Assembly backs resolution urging permanent increase to state school funding after student testimony and state presentation

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Feb. 25 unanimously approved Resolution 20 25‑14, urging the State of Alaska to implement a sustainable increase to the Base Student Allocation (BSA) and to invest in strategic improvements in public education.

The resolution, introduced by Assemblymember Kevin Cox and amended on the assembly floor to add new language about the borough’s local contribution and “strategic investments in teacher retention, student literacy, and public school choice options,” was added to the consent agenda and approved without objection when the assembly adopted the agenda and consent agenda later in the meeting.

The resolution drew a flood of public testimony before the vote, largely from students and teachers. Kenneth Fine, identified as a freshman at Soldotna High School, told the assembly the borough school district “is facing a $17,000,000 deficit for the next year,” and urged members to adopt the resolution to press the state for permanent increases tied to inflation. “If the BSA had simply kept up with inflation, our district would be receiving around $1,800 more per student,” Fine said.

Multiple other students described concrete local effects: Adeline Ross said portable classrooms at her school were not being heated properly and that janitorial staff had been laid off; Brett…