Alaska’s rural school funding crisis has left a school on the verge of collapse. In a little brown structure on the brink of deterioration, over two dozen children attend a class every morning in the isolated community of Sleetmute. To fix the school’s leaky roof, the local school system has been pleading for state assistance for 19 years in a row.
Nevertheless, every appeal has been rejected. Water infiltration has resulted in rotting support timbers, a windowpane split by winter’s heavy snow and ice, and a bowing wall showing a massive hole in the siding outside.
In 2021, an architect deemed the building unsafe, yet students continued attending. A year later, maintenance worker Taylor Hayden found water pooling under the school, eroding the foundation. “It’s just like someone took a jackhammer to it,” he explained.
Sleetmute, a remote village along the Kuskokwim River, is one of many communities struggling with deteriorating schools. The state owns nearly half of the 128 schools in rural districts, making it legally responsible for maintenance.
However, over the past 25 years, officials have ignored hundreds of funding requests disproportionately affecting Indigenous children. At Least 135 rural school projects have been waiting for state funding for five years or longer since 1998; 33 of these projects have been postponed for more than ten years.
Neglect has resulted in severe risks, such as untreated sewage in classrooms, exposed electrical wiring, and black mold. Due to safety concerns, students in Sleetmute have already lost access to the gym, boys’ bathroom, and woodshop.
Without a gym, they endure freezing temperatures for recess. Fourth grader Loretta Sakar shivered after crossing the monkey bars. In 2024, after 19 years of denied requests, Sleetmute finally secured roof repair funding. However, the building’s deterioration now requires complete replacement.
The district proposed using funds for temporary modular classrooms, but the state has hesitated. Alaska’s rural school funding crisis continues to leave Indigenous students with unsafe learning conditions. Without immediate action, more schools will deteriorate, leaving children at risk.
This news article was originally published by Anchorage Daily News.
