Schools, universities, and educational programs
Alaska child care and food program sponsors must send a Food Program Contact to mandatory virtual training starting July 21. • Different sessions run through August 13 for centers, school districts, family day care homes, and Head Start programs. • All operators must also complete Civil Rights Training via recorded video.

Alaska has botched SNAP payments worse than any state three years running — and now a new law means the state may have to start paying Washington back for the mistakes.

Gov. Dunleavy vetoed nearly $90 million from Alaska's budget, cutting increases for child care, Medicaid and local aid while leaving core school funding intact.

The oil spike that padded Alaska's budget also jacked up its schools' heating bills — so the budget hands some back. One-time money for a permanent problem.
This episode covers the week's major Alaska stories: a gas pipeline tax bill that added oil tax increases, the Point Thomson condensate trade-off for pipeline gas, Mount Edgecumbe enrollment crisis, and McNeil River bear sanctuary access proposals.
A June 30 deadline quietly decides which Alaska schools feed every kid for free next year — miss it and the cafeteria math gets a lot less kind.

Anchorage School District projects a $40 million deficit for fiscal year 2028 on top of $90 million in earlier cuts, after voters rejected a $12 million tax levy and $79 million bond in April.
Alaska passed a federal school funding test. Translation: the state didn't have to come up with extra money it doesn't have.

Seven Alaska village schools could lose internet June 30. Federal rules say pick the cheapest. The cheapest doesn't work out there.

Alaska Senate unanimously passed a bill Wednesday requiring schools to better identify and support deaf and hard of hearing students, with no new state funding attached.

Alaska has to hire a lot of teachers from out of the country, so an additional $100k per teacher would have been...unsustainable to say the least.

Alaska Senate unanimously passed bill raising special education funding by 16 percent per student. • Senate also unanimously approved adding a fifth Superior Court judge in Palmer to cut case backlogs from 680 to 540 cases per judge.

Seven students evacuated from Western Alaska villages after ex-Typhoon Halong in October 2025 graduated Monday from Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School after completing their senior year there.

Anchorage School Board voted unanimously to adopt state-mandated class size limits of 23 for elementary and 30 for middle and high school. • The board also adopted smaller evidence-based targets it cannot currently afford, requiring annual cost analysis to document the funding gap.

Education officials testified about a severe special education staffing crisis with 200 unfilled positions and a 14% increase in students with disabilities despite steady enrollment.
LINKS Resource Center hosts a free disability services fair June 18 in Wasilla with resource tables, activities, and food for Mat-Su families.

Iḷisaġvik College in Utqiaġvik has purchased land to build a permanent campus, marking the first concrete step toward construction for Alaska's only tribal college after years of planning.

U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon visited two Mat-Su schools on May 7 as part of a 50-state tour celebrating the nation's 250th anniversary.
Anchorage School District says a potential $37 million state funding increase tied to an August 31 revenue determination arrives too late to hire teachers before the 2026-27 school year begins.

Anchorage alcohol tax revenue is dropping to 5.2 million dollars for 2027. • The city must now choose between funding school preschools or emergency homelessness services. • School district preschools face potential cuts while the district manages a 90 million dollar budget gap. • Childcare providers are also asking for a share of the limited funds.

Alaska Legislature approved a $144 million education funding increase, sending $37 million to Anchorage schools to help cover budget shortfalls from inflation and rising costs, plus a 4 percent annual cap on required local contributions.

East High students host benefit concert Saturday to save band program facing elimination due to budget cuts. • School plans to cut band director position, affecting 100 students across five classes. • Concert runs 2 to 5 p.m. at Club Nyt Lyt with $15 suggested donation, all proceeds to band account. • Anchorage schools cutting programs after state education funding remained flat.

Anchorage will issue $55.2 million in general obligation bonds in July for roads, parks, fire equipment, and transit, with annual debt service of $4.0 million paid by property taxpayers.

The House Education Committee honored the 50th anniversary of Alaska's Regional Education Attendance Areas, with former commissioners reflecting on the system's creation and ongoing challenges with facility maintenance.

Juneau's Tlingit immersion program graduated 8th graders who delivered speeches in Tlingit after years of fluency growth. • Students moved from reluctant speakers to confident communicators in the language. • Program is free for all students and partners with Sealaska Heritage Institute. • Graduates received traditional headbands and advance to high school.

House Finance Committee held its first hearing on legislation to replace traditional property taxes on the Alaska LNG pipeline with a volumetric tax, with the House Resources version proposing 15 cents per thousand cubic feet versus the administration's 6-cent proposal.

Alaska House Finance Committee members raised concerns about a constitutional amendment that would create an education fund without any dedicated funding source or protections against future legislatures spending it down to zero.

The House Finance Committee heard testimony on a bill that would change how Alaska calculates school funding, using a three-year enrollment average instead of a single October count.

The Bering Strait School District scheduled its second Finance and Budget Committee meeting in nine days for May 13, 2026, as the board works through budget planning for 15 schools serving 1,800 students in remote northwest Alaska villages.
Eight rural Alaska school districts reached 60 percent FAFSA completion this year through the Career Guide Initiative, more than double the statewide rate, by pairing students with advisors who help them plan college, training, or workforce paths.

Anchorage schools will reassign nurses from schools with fewer medical needs to cover schools with students requiring tube feedings or diabetes management, responding to a shortage that left some schools without staff.

Alaska's State Library, Archives, and Museum building in Juneau marks ten years since opening in 2016 with a free family fair on June 27.

UAF Tom Sawyered 28 young folks who will now be spending 11 days out on a glacier.

House Finance Committee debates education funding bill using three-year enrollment averaging to provide budget certainty, but faces questions about $113 million fiscal note and lack of long-term modeling.

Anchorage cuts 27.5 health teacher jobs, embedding health into reading, PE, and social-emotional learning instead. • K-3 students learn health through reading curriculum, grades 4-5 use existing materials with teacher training. • Board member warns piecemeal approach may not meet district's own 2024 health education policy. • Main risk is finding time to train teachers in already packed school days.

Alaska House passed education bill with teacher loan repayment up to $5,000 yearly for hard-to-fill roles like special education and STEM. • School districts get energy cost reimbursement based on three-year heating and fuel averages. • Local school contribution growth capped at 4% annually to ease property tax pressure. • Bill heads to governor after final Senate approval on last day of session.

Alaska school districts must submit federal education grant applications in substantially approvable form by June 30, 2026, to receive funding starting July 1, or face delays.

The Citizens Review Panel presented recommendations to standardize mandatory reporting training and improve early intervention services for at-risk families.
The House Education Committee approved House Bill 387 to create a legislative task force reviewing Alaska's 50-year-old Native language programs, but rejected amendments to add university and state education officials to the panel.
The Alaska House Finance Committee narrowly advanced HB 261, an education funding reform bill using three-year student count averaging, after rejecting amendments to mandate averaging for special needs students and cap administrative spending at 15 percent.



