Anchorage Assembly Work Session on ACE Fund Budget and Strategic Plan, October 9, 2025
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Anchorage Assembly Work Session on ACE Fund Budget and Strategic Plan, October 9, 2025
The Anchorage Assembly held a work session on October 9, 2025, from 11:50 AM to approximately 12:50 PM, to receive an update from the Anchorage Child Care and Early Education (ACE) Fund Board. The session covered the Executive Director search, a draft three-year strategic plan, the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, and administrative challenges in distributing grants.
Executive Director Search & Strategic Planning
Trevor Storrs (ACE Fund Board Chair) reported that the hiring committee received 30 applications for the permanent Executive Director position. A two-tiered interview process will narrow the field to 2–3 finalists, with the goal of having the new director hired and transitioning with Interim Director Austin Quinn Davidson by January 2026.
The board presented a draft three-year strategic plan developed with 23 community participants. The plan's vision is to stabilize the child care sector and position it for sustainable growth through five strategic initiatives, including program evaluation, investment strategy refinement, and sector collaboration.
Data Collection and Accountability
A major focus of the discussion was the lack of a clear data strategy to measure stabilization. Assembly Members Christopher Constant and Ms. Silver pressed the board on who would track workforce data and provider slot availability to measure the fund's impact. Ms. Silver stated the absence of a clear data holder represents a "potential pitfall." Mr. Constant argued the ACE Fund board or the Municipality must take a firm leadership role in ensuring data integrity. The board agreed to more clearly define data responsibilities in the final strategic plan, acknowledging deep data gaps in the sector.
Budget Proposal and the $2 Million ASD Funding Shift
A significant budget discussion centered on the administration's proposal to shift $2 million in funding for Anchorage School District (ASD) pre-K classrooms from the Alcohol Tax to the Marijuana Tax (ACE Fund). Bill Falsey (OMB Director) noted the shift was partly justified by a charter requirement to prioritize existing school district facilities. Assembly Member Constant provided historical context that Prop 14 was never intended to facilitate this shift. Assembly Members Silver and Brawley raised concerns about this reducing the ACE Fund's dollars for grants, especially since annual marijuana tax revenue (~$5.9M) is lower than the current budget. Mr. Falsey confirmed the administration's alternative budget would lower retention bonuses to $400,000 and restore a $100,000 in-home startup fund, maintaining the same total spending level proposed by the ACE board.
Grant Delivery Challenges (Bid Express and Insurance)
Assembly members and the board extensively discussed barriers faced by small child care providers in accessing grant funds. The Bid Express online portal was described as "unnecessarily cumbersome" for non-native English speakers and small operators. Insurance requirements for grant contracts were found to contradict the Municipality's own licensing rules, leading to absurdities where a provider might pay $500 for insurance to receive a $700 grant. Bill Falsey acknowledged the system is a "round peg in a square hole" and formally committed the administration to reforming the grant application and contracting process for the 2026 cycle. The board is also exploring providing direct technical assistance to help applicants navigate the system.
Key Outcomes
- Executive Director Hiring: The ACE Fund Board will proceed with interviews, aiming for a January 2026 start date.
- Strategic Plan: The board will finalize the strategic plan by November 6, incorporating Assembly feedback on establishing a data framework.
- Budget Shift: The administration's budget proposal will include moving the $2 million for ASD pre-K from the Alcohol Tax to the Marijuana Tax, maintaining the total budget level proposed by the ACE board.
- Grant Reform: The administration formally committed to working with purchasing and risk management to reform the grant process for 2026, addressing Bid Express usability and insurance requirements for small grantees.
Meeting Transcript
Now, if you want, we'll put you in the hot spot. He comes up here. No, okay. Your teacher will be really impressed to have you on the live stream. Be documented for posterity. Yeah. Be the only time it ever happened in nine years. So okay, we'll get started today is a work session on the ACE fund and uh budget proposals. Today is the 9th of October. We're on the schedule from 1150 to 1250. It's 1153 right now. We'll start with a brief introduction. Ms. Baldwin Day. Aaron Baldwin Day. Scott Myers, Christopher Constant. We're joined by Trevor Storrs. And the clerk is here, and we have a young student from True Gear Kai named Jacob. And we're waiting for other members, but we're just going to proceed because time's a wasted. Trevor Burrus, yeah. Trevor, you have the floor. Great. Well, good afternoon, everyone. That's right. On the phone, we have Austin Quinn Davidson. Hi, Austin. Sorry. Thank you. Yep. Out of sight, out of mind. No. Trevor Burrus. Fantastic. Again, for the record, Trevor Stores and joining me is Austin Quinn Davidson. I am the chair of the ACE Fund Board. And then Austin is our interim executive director. We're just going to provide, as we do every quarter, just an update of what's been going on with the fund, as well as just share or be able to answer any questions related to budget that we proposed and have shared with you all. There we go. Sorry, driving a little too fast. So today the focus will be just to give you an update. As I mentioned, Austin is our interim executive director. We kept her on for a year, and now we are in the process of hiring uh the full-time executive director uh per the ordinance. Then we will talk about the strategic planning process that's been going on that will provide uh greater direction, as well as the proposed budget. Just quickly, these are the members of the board, just to remind folks, as well as thank you to the assembly members for passing and agreeing uh for our current uh three members that came up. Uh we just started in the past year, so it was tiered, and they were only with us for a year, and uh all of them wanted to return and continue the great work. So uh the executive director position, uh the hiring committee. Uh there is three members of the board. That's myself, Khalil, and Jesse. And then we have the administration, uh, which will be Suzanne and Bill, and then we've also included Austin. Uh, the committee felt uh including her would only add to the committee.
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