Alaska House nears vote on big increase for public school maintenance statewide

Members of nan Alaska House Finance Committee talk their first-draft fund connected Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

A cardinal Alaska House committee has approved backing for nan astir schoolhouse attraction projects successful respective years — from caller roofs to copper tube and electrical replacements.

The finance committee precocious a $552 cardinal building and renewal spending scheme that includes a immense summation for schoolhouse maintenance. If adopted, nan $63 cardinal earmarked for awesome attraction projects would beryllium nan astir approved by nan Legislature since 2011. 

“We request everything we tin get,” said Lon Garrison, executive head of nan Association of Alaska School Boards. “I’m thrilled to spot it sewage connected location and I’m hopeful it remains.”

The finance committee is usually nan penultimate legislative measurement for nan state’s yearly superior budget, which costs renewal and building projects statewide.

The Alaska Senate approved a draught of nan superior fund past month, and nan House Finance Committee added astir $107 cardinal to that draught nether a prearranged statement pinch nan Senate, past voted Friday to beforehand nan revised fund to a ballot of nan afloat House.

The $552 cardinal statement covers only general-purpose authorities spending. If fee-funded programs and national backing are included, nan superior budget exceeds $4 billion.

That fig covers spending successful nan adjacent fiscal year, which starts July 1, and additions to nan existent fiscal year, which ends June 30. 

“We deliberation that nan superior fund achieves nan objectives of some nan House and Senate and nan governor, and it’s based connected life-health-safety needs, arsenic agreed connected beforehand,” said Rep. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham and nan finance committee co-chair successful complaint of nan superior budget.

Friday’s ballot by nan finance committee marked a return to regular bid for nan House. For nan past respective years, nan superior fund has been rolled together pinch nan operating fund successful a azygous document. Last year, House lawmakers voted for conscionable nan 2nd clip successful authorities history to o.k. nan Senate’s type of nan fund alternatively than discuss a discuss betwixt a House type and Senate version.

“This is nan first twelvemonth retired of 4 that we’ve really been capable to spot thing successful our hands and effort to activity together,” said Rep. Mike Cronk, R-Tok and a personnel of nan finance committee. 

“You can’t money everything. But I deliberation it was a beautiful adjacent effort,” he said.

The finance committee’s activity is taxable to support connected nan House level and by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who whitethorn trim aliases destruct statement items.

Last year, for example, lawmakers approved $30 cardinal for projects connected schoolhouse attraction list, and Dunleavy vetoed $10.4 cardinal from that figure.

This year, nan Senate projected spending $36.2 cardinal on the state’s database of privilege schoolhouse attraction projects, and nan House Finance Committee bumped up that magnitude to $62.8 million, capable to money nan apical 26 projects connected nan list.

The fund now has capable money to screen projects from nan Northwest Arctic Borough to Ketchikan. 

On nan database is simply a caller tile for Anchorage’s Homestead Elementary, 3 sites successful nan Southeast Alaska municipality of Wrangell, a caller tile astatine Nome Beltz High School, and more.

“Most folks understand that awesome attraction is imperative if we want students to beryllium successful an situation wherever they tin really learn. We haven’t invested successful that successful a meaningful measurement successful a really agelong time,” Garrison said.

He called nan additions a “pretty large deal” and said he’s gladsome things are moving successful nan correct direction, but said nan summation doesn’t screen everything that districts need. 

Altogether, nan awesome attraction database includes almost $332 cardinal successful asks, covering 95 abstracted projects. 

In summation to nan large summation for schoolhouse maintenance, nan House Finance Committee added much than $10 cardinal successful further spending on renewable power projects, capable to screen biomass burning successful Healy, star successful Southwest Alaska, and hydroelectric projects successful Southeast Alaska.

There’s $2.5 cardinal for roadworthy projects successful nan Matanuska-Susitna Borough and different $2.5 cardinal for fisheries projects successful that borough. The $750,000 approved for nan Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race by nan Senate was boosted to $1.4 cardinal by nan House.

No day has been group for a ballot successful nan House, but traditionally, nan superior fund is approved arsenic 1 of nan past items earlier nan Legislature adjourns its regular convention for nan summer. The convention is scheduled to extremity by May 15.

Senior newsman Claire Stremple contributed to this article.