Special Assembly Meeting Called Next Week For Education Funding, and More
Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) Assembly Presiding Officer Lojewski has officially called a Special Assembly Meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 13, 2023.
The purpose of the meeting is to introduce an ordinance increasing the local contribution to school funding. Ordinances like this must go through a public process before they are voted on by the Assembly. The plan is to have it referred to the Finance Committee on July 20 and advanced to a public hearing on July 27.
The ordinance will attempt to increase the local contribution to somewhat make up for the half-vetoed funding increase from the state, as well as the deficit created by the Assembly in the first place. Details of any proposed ordinance, such as funding amount, are still unclear. The Assembly is somewhat limited in pursuing funding increases by the fact that they already passed a budget.
Earlier this year, the conservative majority of the Assembly chose to fund the School Board for about $9 million dollars under their ask, touting the certainty of a funding increase from the state.
Due to renovations at the Juanita Helms Administration Center, where the Assembly usually meets, all July meetings of the Assembly will be held in the Board Room of the School District Administrative Center at 520 Fifth Avenue. Road construction on Fifth Avenue will affect access to parking. Please see this map for parking information.
Strong Support for Fireweed Policy Platform
After months of collaboration, the Fairbanks Hub of Fireweed Collective released their Young People’s Policy Platform late last month. Fireweed has already gathered nearly 200 signatures from FNSB residents, about 75% of which are ages 18-35, through tabling at local events and virtual petitions.
More events and ways to help coming soon.
You can view the platform here and sign the virtual petition through the button below.
More Local Candidates Enter School Board and Assembly Races
A search for Letters of Intent filed with the State of Alaska show a growing number of candidates have entered races for School Board and Assembly seats.
I’m planing on sharing a lot of information on the candidates once the official deadline for filing closes at the end of July.
For now, I can tell you that I’ve been helping with several campaigns and am quite excited for the slate that’s brewing behind the scenes.
Around the Corner
A slew of family health concerns have slowed me down lately, but everyone is now doing well and enjoying the middle of summer.
There’s also just a treasure trove of stuff brewing that I’m excited to share with you when the time is right: soon!
Hope you are doing well!
So appreciate your earnest work on all things Fairbanks! You make me proud.
The best to you♥️