A bill enabling Mt. Edgecumbe High School to receive funding has been cleared for a Senate vote later this week after lawmakers visited the school and described “deplorable” conditions.
JUNEAU , Alaska - Alaska senators will vote Wednesday on a bill to enable new funding streams for Mt. Edgecumbe High School, but it’s unclear if it can survive another veto from Gov. Mike Dunleavy , who“ diminishes the equity across school districts that is provided by the Fund and commits the State to a local housing obligation, diverting already-scarce dollars away from critical classroom repairs and complicating grant rankings,” Dunleavy said “It’s a step in the right direction,” Sen.
Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, said while walking into the Senate Monday morning when asked if the bill would address the conditions he saw during his recent visit. “There’s many steps that have to be made on Mt. Edgecumbe. The next is to meet with the department and talk about an implementation plan to move Edgecumbe forward.” Stedman, who is listed as a sponsor of the bill, SB 146, was among a coalition of lawmakers who visited the school in Sitka in his district just weeks ago. Describing the scene last week, Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, said the school had oil contamination, Established in 1947, Mt. Edgecumbe High School is a public boarding school created to provide education to rural Alaskans who may not have the opportunity for a quality education otherwise. The bill set to be voted on Wednesday is identical to HB 174, which would have funded Mt. Edgecumbe construction and maintenance and allowed the school to receive major housing maintenance grants through the Regional Educational Attendance Area fund, was created to provide equitable funding for rural schools, according to the HB 174, however, eventually died after lawmakers didn’t override it during the special session or the first five days of the regular session this year.“I think it’s gonna pass,” Sen. Löki Tobin, D-Anchorage, told Alaska’s News Source on her way into the chambers Monday. “I think we passed it once before.”“No,” she said. “I think we are currently in a weird state.” When asked if the governor would veto the bill if passed in its current form, a Dunleavy spokesperson said it was his policy not to comment on bills before they are passed by the legislature and sent to his office. Last week, Dunleavy’s officeat Mt. Edgecumbe were “nothing new” and “are multi-decade problems tied to a former military installation, not any recent policy decisions.” Senate Minority Leader Mike Cronk, R-Tok/Northway, who described his visit to the school weeks ago as “eye-opening,” said in a statement he was dedicated to the situation. “I look forward to working towards solutions that address not only our fiscal situation, but also the deferred maintenance issues that will continue to plague our state for years to come,” he said. A spokesperson for the Alaska Senate Majority said the bill is a policy bill, meaning it would need two-thirds of all lawmakers to override a veto. The bill has not been heard by the House. When asked, Stedman said it was unlikely there would be additional bills for Mt. Edgecumbe this session, but there could be additional funding. “It’s appropriation issues that we do,” he said. “We’re the appropriators. We need to work with the department on how we’re gonna turn things around, I think there will be a lot of support from the Department of Education and the legislature to do that.” If history repeats itself and Dunleavy vetoes the bill again, lawmakers need a two-thirds majority in both chambers for an override.Lawmakers release 25 pictures of ‘deplorable’ Mt. Edgecumbe conditionsRat holes and decay: Lawmakers release 25 pictures of ‘deplorable’ Mt. Edgecumbe conditions
Sen. Gary Stevens Sen. Bert Stedman Sen. Lyman Hoffman Bethel Sitka Kodiak Juneau AKLEG Alaska Legislature Gov. Mike Dunleavy Sen. Loki Tobin Sen. Mike Cronk Alaska House Of Representatives Deplorable Rats Tip Toes Alaska Governor
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