Co-chair Hemshoo convened the Alaska House Education Committee on March 19 in Juneau for a full hearing on school construction and major maintenance funding and the Department of Education and Early Development's (DEED) grant process. DEED staff, the Alaska Council of School Administrators, and superintendents from rural districts described a backlog of urgent repairs, barriers to applying for state grants and the practical effects on students and staff.

Laurie Weed, school finance manager for the Department of Education and Early Development, outlined the statutory structure that governs school construction and major maintenance funding in Alaska, citing AS 14.11 and the two primary grant pools: the School Construction Grant Fund (established 1990) and the Major Maintenance Grant Fund (established 1993). "We exist to provide information resources, to all our stakeholders from our districts up through the legislative level, and leadership to, school districts and the public as well," Weed said.

Weed and Michael Butikofer, facilities manager and a professional civil engineer at DEED, told the committee that statutory eligibility requires districts to submit an annual six-year capital improvement plan, maintain an asset inventory and hold a certified preventative maintenance program. But the department and district witnesses said participation in the grant application process has fallen and that many projects remain off DEED's ranked lists because districts lack the funds or staffing to prepare detailed applications.

"In the most recent decade, 2015 to 2025, there was an average of 117 applications and a 60% participation from districts with approximately 16% funded," Weed said, describing a drop from the earlier decades when participation and success rates were higher. Committee members pressed DEED staff for specifics on participation rates and the number of districts that no longer submit six-year plans.

The hearing repeatedly returned to equity between regional educational attendance areas (REAAs) and municipal school districts. Weed explained that the REA Fund, created in 2010 following a settlement, was designed to give more capital support to rural districts that historically had fewer bonding options. She also said the REA Fund's capitalization is indexed to the state's school bond debt reimbursement program and noted that when debt reimbursement was restricted or vetoed the REA Fund growth slowed.

Lisa Paradis, executive director of the Alaska Council of School Administrators, stressed the human and instructional costs of deferred maintenance. "We must ensure that reliable, adequate, and equitable funding through the Department of Education and Early Development for the school construction process for capital projects and major maintenance, exist for all district facilities," Paradis told the committee. She and other witnesses showed photos of leaking roofs, standing water, failing foundation sections and damaged interior finishes in rural schools.

Superintendents from REAA districts gave local examples. Audra Finkenbinder, superintendent of Southwestern Region School District, listed major system failures across multiple remote sites and said the district's FY26 capital improvement plan totaled more than $44 million in needed repairs. She described staff and travel costs for emergency responses in widely scattered communities and said fuel and utility bills have risen substantially.

Madeline Aguilar, superintendent of the district identified in testimony as Cusbuck School District (REAA No. 5), summarized the decade-long effort her district made to prepare a single major-maintenance application for Sleetmute school and said that work required more than $200,000 for assessments and design before the district could complete its application. Aguilar emphasized the competitive, point-based nature of DEED's application scoring and said that architectural and engineering work can contribute many of the points that move an application higher on the ranking list.

"Students in substandard buildings perform 5 to 17 percentile points lower than those in well maintained schools," Aguilar said, citing published research on school conditions and student outcomes.

Committee members asked multiple follow-ups: how DEED determines whether a work item is maintenance or capital replacement (Weed cited examples such as routine filter replacement versus full HVAC replacement), how site visits are selected (Butikofer said DEED conducts preventative-maintenance certification visits on a five-year cycle and visits active projects), and whether DEED could provide technical or design assistance to districts with limited capacity. DEED staff said they provide application tools, workshops and some site visits, but members and witnesses urged consideration of additional, targeted technical support for small and rural districts.

Witnesses and members also discussed the practical consequences of the state's moratorium on school bond debt reimbursement, which committee witnesses and advocacy groups said reduced a predictable funding stream and contributed to deferred projects. Paradis asked the Legislature to reject continued moratoria on debt reimbursement and to consider increased, stable capital renewal funding; DEED staff and witnesses referenced industry guidance that state capital renewal should be roughly 3% to 4% of replacement value while noting Alaska has underfunded that target for many years.

No formal committee votes occurred during the hearing. DEED staff agreed to provide additional data requested by the committee: a list of districts that have not submitted six-year plans, the FY26 project lists and details on participation and funded project lists. Members indicated they will continue follow-up work on funding and process reforms during the session.

The committee adjourned after scheduling follow-up presentations on teacher apprenticeships for the March 21 meeting.

Ending

Lawmakers and state officials heard consistent testimony that Alaska's school capital needs are large, unevenly distributed and in many cases long deferred. DEED and district leaders asked the Legislature to consider both increased funding and administrative changes to make the department's grant process more accessible to under-resourced rural districts. Committee members requested additional DEED data to inform possible statutory or budget responses later in the session.