A dramatic reduction in funding for Nome Public Schools was presented to the Nome Common Council Monday. The “under review” cut of nearly $2 million represents nearly 11% of NPS’ draft budget for the 2026 fiscal year, which is expected to be finalized Tuesday night at a regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting.
The district's Superintendent, Jamie Burgess, said the decision was in "complete contradiction" to prior conversations with city administration.
"I'm upset on behalf of my schools, on behalf of my staff, and on behalf of all the kids," Burgess said by phone to KNOM. "It's already a tough enough time of year."
In City Manager Lee Smith's first council meeting, he defended the cuts as “worst-case” and advocated for transparency with the community.
“It doesn't always make the pill go down easier, but at least, you know, [there's] understanding,” Smith said.
Burgess said she discussed the district’s needs with Smith for one hour shortly after his arrival to Nome. On Monday, she was hand-delivered a letter notifying her of the potential cuts.
“I understand from the city manager that he is concerned about the state of the city's finances,” Burgess said. “However, as far as I'm concerned, the idea of balancing this budget potentially on the backs of our children, is not an acceptable tactic.”
The district is approaching a May 1 deadline to turn its budget into the City of Nome. The draft budget sits at $18,507,019, with the majority of its funding coming from the State of Alaska. A key component of the funding, the base student allocation, has ping-ponged between Governor Mike Dunleavy’s desk and the legislature for over a month, leaving the district in limbo.
Just last week the legislature voted to uphold a veto by Dunleavy, who cited a need for educational reform in the bill that would have increased the BSA by $1,000. A more modest increase of $700 is moving through the Senate as House Bill 57.
Balancing the Budget
At the Monday meeting the city’s Finance Director, Nickie Crowe, rattled off a number of cuts in the draft budget, prompting Council Member Mark Johnson to speak up.
“Excuse me, real quick. Did you say that regarding the public schools, did you say that you put in the budget the 2.65 Mills, the 1.4 million?” Johnson questioned as eyes darted around the room looking for reactions.
Crowe explained that the approximately $1.4 million is the minimum contribution required by state law. Smith said that there is some leeway to negotiate with the district on its final contribution amount.
“You serve notice to the schools, basically saying this is the minimum that you will get, but it gives you the ability to make changes and negotiate with them over a time period,” Smith said. “So I wanted to make sure they noticed.”
Smith, who was only 12 days into the job by Monday’s meeting, admitted that the bold, $2 million reduction was designed to draw attention from the council and community.
“As I work with you and work with the community on what the community wants and demands, and then we can say, ‘this is what it costs and how much’,” Smith said. “What's the demand, and are they willing to pay for it? Are businesses willing to pay?”
The draft budget also included a 50% cut in funding for the Nome Chamber of Commerce, which the city agreed to fund in 2020.
“My understanding is the city has contracted out the visitor center services to the Chamber simply because it was much cheaper to do it that way, as opposed to having a full time staff member do it with all of the benefits,” Council Member Scot Henderson said.
“I just want to sit down and talk about it and I've not had time, so I guess one way to get it talked about is to put a 50% reduction,” Smith said in response.
According to a recently-completed audit for the 2024 fiscal year, the city held $6,283,296 in its general fund account. In an amended version of its 2025 budget, this fiscal year the city expected to bleed $2,415,515.38 from the account that essentially serves as the city’s savings account.
In addition to cutting expenses, the draft also laid out incremental increases to the mill rate as an option to help balance the budget. When the mill rate goes up by 1 point it means property owners would pay an extra $1 for every $1,000 of their property’s assessed value — meaning if a home is valued at $300,000, the property tax bill would go up by about $300 annually.
A range from the current rate of 11.5 to 13 mills was presented to the council, with the latter option raising an additional $731,810.67 in revenue.
Other proposals to balance the budget include cutting four positions from the Nome Police Department, removing a grant writer position that was recently approved by the council, and wiping out contributions to the Nome Swimming Pool.
Burgess said she will encourage the school board to adopt its draft budget without changes at Tuesday’s meeting. She urged the community to speak up at the council’s upcoming meetings.
“Let them know how you feel about potential reduction at the last minute to the school district,” Burgess said.
The council will meet for weekly work sessions through the end of May, with each having opportunities for citizens to comment on the draft budget.
