Juneau -- The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development has informed my office that Kodiak will receive $99,000 in a specific federal grant to support class size reduction, said Representative Alan Austerman (R-Kodiak).

The department is expected to receive $6.1 million in school year 2000-2001 under the second year of the federal class size reduction funding program. The state received $5.6 million in 1999-2000. The funding will be given to all 53 school districts.

Alaska will receive the funding in July to begin hiring more teachers as part of a seven-year federal plan to hire 100,000 teachers nationwide to reduce class size in grades 1-3 to 18 students per teacher.

Up to 25 percent of funds can be used to pay for teacher testing and to provide professional development and training opportunities for teachers. Districts that have already reduced class size to 18 or fewer students in grades 1 through 3 can use their allocations to make further reductions in those grades, to reduce class size in other grades, or to carry out activities to improve teacher quality.

According to the department, schools not receiving enough funding under the program to hire a full time teacher, can use the funding to help pay the salary of full or part-time teachers to reduce class size, or for professional development.

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