are now at a critical juncture for our community. Our principals, teachers and support administration are constantly being told they have to be creative to make do with these strikingly minimal staffing allocations. We have worked hard to be creative for over a decade and none of these creative ideas have worked. We are losing students and losing opportunities and do not have the stability needed to provide quality education to our community. As a Council, we need to support and forward these recommendations to the Kenai Peninsula Borough School Board and Superintendent to ensure the youth of Seward are obtaining an equitable education with other students in the district. Comprehensive and Strategic Plan Consistency Information This legislation is consistent with (citation listed): Comprehensive 2.2.5 Education: We value a community that will ensure that pre-K-12 and post- Plan: secondary education institutions have the resources and programs to provide quality educational opportunities to our children and residents....Support adequate funding for education, including intra-school district sports and art and music programs. Strategic Plan: Expand and integrate educational programs. We are a community with quality and educational resources and facilities that provide academic and personal growth opportunities for citizens of all ages. Other: Certification of Funds Total amount of funds listed in this legislation: $ 0 This legislation (✓): Creates revenue in the amount of: $ Creates expenditure in amount of: $ Creates a savings in the amount of: $ Has no fiscal impact Funds are (✓): Budgeted Line item(s): Not budgeted Not applicable Unassigned Fund Balance and Available Unrestricted Cash Balance Information Fund (✓): General SMIC Electric Wastewater Boat Harbor Parking F1 Water F1 Healthcare Motor Pool Other Unassigned Fund Balance*: $ *unaudited numbers Available Unrestricted Cash Balance*: $ Finance Signature: "`D Attorney Review,/ Administration Recommendation RxYes x Adopt Resolution Not applicable Other: