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Dear Friends and Neighbors: Things in Juneau have slowed in some ways and accelerated in others. There are fewer stakeholder meetings at the moment, but more bills are on the move, and this week we will be considering the operating budget on the House Floor. It’s never slow in the Capitol! On Education — In the House Fisheries Committee on Tuesday, March 28th, we again heard HB 95, NATL. RES. WATER NOMINATION/DESIGNATION, a bill that would codify the legislative process as the way to designate an outstanding natural resource water or tier...
Similar pieces of legislation to increase state funding for public schools are awaiting hearings in the House and Senate finance committees as lawmakers face a mid-May adjournment deadline and school districts make spending plans for the 2023-2024 school year. The House bill, which was amended and moved out of the Education Committee on March 22, would increase the funding formula by a little over 11% in the first year and 2% in the second year, about half of the bill sponsor’s original proposal. The Senate version, which moved out of its E...
Members of Alaska’s House Finance Committee struggled with a vote to pass a budget amendment that would go far to improve the historically low wages child care providers earn in Alaska. Members of the full body will likely have one more opportunity to make things right next week when floor votes are held on amendments to the state’s operating budget. An amendment introduced to bolster the childcare sector by adding $7.5 million to be used for provider wages fell short by a single vote despite having bipartisan support. The amendment ori...
Alaska school districts are scrambling to prepare for the new programs and policies outlined under the Alaska Reads Act that are set to go into effect next school year. The act has little funding attached to it and its implementation comes after three years of education interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which have left some questioning if districts will be able to meet all that it requires in the short time they have to prepare. Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed the act in June 2022 in an...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced a bill Tuesday that would increase the amount of parental permission needed to teach sex education and change students’ names or pronouns in school. If passed by the Legislature, students would need their parents’ permission before taking a sex education class or joining a program or club related to gender and sexuality. “There should never be a case where a parent sends their kids to school, and the child comes back having discussions about things they’ve learned in school that may be a sensitive issue or an affr... Full story
Dear Friends and Neighbors: I was encouraged to see the support for HJR 5 during the House Floor session on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. The resolution urging the Federal Government and the State of Alaska to continue to defend the troll fishery and do what they can to keep the fishery open, passed by a vote of 35 to 1. It is clear my colleagues in the House will join me in doing everything within our power to keep the troll fleet fishing. The resolution now goes to the Senate for consideration. I am hopeful that the resolution will send a...
A state House committee last week held its first hearing on a bill intended to settle the Legislature’s biggest annual political battle: The amount of the Permanent Fund dividend. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Dan Ortiz, who represents Ketchikan, Wrangell and Metlakatla, would amend state law so that 75% of the annual draw on Permanent Fund earnings goes toward paying for schools and other public services, with 25% designated for the PFD. “Tonight, we’re going to open a can of worms,” Chairman Ben Carpenter, of Nikiski, said at the March 1 meeti...
Dear Friends and Neighbors: On February 8, 2023, the Committee on Committees met and I was placed on the House Special Committee on Fisheries, which includes the Fish and Game Budget Subcommittee. I take my role on these committees very seriously. If you have input on the Fish and Game budget and/or topics considered by the special committee, I welcome your input. It has been heartening to see Southeast Alaskans, who know and rely on commercial, sport and subsistence fishing, work together for the trollers as they face down a major threat to...
Getting caught between a rock and a hard place is easier. At least you can rent a backhoe and move the rock. Getting politically caught between more money for public schools and even more money for the Permanent Fund dividend will be the hardest place for legislators this year. The vote will come down to which is more important for Alaska: A long-needed, substantial increase in state funding for public schools, or the governor’s proposed supersized Happy Meal of a nearly $4,000 Permanent Fund dividend? But putting the dividend first and school...
Thank you, thank you, thank you To the Editor: Mike and I are so incredibly humbled by and grateful for the outpouring of support, generosity, thoughts, and prayers after our house fire. It has been said many times that this community rises to the occasion to help each other, but to be the recipient of such support and generosity—there are not enough words to express how much we appreciate everyone and everything that has been done for us. Although our home and possessions are a total loss, we are extremely lucky to live in such an amazing c...
January Petersburg experienced record snowfall on New Year's Day with 17.5 inches of new snow on the day, bringing the total snow depth to 40 inches according to the National Weather Service. The Petersburg Borough Assembly passed a resolution requesting a discussion with the U.S. Postal Service about providing additional services in Petersburg following continued issues with staffing, irregular hours, and long lines. All-purpose vehicles became legal to drive on roads in Alaska, including in...
The Petersburg School District Board unanimously approved a major revision to the FY23 budget during its meeting on Dec. 13, which will see a new projected ending fund balance of $622,672. According to Finance Director Karen Morrison, the proposed budget revision was based on an average daily membership student count of 429.6 students, which was calculated in October and is above the threshold for three school funding. The final student count numbers brought the district's foundation funding up...
Newly reelected Gov. Mike Dunleavy last week unveiled his proposed state spending plan for the next budget year. By far, the largest single expense in the entire state budget is the Permanent Fund dividend. The governor’s budget proposes no increase in state funding for public schools and a reduction in funding for the university system. No significant increases for road repairs, snow removal, mental health services, or more staff to help the backlog of food stamp applications which has created hours-long hold times for callers needing help. L...
WRANGELL — School districts statewide be looking to the Legislature next year for an increase in state funding, but any boost in the state’s per-pupil formula likely will depend in large part on oil revenues and also Permanent Fund earnings. And neither looks good this month, less than seven weeks before lawmakers are scheduled to convene in Juneau. The state funding formula for K-12 education hadn’t moved in about five years before this year’s 0.5% mini-nudge upward. Meanwhile, districts statewide are facing budget deficits and program...
November 10, 1922 – In a talk before the Juneau Commercial Association luncheon, Roy Jones, an aviator from Ketchikan currently in Juneau with his plane, stated that while it was not generally known, two representatives of the government had been here and elsewhere in Alaska recently looking up the feasibility of establishing aerial mail routes. The investigators were members of the army. Mr. Jones laid stress on the wonderful possibilities of aerial service in Southeastern Alaska in particular and throughout the territory in general, p...
The Anchorage School District, which is considering the closure of six elementary schools amid a projected $68 million budget shortfall, isn’t the only district facing a major fiscal problem. At the end of the last school year, Fairbanks closed three schools. In Juneau, the school board is considering whether to fire specialists intended to help students recover reading skills lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. In rural Alaska, districts are trying to balance their books while dealing with high transportation and heating costs. Local and s... Full story
Bob Lynn What is your age? 76 What experience do you have? I've had 8 year's experience on the Petersburg Assembly. I have been fortunate to serve as Petersburg Assembly Board representative to Southeast Alaska Power Authority (SEAPA.) In that role I have served as Board Chair and voting member to replace submarine cable serving Petersburg. I have also served 6 years as the Assembly representative to the Hospital Board. Having been an EMT years ago has provided me much needed background to serve...
If elected, would you work to improve access to affordable child care? Kenny Skaflestad: This is a priority. And this is a priority again from the smallest village to our more prominent communities. The need for addressing the child care challenge in each community is a major topic. It's one that I'd be glad to champion as far as the Alaska State House has to do and I think that could be a great deal depending on the energies put towards it. I'm glad to have seen some of my predecessors in the H...
The Legislature adjourned on time last month, a nice change from past special sessions that got in the way of summer fishing, watching baseball, eating anything off the grill (except eggplant) and sitting outdoors in the sun doing nothing. Lawmakers settled on a healthy and wealthy but not necessarily wise dividend that will put $12,800 into the hands of a family of four this fall. As expected months ago, that single issue consumed the largest amount of political negotiating in the Legislatures final days. House and Senate members also passed...
The Alaska House of Representatives voted last week to turn an oil-price surge into money for schools, repayment of tax credits the state has owed to oil explorers for years, and $2,600 payments for Alaska residents this fall. The House voted 25-14 to send its state operating budget proposal to the Senate, which is developing its own version. The two budget plans, which set spending for public services starting with the new fiscal year on July 1, will be negotiated into a compromise bill and...
The state budget plan adopted by the House earlier this month includes an additional $263,000 in one-time funding for the Petersburg School District, an almost 5% boost from a state aid formula that has not increased since 2017. The one-time appropriation for a total of $57 million may be the political compromise to help Alaska's 54 school districts this next year as lawmakers continue to debate a change to the formula in state statute. Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter discussed House Bill...
A well deserved recognition To the Editor, This letter is recognition of Sammy Parker and Lee Newton who announced the retirement of Petersburg Business Services in last week’s Pilot. I’m proud to have been a regular customer at your Beech Boy hamburger joint in the 1970’s, when your Big Boy burger, large fries and cola were under 2 bucks, to have worked with Lee at the barite mine in Duncan Canal and enjoyed Sammy’s wonderful cooking for the hungry 20+ crew of miners. Thank you for your time as chef at Mountain View Manor, and for 50 years o...
January The assembly approved of a COVID-19 dashboard which tracked cases in the community. Local businesses received a total of $15.08 million in aid in the first round of COVID-19 aid released through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. PMC vaccinated approximately 350 residents aged 65 or older at a vaccine drive in the community gym. PMC was given permission by the borough to apply for a second PPP loan totaling $1.8 million. PMC applied and received a loan of...
Trish Oppenheim was not actively seeking out opportunities for work, but when she heard about the need for a nurse at the Petersburg School District, she stepped up to the challenge. Oppenheim has 14 years of ICU experience in a range of settings including the NICU, PICU, recovery room, and the operating room. For the last two years she worked in triage for Providence battling COVID-19. "I'm typically an ICU nurse, but teaching is obviously a huge part of our job as a nurse," Oppenheim said....
The Borough Assembly walked through each of the six maps being considered by the Alaska Redistricting Board during Tuesday's meeting and discussed each map's affects on Petersburg. The districts are redrawn every decade based off data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. Each of the 40 districts must be socioeconomically integrated, reasonably compact, contiguous, and have an approximately equal number of people. This year that number is 18,335 per district. Members from the Alaska...
