High schoolers from across Alaska reported to Sitka High School at 7:15 a.m. today for the second of a three-day conference of the Alaska Association of Student Governments.
The 250 students attending the statewide conference met in the Sitka High gym this morning and unanimously passed a resolution urging the Legislature to enact an increase of at least $1,000 to the Base Student Allocation, “and implement an annual inflation-based adjustment mechanism with its structure determined by the state to ensure stable and predictable public education funding across Alaska.”
Anchorage-area student Stephen Gibson introduced the resolution, which states that Alaska schools rely on the BSA as their primary funding source but the Anchorage School District projects a $23 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2026.
In the floor debate, Sitka High School student Reagan Wingard noted that the $1,000 in the resolution is the same as the BSA increase in House Bill 69, which legislators approved this month, but which Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed on April 17. Legislators are now focusing on a different bill (HB 57) that contains a $700 BSA hike and 10% increase in student transportation that is scheduled for a Senate floor vote Monday.
Wingard said HB 69 didn’t include any adjustment for inflation, and “legislators have shown that they are not willing to inflation-proof the BSA because they do not know how much money they will have in the future.”
Sitka’s AASG representatives back the resolution, which offers a “supportive funding plan, even if legislators have shown their opinion” regarding inflation adjustments, Wingard said.
The resolution states that it is to be transmitted to the Legislature; the governor’s office; the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development; and all Alaska school boards for “general advocacy and formal consideration on behalf of AASG.”
The AASG general assembly passed two other resolutions this morning, one related to Kodiak School District library staffing, and the other about school bus access for charter schools in the Fairbanks area. A fourth resolution on Anchorage School District choir program funding was tabled as students dispersed for mid-morning field trips.
An executive board elected by the students presided at the general assembly, which was conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order.
While voicing their positions on resolutions or presenting points of information, delegates were recognized by the school they were representing. They held large signs bearing the names of the dozens of public and charter school in communities throughout the state, including Ketchikan, Haines, Unalaska, King Cove, Sand Point, Utqiaġvik, Kotzebue, Tok, Delta Junction, Healy, Valdez and the greater Fairbanks and Anchorage areas.
Between motions and floor debates, students led cheers for their schools or regions, and stomped their feet in shows of support.
Energy filled the gym, with students sporting festive garb including pink cowboy hats, blue tutus, headbands with antennas and blinking lights and novelty sunglasses. Signs were decorated with tinsel and LED lights.
The three-day AASG conference opened with ceremonies Thursday night at the Mt. Edgecumbe High gym. The conference itinerary includes local tours, workshops, meetings, and teleconferences with U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and State Rep. Rebecca Himschoot. Also scheduled are election of AASG’s executive board members, and social activities including a dance in the SHS gym tonight.
The general sessions are alternating between the Sitka and Mt. Edgecumbe gyms, where the delegates also are sleeping.
Reagan Wingard of SHS and Lila Moses of Mt. Edgecumbe led organizing work for the conference as AASG registrars.
Wingard said today she and Moses “worked together for the last few months organizing the schedule for the conference, finding donors and prepping all of the goodie bags and all the activities and reaching out to all of the different businesses in Sitka to make sure that we could get this to happen for the 306 people who are here,” including all participating students and their advisors.
Local donors include ACE Hardware, AC Lakeside, the Hames Corporation, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Sitka Police Department, and Allen Marine Tours. The Alaska Raptor Center and Fortress of the Bear donated their time and facilities for student field trips.
Twenty-one students from SHS and MEHS and three from Pacific High School are participating in the conference. This is the first time that PHS students have attended the conference, said Sitka High teacher Freddie Charbonneau, who is a conference co-host. The other co-host is MEHS teacher Jack Davis.
Many Sitka students have been working during lunch breaks and on weekends the past few weeks to set up the conference, and they’re now stewards for the conference.
Mt. Edgecumbe High was host for conferences in 2009 and 2015, but this is the first with Sitka High as host.
Moses, a MEHS junior from Fairbanks, said today that, as she attends her third AASG conference, she’s “excited to see everyone because it’s a good opportunity for me to be a leader because I’m a registrar.”
She said she recognizes people whom she met during the spring 2024 conference in Utqiaġvik and at the 2024 fall conference in Delta Junction, and is now happy to offer them support at a home conference.
“I just love doing that, I love helping, so it’s really exciting,” Moses said.
She noted that AASG resolutions sometimes lead to changes at local school districts. A resolution the student organization adopted last spring urged school districts in northern Alaska to improve mental health resources. Since that resolution passed, some schools in Utqiagvik have established spaces where students can decompress and access support, Moses said.
“That’s what AASG is all about,” Moses said. “If you have an issue or problem, you send it into the resolutions.”
The Alaska Association of Student Governments is supported and sponsored by the Alaska School Activities Association.
• This story was originally published by the Daily Sitka Sentinel.
