During the Kenai Peninsula School Board’s meeting earlier this week the revised budget showed close to an $8 million deficit.
Board President Joe Arness said originally the deficit was prepared to be around $6.2 million.
After Governor Bill Walker stated that the $2.5 million one time funding for education would not be repeated, their budget took another hit.
Arness: “Compared to what it was last year, the large items, we are expecting a 13% increase in health insurance costs, we always expect an increase salaries and wages because that’s the way the contracts are structured, so we have to carry those numbers forward, we presume the same staffing levels and carry the numbers forward at an increased amount and from there we sort of shake out ok what do we have to do to make this budget balance.”
Arness said around 82-84 percent of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s budget is salaries and wages.
We asked if that means there will be staff cuts to which he responded that it is still early in the process.
Arness: “Well it is early for that sort of determination. If you are going to make large cut you are going to get into salaries and wages, and the only way you can get into salaries and wages is by a reduction in force, that is just a fact. Will it mean layoffs? Nobody’s made any such a determination or a proposal at this moment but my presumption is if in fact we do end up having to cut $3-3.5 million out of the budget, that will influence employees.”