Lawmakers only budgeted $40 million of the nearly $800 million that districts say is needed to fix and maintain schools to keep them safe and operating. Gov. Mike Dunleavy then vetoed more than a third of that.

Nunacuarni school district-aat akikiterkaat kitugutkanun state-amek kingunengqelartuq. Taugam allrakut yuinaq talliman cipluki, Alaska-mi alerquuciurcet nallungualarait amlleret ikayungcaucet elitnaurvignek nunamta nutem yukekain elitnaurviit.

Rural school districts depend on the state to fund construction and maintenance projects. But over the past 25 years, Alaska lawmakers have ignored hundreds of requests from public schools that primarily serve Indigenous children.

This week, KYUK will release the first part of an investigation with ProPublica that looks at infrastructure issues in rural Alaska schools.