The U.S. Senate voted unanimously on June 18 to resume the federal Secure Rural Schools program, which sent millions of dollars to small Alaska schools each year until Congress failed to reauthorize it in 2023.
Congress passed the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act in 2000, which launched the program as a way to help logging towns cope with the loss of revenue caused by a slowdown in logging on nearby federal land.
In 2023, it directed more than $250 million to communities nationwide and over $12.6 million to Alaska towns.
But in 2024, a reauthorization bill stalled in the House of Representatives, and the program ended. In the wake of that failure, some rural schools in Alaska, particularly in Southeast Alaska, have suffered significant budget cuts.
This spring, the Alaska Legislature voted by a 56-4 margin to approve a resolution that calls on Congress to renew the program.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, cosponsored a reauthorization bill, and the Senate approved it last week.
“If you’re a city manager building a budget or a school administrator looking at new hires, you need financial certainty. That’s why renewing the Secure Rural Schools program before funding lapses has been one of my top priorities in this Congress, and today was a crucial step in that process,” Murkowski said in a written statement. “I hope my colleagues in the House will quickly pass this legislation to provide stability for Alaska’s schools and local governments.”
