HB288 • 2026

LOCAL CONTRIBUTIONS BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS

An Act relating to the local contribution made by a city or borough school district; and providing for an effective date.

Budget Education Housing

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS
Last action: 2026-02-02
Official status: (H) EDC
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official status indicates the bill passed both chambers but does not confirm final executive action (governor's signature) or veto override.

Changes to Local School Funding and Charter School Budgets

This bill removes the limit on voluntary local funding for city or borough school districts and sets rules for how charter schools receive their annual program budgets.

What This Bill Does

Removes the previous cap on how much a city or borough school district may contribute as voluntary local funding.
Requires that charter school annual program budgets equal student-generated funds minus administrative costs capped at four percent.
Excludes facility-related expenses like rent, utilities, and maintenance from the calculation of the four percent administrative cost cap.
Mandates that school boards provide a detailed report listing all administrative costs kept by the district instead of sent to charter schools.
Directs state aid for building or major maintenance projects straight to the specific charter school that earned those funds.

Who It Names or Affects

City and borough school districts in Alaska
Charter schools operating within these districts

Terms To Know

Voluntary local contribution: Extra money a city or borough school district chooses to add beyond the required amount.
Administrative costs retained: Money kept by the main school board for management, calculated using an approved rate up to four percent.
Amount generated by students: The total funding a student brings, including state grants, federal aid, local contributions, special needs funds, and vocational instruction funds.

Limits and Unknowns

This law only applies to city or borough school districts; it does not mention rural education attendance areas.
The bill sets an effective date of July 1, 2026, but the provided text does not confirm if a governor has signed it yet.

Bill History

2026-02-02 1542
(H) REFERRED TO EDUCATION
2026-02-02 1542
(H) EDC, FIN
2026-02-02 1542
(H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS

Official Summary Text

LOCAL CONTRIBUTIONS BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS
An Act relating to the local contribution made by a city or borough school district; and providing for an effective date.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB0288a -1- HB 288
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

34-LS1137\A

HOUSE BILL NO. 288

IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION

BY REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS

Introduced: 2/2/26
Referred: Education, Finance

A BILL

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED

"An Act relating to the local contribution made by a city or borough school district; and 1
providing for an effective date." 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3
* Section 1. AS 14.03.260(a) is amended to read: 4
(a) A local school board shall provide an approved charter school with an 5
annual program budget. The budget shall be not less than the amount generated by the 6
students enrolled in the charter school less administrative costs retained by the local 7
school district, determined by applying the indirect cost rate approved by the 8
department up to four percent. Costs directly related to charter school facilities, 9
including rent, utilities, and maintenance, may not be included in an annual program 10
budget for the purposes of calculating the four percent cap on administrative costs 11
under this subsection. A local school board shall provide a charter school with a report 12
itemizing the administrative costs retained by the local school board under this section. 13
The "amount generated by students enrolled in the charter school" is to be determined 14
34-LS1137\A
HB 288 -2- HB0288a
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

in the same manner as it would be for a student enrolled in another public school in 1
that school district and includes funds generated by grants, appropriations, federal 2
impact aid, the required local contribution, the voluntary local contribution under 3
AS 14.17.410(c), special needs under AS 14.17.420(a)(1), and secondary school 4
vocational and technical instruction under AS 14.17.420(a)(3). A school district shall 5
direct state aid under AS 14.11 for the construction or major maintenance of a charter 6
school facility to the charter school that generated the state aid, subject to the same 7
terms and conditions that apply to state aid under AS 14.11 for construction or major 8
maintenance of a school facility that is not a charter school. 9
* Sec. 2. AS 14.17.410(c) is amended to read: 10
(c) In addition to the local contribution required under (b)(2) of this section, a 11
city or borough school district in a fiscal year may make a voluntary local 12
contribution in any amount [OF NOT MORE THAN THE GREATER OF 13
(1) THE EQUIVALENT OF A TWO MILL TAX LEVY ON THE 14
FULL AND TRUE VALUE OF THE TAXABLE REAL AND PERSONAL 15
PROPERTY IN THE DISTRICT AS OF JANUARY 1 OF THE SECOND 16
PRECEDING FISCAL YEAR, AS DETERMINED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF 17
COMMERCE, COMMUNITY, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UNDER 18
AS 14.17.510 AND AS 29.45.110; OR 19
(2) 23 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL OF THE DISTRICT'S BASIC 20
NEED FOR THE FISCAL YEAR UNDER (b)(1) OF THIS SECTION AND ANY 21
ADDITIONAL FUNDING DISTRIBUTED TO THE DISTRICT IN A FISCAL 22
YEAR ACCORDING TO (b) OF THIS SECTION]. 23
* Sec. 3. AS 14.17.990(6) is amended to read: 24
(6) "local contribution" means appropriations and the value of in-kind 25
services made by a district for any purpose; 26
* Sec. 4. This Act takes effect July 1, 2026. 27