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Anchorage School District, Alaska

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Taxes Y
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Budget Y
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Meetings Y
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Elected Officials Y
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Administrative Officials Y
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Contracts P
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Audits Y
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Public records Y
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Academics Y
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Background checks Y
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Transparency grading process



Anchorage School District is a school districted in the U.S. state of Alaska. The Anchorage School Districtserves approximately 49,000 students[1] The district is the 87th largest school district in the country, with 104 schools and special program sites.[2] The district has a 69% graduation rate.[3] ASD manages all public schools within the municipality of Anchorage and is the 94th largest school district in the U.S., serving nearly 50,000 students in over 90 schools. More than $35 million in scholarships were awarded to the Class of 2012 ASD graduates, including 13 National Merit Scholars.[4]
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Website evaluation

Last reviewed: March 5th 2013

The good

  • Tax revenues are available and tax rates are published[5]
  • The current budget is published[6] and previous budgets are available for the last nine years[7]
  • The calendar of Board meetings and meeting agendas and minutes are available and archived at least three years[8] [9] [10]
  • Names of Board official, individual email address, individual phone numbers, and a physical address are available[11]
  • Names of administrative officials, individual email address, individual phone numbers, and a physical address are available[12]
  • Currently open bids are posted [13] , as are teacher pay scales [14]
  • The current audit is published and previous audits are available for the last nine years (located on individual archived budget pages) [15]
  • A public records contact is available and public records policies are available in a central location[16]
  • Background check policy is available.[17]
  • Academic reports are available for standard testing and graduation rates are posted [18] [19] [20]Various standardized tests are also explained [21]

The bad

  • Awarded contracts are unavailable and a search does not return relevant results.

School Board

The School Board is comprised of seven members who serve overlapping three year terms.[22] Board member contact and biographical information is found on the website.[23]

Name Position
Jim Browder Superintendent
Jeannie Mackie Board President
Tam Agosti-Gisler Board Vice President
Natasha Von Imhof Board Clerk
Kathleen Plunkett Board Treasurer
Gretchen Guess Board Member
Pat Higgins Board Member
Don Smith Board Member

Administrative Officials

Name Title
Susan Jolin Accounting Controller
Jane Stuart Assessment & Evaluation Executive Director
Ed Graff Assistant Superintendent of Instruction
Mike Abbott Assistant Superintendent of Support Services
Chad Stiteler Chief Financial Officer
Mary Mead-Olberding Supervisor Charter Schools
Jeff Berglund Chief Information Officer
Heidi Embley Communications Director (Interim)
Leslie Preston Director Community Services
Susan Jolin Controller
Beverly Thornburg Grants Coordinator
Todd Hess Executive Director
Darin Hargraves Director Operations
Pam Chenier Purchasing
Mike Abbott Assistant Superintendent Risk Management
Karin Halpin Title I Supervisor
Doreen Brown Titlve VII Indian Education
Marty Elkins Transportation Director

Contracts

The board, on behalf of the school district, entered into a negotiated agreement with the Anchorage Education Association.[24] It is effective from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2010.[24] The salary schedule in 2007-08 ranged from $38,555 to $74,432, and jumped to $41,266 to $77,409 in 2008-09. in 2009-10, the salary schedule increased to $42,917 to 80,506.[24]

Budget

Revenue from the state of Alaska, through the Alaska Public School Funding Program, is the district’s most significant individual revenue source. For FY 2012-2013 revenue from the Alaska Public School Funding Program is expected to provide $308,364,385 or 54 .18 percent of General Fund revenue. This is down from 54 .82 percent in FY 2011-2012. State revenue from all sources contributes a total of 57 .70 percent state funding.

The local municipal property tax contribution is the second-largest General Fund revenue source. For FY 2012- 2013, the Anchorage Assembly passed AR NO. 2011-296. This resolution provides guidance for the amount of property taxes to be appropriated for the Anchorage School District. It provides an increase from $237,587,445 to $239,963,319—a one percent increase—over FY 2011-2012. The property tax allocation includes funding for educational purposes as well as for services operated by the Municipality of Anchorage, including school resource officers, trail usage, park shelter rentals, tax bill mailing and collections, and uncollectable delinquent property taxes. Local property taxes will provide 35 .12 percent of the General Fund revenue. The school district also receives funding from federal sources.[25]

For the district's 2009-10 budget, State sources account for 64% of the district's funds, with the Alaska Public School Funding Program providing approximately $297,000,000, in the 2009 academic year.[1] The second largest source of revenue for the district, accounting for 32% of the district's funds, is property tax revenue.[1] The property tax rate for 2009 is 7.18%, which is projected to generate approximately $233,000,000 in 2009-10.[1] the remaining 2.3% of funding comes from federal sources.[1]

Employee salaries, benefits and payroll taxes make up 87.45% of operating costs in the general fund of the district's budget.[1]

School choice

Charter schools are non-sectarian, public schools that operate within the district. Any person, group or organization may apply to the School Board to operate a charter school. Charter schools offer alternative teaching methods or curriculum and more independence than regular public schools, and set their own calendars.[26] The Anchorage School District has eight charter schools.[27]

Charter School Grades
Alaska Native Cultural Charter School K-6
Aquarian Charter School K-6
Eagle Academy Charter School K-6
Family Partnership K-12
Frontier Charter School K-12
Highland Tech Charter School 7-12
Rilke Schule German School of Arts & Sciences K-8
Winterberry School K-8

Students are admitted to charter schools based on the results of an enrollment lottery.[28] Currently, there are about 2,300 charter school students in Anchorage, with another 500 more on waiting lists for various programs.[29]

Academic Performance

NCLB requires states and districts to report on the progress of schools based on an accountability measure known as Adequate Yearly Progress. Under this measure schools have to meet as many as 31 targets related to student participation in testing, proficiency on standards- based assessments in language arts and mathematics, and either attendance or graduation rates, depending on the grade level of the schools. For the 2010-11 school year, 37 of 96 schools made AYP (39 percent) this year whereas 59 did not (61 percent). Of the 59 schools that did not make AYP, 8 schools missed only 1 of the potential 31 targets required to meet AYP. The most frequently missed target in the 8 schools missing by only 1 target was in the cell of students with disabilities. Of the 26 Title I schools, 4 made AYP (15 percent) whereas 22 did not (85 percent). Two Title I schools did not make AYP in 2009-10 but made AYP in 2010-11: Lake Otis and North Star Elementary.[30]

In the 2008-09 academic year, the district did not meet Annual Yearly Progress criteria established by the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development.[31] The district was placed on AYP Level 4[31], which requires corrective action be taken.[32]

In the 2008-09 academic year, of all students tested in grades 3-10, 80% were proficient in language arts and 71% were proficient in mathematics.[31]

Unions

The Anchorage Education Association represents 3,500 certificated employees of the district, including teachers, counselors, school nurses, therapists and librarians.[33] It provides bargaining updates on its website.[34]

Lobbying

The district is a member of the Association of Alaska School Boards.[35] The AASB states on its website that it promotes pro-education legislation and to protect the principle of local control of public education, with its efforts led by its Executive Director.[36] The AASB also issues a Legislative Handbook to members of its Legislative Network and publishes a Legislative Bulletin.[37][38] The AASB is also an affiliate of the National School Boards Association and its Federal Relations Network, which addresses the legislative process at a national level.[39][40]

External Links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 FY 2009-10 Budget
  2. ↑ Anchorage Education Association
  3. ↑ 2009 District AYP Worksheet
  4. ↑ ASD Facts
  5. ↑ Taxes
  6. ↑ Current budget
  7. ↑ Budget archives
  8. ↑ Meetings
  9. ↑ School Board Calendar
  10. ↑ Meeting Agendas and Minutes
  11. ↑ School Board
  12. ↑ Administrative officials
  13. ↑ Current bids
  14. ↑ Salary Schedule
  15. ↑ Audits
  16. ↑ Public records
  17. ↑ Background check policy
  18. ↑ Reports
  19. ↑ Performance Measures
  20. ↑ Profile of Performance
  21. ↑ [http://www.asdk12.org/ae/assessments/ Assessments
  22. ↑ School Board
  23. ↑ Board Member Information
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Anchorage Education Association Current Contract
  25. ↑ Budget details
  26. ↑ Charter Schools
  27. ↑ State Charter School Directory
  28. ↑ Board Policy Lottery Procedures - Open Enrollment
  29. ↑ Charter schools face unsure future
  30. ↑ Academic performance details 2010-2011
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 2009 District AYP Worksheet
  32. ↑ Consequences of Not Meeting AYP
  33. ↑ Anchorage Education Association
  34. ↑ AEA Bargaining
  35. ↑ AASB Membership Directory
  36. ↑ AASB Legislative Efforts
  37. ↑ AASB Legislative Efforts
  38. ↑ AASB Legislative Bulletin Archive
  39. ↑ AASB Legislative Services
  40. ↑ NASB Federal Relations Network
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