Senate Passes $2.47B Capital Budget Focused on School Repairs

The Alaska Senate passed a $2.47 billion capital budget Tuesday that prioritizes deferred maintenance for schools, universities, and courts, with the bulk of new state spending directed to K-12 facilities that have deteriorated for years.

Senate Bill 214 passed 19-0 after moving through the Senate Finance Committee, which reported the bill out on April 14 with five members voting "Do Pass" and one providing "No Recommendation." The budget uses $1.9 billion in federal funds while using a conservative $73-per-barrel oil price despite current market prices above $100. Of the $88.7 million in unrestricted general funds added by the Senate, 94 percent goes to K-12 maintenance.

"That's the significance of what we're doing," said Senator Bert Stedman, Senate Finance Committee co-chair.

The Senate put $88.7 million toward K-12 deferred maintenance, funding the top 15 projects on the state's major maintenance priority list. Some of those projects have been on the list for eight to 20 years. The longest-waiting project is a fire suppression system that has been on the list for two decades.

"It's a fire suppression system, so don't go striking any matches in that school," Stedman said. "The next three projects were 15 years."

The budget also includes $11.8 million for deteriorating fuel tanks at rural schools, funded through the Spill Prevention Response Fund, and $17.5 million to begin construction of a new school in Stebbins, where the existing school was destroyed by fire in 2024.

Mount Edgecumbe boarding school receives $13.9 million for dining hall renovation, window replacement in both dormitories, and new furniture and equipment. The dining hall and kitchen were built in 1939, before World War II.

"There's 402 mattresses and they didn't have any spares," Stedman said. "There's no replacement schedule for them, so we're working on that."

One laundry machine at the school had been in use since a current legislator attended high school there, and her son now attends the same school.

The university system receives $17.1 million for facilities maintenance spread across three campuses: University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Alaska Anchorage, and University of Alaska Southeast. The funding addresses the top nine projects on the university's deferred maintenance list.

The judiciary receives $3.7 million for deferred maintenance, addressing the top four projects on the court system's list, all in Anchorage.

The Senate also put $9.7 million into vocational education and workforce development, using Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority dividend funds. Projects include a commercial driver's license training center in Wasilla, equipment upgrades at the Alaska Vocational Technical Education Center in Seward, and improvements at the Fairbanks Kenai Pipeline Training Center.