Members of Alaska’s congressional delegation are asking federal officials to reverse funding cuts that impact Alaska schools and universities.
The state’s entire congressional delegation on Monday asked the federal Department of Education to approve the Anchorage School District’s appeal of canceled grant funds that supported career education in its schools, and last week Alaska’s U.S. senators called for recently canceled federal grants for universities to be reinstated.
Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Rep. Nick Begich III signed on to the Monday letter that asks U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon to grant the Anchorage district’s appeal. The department’s original letter announcing the grant cancellation cited a need to redirect the funding for a school-based mental health support program.
“While we agree with you that School Based Mental Health funding is desperately needed, Anchorage School District has used their Fostering Diverse Schools grant funds to help all high school students prepare for high-paying, high-demand jobs,” the letter states.
The district launched its Academies of Anchorage last year in an attempt to boost graduation rates and bolster the local workforce by providing career and technical education opportunities for every student in the district.
The district was awarded the five-year, $14.4 million Fostering Diverse Schools Demonstration Program grant in 2023. The program was initially created by President Joe Biden’s administration to increase socioeconomic diversity in U.S. schools. According to Anchorage School District data from 2023-24, 98% of students who passed two classes in one career-training subject area were on track to graduate.
“These programs equip students with the technical skills and industry knowledge required to enter the workforce and support Alaska’s growing energy and resource sectors, ensuring a pipeline of qualified professionals ready to advance the state’s economic development and energy security objectives,” the letter states.
[Despite early successes, Anchorage Career Academies face uncertain funding future]
In Anchorage, the district had already been awarded about $5.5 million in the first two years of the grant. The cancellation had an impact of $3.3 million to this year’s budget, with the total loss amounting to $8.9 million for three years of grant award funding if the federal government does not approve the district’s appeal, which was filed Friday. District officials said last week they would redirect available funding from yet-to-be-hired teachers in order to pay the six academy teachers whose salaries were funded by the canceled grant.
“Preparing our nation’s young people for good jobs in high-demand fields is a high priority for President Trump, for you, and for us,” the letter says. “We strongly urge you to reconsider your decision to cancel Anchorage School District’s Fostering Diverse Schools grant funding.”
The potential impacts to the district’s Academies of Anchorage program include scaling back as many as 10 of 25 career and technical education pathways offered by the district, a reduction in work-based learning opportunities, and an end to the Family Ambassadors program that connects parents with career and college planning for students at each high school.
“We are deeply disappointed by the recent cut to the Fostering Diverse Schools Demonstration Program grant, which impacts critical opportunities like the Academies of Anchorage for our students,” a statement from the district reads. “We are grateful to Alaska’s congressional delegation for their ongoing support and instrumental role in the appeal process, ensuring students have the tools they need to be successful in the workforce.”
Anchorage School Board member Andy Holleman expressed hope that the grant funding may be reinstated because the program is not directly linked to diversity, equity and inclusion policies that President Donald Trump has cracked down on during his second administration.
Requests for comment from the federal Department of Education went unanswered Monday.
Despite removal of DEI policies, university suffers funding woes
Earlier this month, the U.S. Education Department announced it was canceling $350 million in spending on minority student services at colleges and universities through Title III.
The Alaska Beacon reported that the Title III move cut $8.8 million from the University of Alaska Fairbanks alone and impacts programs on the Dillingham campus, as well as career training at the Community and Technical College in Fairbanks. The cuts affect programs for Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian students and also impact the development of programs for American Sign Language students, private pilots and information technology training.
The canceled spending follows changes implemented by university officials to comply with federal guidance and also help protect their federal funding. In January, the University of Alaska Anchorage removed references to “Alaska Natives” on its website for ANSEP, which previously stood for Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program. Then in February, the university’s board of regents removed references to affirmative action and DEI in job postings and job titles, and it will vote on another measure to remove affirmative action language from the university’s antidiscrimination policy in November, according to reporting from KTOO.
On Thursday, 12 U.S. senators — including Murkowski and Sullivan — wrote a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting continuation of Title III grant funding.
“The Department’s decision to reprogram this critical source of funding for these colleges jeopardizes not just their continued existence, but also undermines the federal government’s trust and treaty obligations to provide Native students an education,” the letter states. “To be clear, these grants do not impose racial quotas or restrict admissions based on race, but support institutions that deliver on the federal trust responsibility to provide an education for American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians because of their unique legal status and political relationship with the United States.”
Staff for Rep. Begich did not immediately respond to requests for comment for this story.
The University of Alaska Southeast’s two Title III programs are likely to complete their scheduled work before the end of the yearlong timeframe that the department is allowing for universities to close out work funded by Title III. UAA does have Title III programs, but none that will be affected by the grant cancellation.
Later last week, 14 Alaska state legislators signed on to a letter urging the congressional delegation to support federal research funding and investments in higher education, arguing that the cuts jeopardize world-class Arctic research conducted at UAF.
[Arctic research consortium closing down after Trump administration cuts funding]
“These cuts put America at a disadvantage to our adversaries. It is essential that investment in Arctic research continue unabated to defend our country from our enemies who are watching these cuts with great interest,” states the letter, which is dated Friday. “… The billions in cuts proposed by the President will result in millions in lost funding for the University of Alaska and could force the University into another financial emergency. Unfortunately, the State of Alaska is not in the financial position to backfill these lost funds, and many more research programs and staff will need to be cut. This will not only impact the quality and status of the University’s research, but it will also have many negative downstream impacts on Alaska’s economy and communities across our state.”
All 14 legislators who signed the letter are Democrats and independents who caucus in bipartisan coalitions.