Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

Public education, ferries and a budget surplus dominated discussion as the Chilkat Valley's legislative representatives visited Haines to hear community priorities and field questions ahead of the fast-approaching session, which begins in January.

The Juneau Democrats, Sen. Jesse Kiehl and Rep. Andi Story, met with about a dozen residents during a town hall Monday evening at the Chilkat Center. The pair gave a presentation about the upcoming session and where things left off during the previous session. January will mark the start of the second session of the 33rd Alaska Legislature, which operates on a two-year cycle.

Kiehl began by giving a general overview of the state's budget and where it stands going into the upcoming session. He said the price of oil has been "relatively high" compared to state projections, averaging about $87 per barrel since July compared to the $83 per barrel the legislature based its budget on.

Kiehl said higher prices mean that state income is up and there will be extra funds available, but in turn, it will add to legislators' opposition to raising taxes for spending on state services, a suggestion raised by Mayor Tom Morphet at the meeting.

"I don't see with oil prices up anything close to the support for any broad-based taxes, or maybe any tax at all this session - and that's unfortunate because our state is not in a stable place fiscally," Kiehl said. "We would be in a much sounder financial footing if the state of Alaska chose some broad-based tax, so there's a connection between our economy and the resources the state has to support that."

Such a tax could increase funding for services like public safety, transportation and education - the latter being a topic of concern brought up by residents during the meeting.

Both the budget passed by the legislature and the one signed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, included a one-time boost to public education funding. However, the governor halved the $680 per-student increase originally passed by lawmakers, a move criticized by both Story and Kiehl. The vetoes dropped Haines School's state funding from $467,000 to $233,000, which forced the district to draw from its savings and ask the borough assembly for a boost.

The $87.4 million reduction in education funding was one of about $200 million in line-item vetoes by Dunleavy. He also vetoed a bill passed by the legislature and co-sponsored by Kiehl that would have banned PFAS chemicals, so-called "forever chemicals," for most firefighting purposes.

Story, who sits on the House Education Committee, said she will remain focused on education funding and push for a substantial increase to the base student allocation, which is the amount of money districts receive from the state per enrolled student. Since 2017, the BSA hasn't seen a substantial increase despite rising inflation, causing many districts in Alaska to make substantial cuts to maintain a balanced budget.

"Teachers are working hard, superintendents are working hard across the state to try to stretch those dollars to provide the best education that they can have," she said. "Parents, families, a lot of people are concerned that districts are having to make cuts."

Story expressed hope about picking back up on bills in both the House and Senate that were stalled last session that would increase the BSA. The Senate bill additionally seeks to fund stronger internet access in public schools.

"Stay tuned on the education funding front," she said.

Kiehl and Story answered a variety of questions about the state's ferry system, which Kiehl described as being "in a rebuilding period" as vessels continue to age. The state is expected to receive more than $5.2 billion in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by U.S. Congress in 2021.

Some of those funds include $286 million for a large-scale overhaul of Alaska Marine Highway System vessels and facilities like spending $8.6 million toward designing a new ferry, $68 million to construct a new mainline ferry and $46 million to build an electric ferry which could run between Haines, Skagway and Juneau. Kiehl said the electric ferry is still in the design phase.

A resident asked whether the additional funds would mean less costly tickets. Kiehl said it's unlikely.

Kim Rosado asked what measures the state was taking to keep people from leaving the state as businesses in Haines - and across the state - face increasing recruitment and retention issues.

"There just seems to be no one, truthfully," she said. "I work in a place where we need people to work but there is just no one here to work. What are we doing as a state to try to bring and get people to stay here?"

Story sympathized with Rosado and said it is "heartbreaking" to see so many Alaska businesses struggle with staffing issues. She said a move made by the legislature last year to combat retention issues in Alaska's childcare industry included putting $7.5 million in the budget towards grants for child care providers to boost wages and bring some stability to the industry.

Kiehl said the $7.5 million was just one step of multiple he hoped to take last session to combat outmigration in Alaska and entice younger families to move here.

Last session Kiehl was a driving force behind a bill that sought to reinstate a defined benefits retirement plan as an alternative to the existing 401(k)-style defined contribution plan offered by the state.

The bill would have reversed the state's 2006 legislation that made Alaska the second state to switch from its defined benefit plan, more commonly known as a pension plan, to a 401(k)-style defined contribution retirement plan for employees. The bill failed to pass the last session, but Kiehl expressed interest in returning to the bill in the coming session. He said if passed, it would "radically increase retention."

At the end of the two-hour meeting, both lawmakers encouraged residents to reach out to them with suggestions or concerns they like to see the legislature tackle.

A live-streamed video of the town hall can be found on the CVN Facebook page.