LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Alaska's state budget is in crisis, and nowhere is that more evident than inside its public schools. NPR, KYUK Public Media and ProPublica reported on a health and safety crisis earlier this year that's contributed to the crumbling of public schools in Alaska's rural areas. Many state lawmakers heard and read that story but failed to pass a budget this year that would allocate enough money to fix the most serious problems. KYUK's Emily Schwing reports.
EMILY SCHWING, BYLINE: Last fall, Bryce Edgmon was in the tiny village of Sleetmute, 240 miles west of Anchorage, as part of his ninth reelection campaign to Alaska's state House.
BRYCE EDGMON: So this is now off-limits, right?
TAYLOR HAYDEN: That's now off-limits, too.
SCHWING: A tour of Sleetmute's only school revealed a bat infestation, black mold and a wood shop and gymnasium that have been closed for years because they were structurally unsound. After his tour, Edgmon, an independent who spent several years on the House Finance Committee and now serves as House speaker, told a local Yup'ik elder he would push for more education money when he returned to Juneau in January.
EDGMON: I mean, the kids here deserve the same opportunity that kids everywhere else get.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Yeah. That's No. 1. It all depends on leadership.
SCHWING: In Sleetmute, Edgmon pledged to raise a little Cain. But he and other lawmakers passed a budget that only allocates a fraction of what's needed for facility maintenance and construction. So inside public schools, sewer lines will continue leaking, heating systems will ooze more toxic chemicals and fire alarms will remain broken. Kevin McCabe is a three-term House Republican.
KEVIN MCCABE: I've seen some of the pictures of some of those schools. And it's like, how did we ever let it get to that point?
SCHWING: In the 1970s, Alaska got rich off an oil boom. A decade later, the state was producing 2 million barrels of oil per day. But more recently, production and sales have declined significantly. This year, Alaska's school districts asked the state for nearly $800 million for construction and maintenance, but legislators only funded about 5% of that. Rural school districts in Alaska rely almost entirely on the state for education funds because the communities they serve have no local tax base to help pay for schools. But the state is becoming increasingly unreliable.
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MIKE DUNLEAVY: Basically, we don't have enough money to pay for all of our obligations.
SCHWING: Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, a Republican and former educator, used his line-item veto power back in June to slash another 3% from the state's Education Department. It's the largest cut to any one state agency this year.
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DUNLEAVY: It's not an easy thing to do. It's certainly not a fun thing to do. But it's necessary.
SCHWING: The governor called lawmakers back to Juneau in early August for a special session to discuss education policy reform. Instead, they voted to override the governor's education cuts. To boost revenue, lawmakers have floated ideas to develop a statewide sales or income tax, but that's unpopular with voters. Elected officials, including McCabe, say more natural resource development in Alaska is the solution.
DUNLEAVY: That's all there is to it. Whether it be a natural gas pipeline - there are some mining plays that would put money into our state coffers. We're at a point in our budget right now where every little bit helps.
SCHWING: It's an idea that also doubles down on a mineral and fossil fuel reliance that has already left many school districts across the state out in the cold.
For NPR News, I'm Emily Schwing.
(SOUNDBITE OF DANIEL KAEDE'S "MEMORIES OF SARAH") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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