Alaska State Legislature

Wendy Lindskoog
Senate Majority Press Secretary
Phone: 907/465-4582
Broadcast Actualities: 800/478-6540
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 10, 1997
CONTACT: Senator Rick Halford (907) 694-4958

Halford Proposes School Construction Legislation

(Eagle River - January 3, 1997) Senator Rick Halford (R - Chugiak) has prefiled legislation that would provide a fifty-fifty split between the state and municipalities for needed school construction funding. Under Halford’s proposal, the state would reimburse municipalities for fifty percent of their annual school construction debt service for projects approved after January 1, 1997.

"Organized municipalities and their taxpayers have not received their share of school construction dollars since the program closed down to new projects," said Halford.

In order for a school construction project to qualify for state funds, the municipality must first demonstrate a need for the project. Then the municipality would prepare a bond proposition outlining the cost of each project including estimated total interest, operation and maintenance costs, estimated state and local share and the approximate tax on $100,000 of assessed valuation needed to retire the debt.

Once approved by local voters, the municipality could sell bonds to pay for the project. As the municipality pays off the bonds, the state would reimburse them for fifty percent of the principal and interest payments made on their school construction debt.

Initial co-sponsors of Halford’s bill are Senators Randy Phillips (R - Eagle River) and Lyda Green (R - Mat-Su).

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