Seven village schools could lose internet June 30 over a federal funding dispute

Seven village schools and one homeschool program in Interior Alaska could lose internet service on June 30 over a federal funding dispute. The Iditarod Area School District learned this month that the federal E-Rate program — which subsidizes school internet — is denying or rescinding funding across four requests covering the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years. Affected sites include Anvik, Grayling, McGrath, Holy Cross, Nikolai, Shageluk, Takota, and the Iditarod Distance Learning Center.

The federal program requires recipients to pick the most cost-effective bidder. The district picked GCI, the highest-priced option, and didn't formally evaluate a bid from Optimera for Starlink service. Federal rules don't allow preference for local or incumbent providers, even in rural areas.

Superintendent John Bruce says the rule misses the point. "It isn't about 'What's cheaper' — it's about 'What works and why that is'," Bruce wrote. GCI offered fiber to four of the seven village buildings on the Yukon River side of the district, where fiber had never been available before, and has people on the ground in Alaska who can fix outages. "Starlink can struggle out here as a standalone," Bruce wrote.

There's also a gap in the record: the SERRC staffer who managed the bid process for the district died in March 2025, right after bidding closed. Bruce says the district can't fully explain how the scoring decisions were made.

Bruce isn't asking the federal program to approve the existing application. He's asking for a chance to rebid. Without resolution, GCI could terminate service June 30. The 2026-27 school year starts in early August.