Alaska schools face May 15 deadline for improvement plans, funding

Alaska school districts must submit three-year school improvement plans and budgets to the state by May 15, a deadline that affects designated schools across the state.

The Alaska Department of Education outlined the requirement in a May 11 school improvement newsletter. Each designated school must submit a needs assessment if applicable, a three-year school improvement plan, and a budget through the state's GMS system.

The deadline comes as districts navigate budget pressures complicated by Alaska's misaligned funding timelines. As Clayton Holland of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District told state lawmakers earlier this year, Alaska has no forward funding or requirement that education funding be determined early in the legislative session. That forces districts to plan and budget before they know their actual state revenue.

"This creates a situation where we are making major financial decisions about staffing, programs, and in some cases even school closures without knowing what our actual revenue will be," Holland said. The Kenai district must submit a balanced budget to the borough by May 1, he noted.

State lawmaker Andi Story has discussed correcting education funding timelines. The goal is "to provide for this smoothing, this planning that districts will have to take" and addressing "all those deadlines and statutes and how they don't mix and their backwards funding," Story said. The Anchorage School District approved school closures and efficiencies in its FY27 operating budget on February 24.

The Department of Education has already distributed checklists of required documents to district liaisons. Districts with school-specific questions should contact their school improvement point of contact, according to the announcement.

The department also asked schools that participated in the Empowerment Process this year to complete a support survey for the 2025-2026 school year. The survey requests feedback on general school improvement support, empowerment specialist support, and uses for unspent school improvement funding. The department said the survey takes five to ten minutes to complete.

Schools can request technical assistance from the School Improvement Team through an online form. Technical assistance can include site visits, presentations, or virtual meetings, according to the announcement.

The department announced that FY26 webinar slide decks and recordings are posted on the SRS Webinars page. Links to the updated Empowerment Playbook can be found on the SRS Resources and Documents webpage.

The Alaska School Safety and Well-Being Summit will take place September 16-17 at the William A. Egan Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage. Educational leaders, key staff, and strategic stakeholders from districts across the state will convene to improve school safety and well-being through trauma-engaged practices, school climate improvement, media literacy and internet safety, and school crisis preparation. Travel funding opportunities are available for districts that indicate interest during registration.