“I think it’s important for the people in my community to weigh in any opportunity that they get on the budget preference or revenue enhancements. And, while I don’t know how that is going to turn out yet, it will take some combination of both of those in order to come up with a sustainable budget that will move Alaska forward and help my community.” – Speaker of the House, Mike Chenault, February 8, 2016, in conversation with Soldotna High School student
Balancing a billion dollar state budget
On anything but a normal Monday in Juneau, when HCR 23 “Suspend Uniform Rules 20, 21, 23, 24” made fast tracks to pass through the House of Representatives, “restricting committee meetings of the Alaska House of Representatives to measures that substantially relate to and have as their primary purpose appropriating, raising, or allocating state revenue, until the Alaska House of Representatives passes a state operating budget to the Alaska Senate,” Speaker of the House Mike Chenault (and District 29 representative) met with one of his young constituents, a high school student from Soldotna, Alaska.
In Juneau for a school board legislative fly-in with board member Lynn Hohl, the student school board representative, Brian Dusek, shared a letter that Soldotna High School students wrote to Alaska legislators. Speaker Chenault said, “I hope we are on the right track, we are going to work on the budget, try to focus on the budget, and come up with a remedy for the budget. We’ll look at revenue streams, we’ll look at reducing the budget where we can. I think it’s important for the people in my community to weigh in, any opportunity that they get—either weigh in on the budget preference or revenue enhancements. And, while I don’t know how that is going to turn out yet, it will take some combination of both of those in order to come up with a sustainable budget that will move Alaska forward and help my community. So that’s where we will be and what we will work on for the next three weeks, and see if we can get a budget passed.” Alaska residents are asked to weigh in with their ideas to The House Majority “Idea Line” 1-844-414-5949 to help solve the State’s budget crunch.
“I’m having a great time advocating for public education and the KPBSD,” said Brian Dusek, Soldotna High School student and school board student representative. “It was great to learn more about the legislative process, meet Governor Walker, our senators, and our representatives, speak to public officials, and have a voice that represents my peers and community. I appreciate the KPBSD school board for allowing me to attend the legislative fly in, and I hope that I helped advocate for public education so it remains a #1 priority in the state. It’s been an amazing experience!”
The Legislature and KPBSD webpage offers helpful links, copies of legislator communications, KPBSD legislative priorities, LIO office locations, and more. This page is updated throughout the legislative session.
Balancing a multi-million dollar school district budget
“The district is facing a fiscal gap for our 2016-2017 budget,” said Sean Dusek, superintendent. “We are prioritizing the programs and services we will be able to offer in our schools. The district will likely need to make additional difficult decisions depending upon the level of funding we receive from the state and borough. This is an important year to be involved and engaged in all levels of our budget development, and understand the local (borough) and state level funding for public education.”
KPBSD Public Budget Meetings
Parents, staff, students, business partners, community members, and elected officials, are invited to bring your questions and ideas to a KPBSD public meeting, where you will learn about the district budget perspective, expenditures, revenues, and receive responses to your questions.
- Tuesday, February 16, 2016, Seward High School library, 5:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, February 17, 2016, Soldotna High School library, 5:30 p.m.
- Tuesday, February 23, 2016, Homer High School library, 5:30 p.m.
Links
- KPBSD and the Legislature webpage
- KPBSD State Priorities brochure
- The House Majority Idea Line
- KPBSD Finance Department and budget documents
- 2016-2017 (FY17) Budget Development calendar
Building a Sustainable Future for Alaska The KPBSD Board of Education encourages everyone to participate in Governor Walker’s Sustainable Future: conversations with Alaskans through an interactive revenue and expenditure model that “allows you to fix Alaska’s budget your way.”
New! Alaska residents are asked to weigh in with their ideas to The House Majority “Idea Line” 1-844-414-5949 to help solve the State’s budget crunch.
