The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly will not ask state lawmakers for more school funding.
The assembly voted 6-3 Tuesday against a resolution that would have urged the legislature to increase the Base Student Allocation by $630. Assembly member Dale Eicher pulled the item from the consent agenda for a separate vote.
Co-sponsor Willy Dunne said local leaders need to send a message to Juneau even if the state legislature does not pass an increase this year.
"Whether it passes the state legislature or not this year, I think it just is a show of support for students, support for education, that we're asking the legislature to increase the base student allocation to an acceptable level," Dunne said.
Other assembly members opposed the resolution. They argued the state's education funding formula needs comprehensive reform rather than a flat increase. Eicher voted no. He said the district has lost roughly 3,500 students over the last several years and that issue needs to be addressed.
"If you refuse to ask why these students left, where they went, what would bring them back? We just keep defaulting to the same answer: Just ask for more money," Eicher said.
Earlier in the meeting, Seward High School student council members told the assembly the 8.6 million dollar deficit will cost the district its distance education program and its library aides. During public comment, fifth graders from Seward said they are afraid of losing their school pools and counselors due to budget cuts.
Borough Mayor Peter Micciche later addressed the pool closures during his report. He said negotiations with community groups look "very favorable" to keep pools open in Seward, Kenai and Homer.
The assembly also voted against introducing an ordinance to raise the borough's sales tax cap, a measure supporters said would help fund schools. The proposal would have asked voters to raise the taxable limit on a single sale from $500 to $1,000. Members noted that voters have rejected similar tax hikes multiple times in the last decade. The assembly voted 7-2 against introducing the ordinance.
In other business, the assembly unanimously repealed a one year post-service hiring restriction for former assembly members and established the Soldotna 911 dispatch center as its own borough department. The assembly also passed a resolution urging the state senate to pass a bill raising the age of consent to 18.
The next regular assembly meeting is May 5.
