Fairbanks school district reacts to borough Assembly’s $2.7M education funding boost

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU/KTVF) - The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District could see smaller class sizes and reinstate some of its recently-cut jobs after the city assembly voted to add about $2.7 million in local contributions to the district’s budget.

This development comes after the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly already agreed to fund the district at $60 million for the 2025-2026 school year. That amount is $2 million more than the current academic year, bringing the total increase between the two years to just over $4.7 million.

Fairbanks School Board President Melissa Burnett said the board was grateful and surprised by the funding increase, saying she didn’t think anyone on the board expected the boost.

The extra money, she said, will likely go toward lowering the Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) in Fairbanks schools, although there will need to be some discussion about which grade levels could take priority.

“I know several of us have different ideas on whether that’ll be secondary PTR, elementary PTR — what that looks like,” Burnett said, adding that the funding is “a big dedication to our classrooms.”

The money may also go toward bringing back a couple of teaching positions at Barnette Magnet School, Burnett said; those roles had been cut as part of the budget process as a way to save a bit of money.

“We’re very hopeful that with this [money], that might be a possibility, to add those back,” she said.

Burnett also mentioned the possibility of using the funding for supplies necessary to institute a new policy on cell phones, if a “bell-to-bell” ban is enacted.

“There will be a huge discussion around what this means once the numbers come back from the district,” Burnett said, “and they tell us a little bit more about what we can expect for next year and what that looks like and where that funding could possibly go.”

District superintendent Luke Meinert released a statement thanking the Assembly for the funding increase, saying that the support is “not just about financial numbers [...] it’s about believing in our kids and securing a brighter future for Fairbanks.”

The statement went on to voice support for House Bill 57, which Gov. Mike Dunleavy has said he will veto if some of his administration’s priorities — particularly regarding correspondence programs and charter schools — are not passed.

Meinert said the uncertainty at the state level makes it difficult to plan for the next school year.

“While HB 57 is not a perfect solution, it represents progress toward the stable, predictable funding our schools need and our students deserve,” he wrote. “Without that funding, we will not be able to reduce class sizes or restore teaching positions.”

HB 57 was the result of a bipartisan effort toward some form of education funding that could pass this legislative session. While many have come forward in support of the legislation, others — such as the governor — have expressed that it doesn’t do enough for the price tag involved.

You can learn more about the legislation by checking out this web story.

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

Copyright 2025 KTUU. All rights reserved.