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by Christopher Eshleman FAIRBANKS - Alaska will employ a grant program to build and repair rural schools after Gov. Sean Parnell signed the plan into law this morning in Fairbanks. The program will steady an often-inconsistent flow of school-construction dollars going to rural, unincorporated communities, linking that spending to the amount promised to organized boroughs and cities. Proponents had cited, as justification, court cases that found Alaska has failed to give villages and rural communities "adequate or equitable funding" for school construction. Parnell signed the bill despite requests this spring that the program carry a sunset date to ensure it is reviewed after a few years. The bills lack no clause to change the grant formula if, for example, urban in-migration gradually shifts population demographics but Parnell nonetheless credited lawmakers with creating the plan and with passing a handful of other education-related bills. "This is a significant step forward for education," Parnell told an audience at the downtown headquarters of Doyon, Ltd. The measure also extends in perpetuity the state's promise to cover 70 percent of school construction debt in Fairbanks, Anchorage and other municipalities' school districts. The Legislature had previously had to renew the promise every few years. Funding for rural grants will be calculated by formula: For every dollar the state spends to help repay bond-funded school construction in organized areas it will also make money available for rural grants. The result this year would have meant over 3 cents in grant funding per Rural Education Attendance Area student for every dollar of outstanding bond debt. The bill, pushed hard by Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel and co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, also includes a clause that will force the state to build schools to high energy-efficiency standards. The House's Finance Committee added the clause during debate in April, which Rep. Les Gara, D-Anchorage, said improved a "groundbreaking" bill that improves equity in funding for education in urban and rural areas. The bill was Senate Bill 237. Other education bills signed by Parnell on Monday: - Send a $397 million borrowing plan to voters in November. The plan would, if approved, finance a new "life sciences" center at UAF, immediately build three rural schools and fund education projects across the state (SB 424); - Significantly expand tax breaks for firms donating to universities and career schools for scholarships, foundations, training programs and new buildings (SB 236); - Create a grant program to help steer federal aid to charter schools (SB 235); - Increase the debt allowance for the University of Alaska (House Bill 184). |
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