The Anchorage School District will cut 219 positions -- including administrators, support staff and classroom teachers -- next school year, Superintendent Ed Graff announced Tuesday. District administrators are 23 million shy of the funds the district says it needs for the 2014-2015 school year.

And the funding gap is expected to widen considerably, with an estimated budget gap of $49 million in the 2015-2016 school year. The budget recommendation is the “best we can offer our students with limited resources,” Graff said.

Cutting classroom teachers by 159 positions means an increase in the student-teacher ratio. The loss of 44 teacher positions is due to a decline in student enrollment, a trend that's projected to continue another year.

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20140121/anchorage-school-district-plans-cut-219-positions-including-159-teachers-balance