North Slope Borough Schools Propose $7.5M Budget Increase, Personnel Cuts

The North Slope Borough School District released its proposed 2026-27 budget packet and public presentation on March 18, laying out a plan that asks for $7.5 million more than the current year while simultaneously proposing personnel reductions to stay within a spending cap.

The combination of increased spending and staff cuts signals a budget shaped by competing pressures: rising operational costs on one side and a hard ceiling on the other. The presentation did not specify how many positions are proposed for reduction, or which schools or departments would absorb those cuts. The full budget packet, dated March 18, was released ahead of the Board of Education's hearing and deliberations, giving trustees and the public a window to weigh in before figures are finalized.

NSBSD serves approximately 1,700 students across 11 schools and employs 530 staff members, making personnel the district's dominant cost driver. Any reduction in staff positions carries direct implications for classrooms spread across eight remote communities from Utqiagvik to Kaktovik. The district's budget is funded through a combination of local borough revenue, state funding, and federal allocations, and the Board of Education may adjust the proposal to match final funding levels from the Borough Assembly and the State Legislature before submitting the approved budget to the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development.

Under borough code, the Superintendent is required to submit a proposed school budget to the School Board by January 1, with the board approving the budget and a six-year capital plan and forwarding it to the Mayor by February 1. The March 18 presentation represents the public-facing stage of that process, giving the Board formal material to deliberate against.

The NSBSD previously committed to not cutting services to students in the current school year and pledged to work with the Mayor and the Assembly to ensure current services remain fully funded in SY26-27. The proposed personnel reductions in the new budget will test that commitment and are likely to draw scrutiny during upcoming board hearings.

The district's eight-member Board of Education includes Treasurer Roxanne Brower and trustees Heather Dingman, Harlee Harvey, Alicia Solomon, Jeremy Kasak, Patricia Lloyd, Kristen Morry, and Cilia Attungowruk, along with elected assembly members Douglas Whiteman and Carla J SimsKayotuk. Those trustees will weigh the proposed cuts against the district's recent academic momentum: over the past three years, students in kindergarten through Grade 3 have grown 200% in proficiency compared to pre-pandemic reading fluency scores, and in the past 12 months, students in grades 3 through 9 have outpaced the state of Alaska in moving toward proficiency on AKStar testing.

The budget process unfolds alongside other district business. NSBSD is soliciting bids for distance learning and audio-visual equipment under the USDA Rural Utilities Service Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program, Award AK0740-E16, aimed at expanding instructional technology and live-streaming capabilities across multiple school sites. A separate request for proposals issued in December 2025 seeks qualified firms to provide two two-bedroom housing units at each of three to four school sites across the North Slope, totaling six to eight units, to address chronic staff housing shortages in village communities.

The proposed budget and any forthcoming revisions can be tracked through the district's central office at 829 Aivik Street, Utqiagvik, or by calling (907) 852-9500.