The Alaska Legislature plans to meet in a joint session at 10:30 a.m. on Friday.
Education
Hooper Bay School closed after a pipe burst, flooding the building
The Lower Yukon School District hopes to reopen the Hooper Bay School by the end of January.
Bipartisan bill aims to improve Alaska students’ reading skills
Alaska fourth graders had the lowest reading scores in the country in a national assessment last year.
Reduced winter ferry schedule puts a squeeze on Southeast Alaska basketball programs
Budget cuts to Alaska’s state ferry system have made it harder for high school basketball teams to travel this season, school officials say.
Anchorage Public Library will no longer charge fines for overdue materials
While fines from overdue items are a revenue source, the Anchorage library system found that it cost more time and effort to collect the fines than they were ultimately worth.
Juneau student chosen for whirlwind week in nation’s capital
Two Alaska students will spend a week visiting historic monuments, talking with U.S. Senators and maybe even meet the president and his cabinet.
Ketchikan’s school board agrees to give tribal leaders input on hiring
The plan aims to reduce the dropout rate among Alaska Natives, who make up more than a third of the district’s students.
Meals for Angoon school children hinge on regular ferry service
Almost all of the children who attend Angoon’s K-12 school receive federally subsidized, low-cost or free school breakfasts or lunches. The supplies for those meals normally arrive in town aboard a state ferry.
FBI Child Exploitation Task Force arrests Bethel school principal
Federal law enforcement officials say charges will soon be filed against Bethel Principal Chris Carmichael.
Judge rules that forward funding of schools was constitutional
The Dunleavy administration argued that the funding violated the state constitution’s prohibition on dedicated funds, as well as its provision for an annual state budget. The judge rejected both of these arguments.