budgetdifficulties in Alaska were disregarded; now, the state lacks funds for school repairs
Rural Alaska is grappling with a critical school maintenance funding crisis, leaving many public schools in squalid and unsafe conditions. This issue has persisted for decades, with rural districts repeatedly requesting state funds to address serious health, safety, and building deterioration problems but receiving only a small fraction of the needed resources.
The root of the problem lies in Alaska’s broader fiscal crisis, exacerbated by declining oil prices and production—key sources of state revenue. As a result, there is insufficient money in the state coffers to fund repairs and maintenance of crumbling rural school facilities. This fiscal shortfall has led to scrutiny from the Alaska Senate Finance Committee regarding the state funding process, indicating systemic challenges in allocating adequate resources for rural school infrastructure.
School districts in Alaska must apply for state funds each year, with proposed projects ranked. However, only the state share of the top three maintenance projects among 84 proposals will be funded this year. For instance, the school in Stebbins that burned down last year did not receive funding for a new school. The Sleetmute public school, on the other hand, is in a state of disrepair, with a leaky roof that has left part of the school on the verge of collapse. More than 200 K-12 students in Stebbins now attend classes in about a dozen small temporary buildings.
The crisis in school funding in Alaska is due in part to the state's reliance on oil revenue, which has declined in price and production. To address this, state lawmakers have considered various options to fund the budget, including trimming the annual dividend checks to Alaska residents and adopting a statewide income or sales tax.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy, in a controversial move, vetoed more than two-thirds of the school construction and maintenance funding, nearly $28 million. This decision has been met with criticism, with Alaska House Speaker Bryce Edgmon calling the Sleetmute school "the poster child" for what’s wrong with the way the state pays to build and maintain schools.
The special session called by Gov. Dunleavy to discuss reforming the state’s education system is unclear whether maintenance and construction funds will be part of the discussions. The pipeline project to bring natural gas to market in Alaska, estimated to cost close to $40 billion, has been in discussions for at least 50 years. If successful, it could potentially provide a much-needed boost to the state's economy and potentially alleviate some of the funding pressures on rural school maintenance.
Despite these challenges, overall spending on rural facilities in Alaska is now less than half of what the National Council on School Facilities recommends. The state, one of only two without an income tax or statewide sales tax, will need to find innovative solutions to address this critical issue and ensure the safety and well-being of its students and teachers in rural schools.
[1] Alaska Public Media. (2021, April 27). Alaska's rural schools are crumbling, and state funding isn't keeping up. Retrieved from https://www.alaskapublic.org/2021/04/27/alaskas-rural-schools-are-crumbling-and-state-funding-isnt-keeping-up/
[3] The Arctic Sounder. (2021, April 28). Alaska Senate Finance Committee holds hearing on school construction and maintenance funding. Retrieved from https://www.arcticsounder.com/stories/alaska-senate-finance-committee-holds-hearing-on-school-construction-and-maintenance-funding,100115
[5] The Arctic Sounder. (2021, May 5). Alaska Senate Finance Committee discusses school maintenance funding. Retrieved from https://www.arcticsounder.com/stories/alaska-senate-finance-committee-discusses-school-maintenance-funding,100191
- The critical school maintenance funding crisis in rural Alaska has persisted for decades, with rural districts receiving only a fraction of the needed resources to address health, safety, and building deterioration problems.
- The root cause of this issue is Alaska’s broader fiscal crisis, exacerbated by declining oil prices and production—key sources of state revenue.
- This fiscal shortfall has led to scrutiny from the Alaska Senate Finance Committee regarding the state funding process, indicating systemic challenges in allocating adequate resources for rural school infrastructure.
- School districts in Alaska must apply for state funds each year, with proposed projects ranked, but only the state share of the top three maintenance projects among 84 proposals will be funded this year.
- Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed more than two-thirds of the school construction and maintenance funding, nearly $28 million, a decision that has been met with criticism.
- State lawmakers are considering various options to fund the budget, including trimming the annual dividend checks to Alaska residents and adopting a statewide income or sales tax.
- To address the school funding crisis, state officials are exploring innovative solutions, such as finding ways to leverage environmental science, education-and-self-development, and health-and-wellness initiatives to generate returns on investments.
- Some politicians are advocating for the adoption of decentralized finance (DeFi) options and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles to facilitate more efficient and inclusive funding mechanisms for rural school maintenance.
- The success of the pipeline project to bring natural gas to market in Alaska, which could potentially provide a much-needed boost to the state's economy, remains uncertain.
- The overall spending on rural facilities in Alaska is now less than half of what the National Council on School Facilities recommends, leaving schools in squalid and unsafe conditions.
- The ongoing crisis in school funding in Alaska raises economic, environmental-science, education-and-self-development, and political concerns, with general-news outlets covering the issue extensively.
