“We need major repairs,” said Kiley Hayden of Sleetmute. She is a student at Jack Egnaty Sr. School in her community within the Kuspuk School District. She testified to the Senate Education Committee last week during the Association of Alaska School Boards Legislative Fly-in and Youth Advocacy Institute in Juneau.
A clip of her testimony was featured on KSKA Radio during a NPR Morning Edition news program. Also joining Kiley testifying for Sleetmute were her fellow students Neal Sanford, Kaylee, and Kuspuk School District Board member Elsie Simeon of Aniak.
“Our school is in drastic need of repairs. These repairs just started out as a need for a new roof,” she said. “Year after year the spring thaws would also bring leaky ceilings as the snow and ice on the roof would melt and find its way into the building. Maintenance would climb up there, tighten up screws and apply a sealant with little noticeable effect. The water would always find a new way in.
“The school district eventually had our school placed on the state major maintenance list and it has remained on the list for over 15 years. It got close to being approved once but in the end the budget was not approved to fund a new roof.
“In the fall of 2023 the school district decided to attempt to tackle some of this problem on their own and hired an engineering firm to tell us how to fix it. The report was far worse than anyone imagined. The problem was caused by water continually entering the building and has compounded to the point where a section of our school is now condemned because there is imminent risk of structural failure and collapse because of rotten wall studs, collapsing foundations, and water saturated insulation.
“That’s right. By putting off funding for a roof now we need a foundation, wall repairs, insulation and so on. The boys bathroom, the shop, the gymnasium, and one of the two mechanical rooms are now condemned. We need major repairs to our school.”
Kiley expounded on why they could not fix it on their own.
“We have no way to get the extra money. We have no tax base in our region to draw from so the only thing our district can do to address the problem on their own is to take money away from things like curriculum and staff and direct it towards maintenance issues. That would be a huge injustice to our already underserved students. We are entirely reliant upon the state to repair our school and fund our educational future.”
Simeon testified that all the schools in the Kuspuk School District are 40-50 years old and are in dire need of upgrading. She also expressed the need for teachers.
“We are very short staffed as well,” she said.
