The halls are lined with lockers and portraits of elders at the Anna Tobeluk Memorial School in Nunapitchuk, Alaska. October 12, 2023. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska school districts risk losing access to up to several hundred thousand dollars in federal funding aimed at homeless students if they aren’t able to commit to spending it by the end of September.
The money was included in a federal law providing pandemic relief, and national advocates have been pushing for Congress to extend the deadline, as it became clear that money could go unspent.
The exact amount Alaska districts could lose isn’t clear. Alaska districts have spent nearly 70% of their $2.3 million boost, leaving more than $700,000 unspent, according to the national data updated on Aug. 1 . The Department of Education and Early Childhood did not respond to a request for the most up-to-date figure or whether districts are on-track to spend down the balances.
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, worked on an amendment to the 2021 American Rescue Plan that secured $800 million nationally for students experiencing homelessness nationwide. Alaska districts received about eight times their usual annual funding.