On June 20, 2022 Senate Bill 198 was signed into law. The bill states that “…Rampart School is part of the Yukon-Koyukuk School District regional educational attendance area for all purposes.”
Alaska Statutes 14.08.031(a) requires that the Department of Commerce, Community (DCCED), and Economic Development in consultation with the Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) and local communities divide the unorganized borough into education services areas. Therefore, upon passage of SB 198, DCCED has prepared the new boundary of the Yukon-Koyukuk School District (YKSD) to include the community of Rampart, in addition to the new boundaries for the Yukon Flats School District (YFSD) to remove the community of Rampart.
Further, the newly drawn boundaries require DCCED to review the section boundaries and school board apportionment scheme of each Regional Education Attendance Area to ensure they meet the standards contained at AS 14.08.051(a). The standard is that each school board member must represent, “as nearly as practicable, an equal number of persons.”
A generally accepted standard for equal representation is that the population represented by each school board member not vary more than plus or minus five percent from the average. The average is determined by taking the total population of the REAA and dividing it by the total number of school board seats. When current representation varies by more than plus or minus five percent, the Commissioner must recast the boundaries of each section to more closely meet the standard.
Under the existing school board apportionment scheme, as adopted following the release of the 2020 Census, the Yukon Flats REAA has three sections containing a total of seven school board seats. Section I has two seats and includes the communities of Arctic Village and Venetie. Section II has three seats and includes the City of Fort Yukon and the communities of Beaver and Birch Creek. Section III has two seats and includes the communities of Central, Chalkyitsik, Circle, Livengood, Rampart, and Stevens Village.
With the relocation of the community of Rampart from Yukon Flats REAA to Yukon-Koyukuk REAA, the voting district boundaries must again be reapportioned. Two new options are being proposed (see attached maps).
- Option A retains the current boundaries, with the exception of the area that has been ceded to Yukon-Koyukuk REAA, including the community of Rampart. The ceded area has been excluded from Section III. Option A has an overall deviation of 22.07%.
- Option B moves Beaver and Birch Creek from Section II into Section III and moves Chalkyitsik from Section III into Section II. The area that has been ceded to Yukon-Koyukuk REAA, including the community of Rampart, is excluded from Section III. Option B has an overall deviation of 14.51%.
Based on the REAA's demographic, socio-economic, linguistic, transportation, cultural, and communication considerations, the recommendation for the Yukon Flats REAA is to implement Option B.
More information on the REAA recasting can be found here.
If you are interested in the apportionment of the Yukon Flats REAA school board, you are invited to submit comments. You may do so verbally or in writing.
Verbal comments may be submitted by calling 907-269-4559, between the hours of 8:00 am and 4:30 pm, or by voicemail at that number.
Written comments should be emailed to reaa.recast.2020@alaska.gov or mailed to:
Attn: REAA Recasting
Jedediah Smith
Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development
550 W 7th Ave. STE 1650
Anchorage AK 99501
A public hearing on all recommendations will be held on Thursday, July 14, 2022 from 9:00AM to 11:00AM by electronic means. The public hearing can be accessed by going to: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84876071512?pwd=FohHT87Uvmkto45cH4CQFuQOaqk2hx.1
Written comments must be received by Friday, July 15, 2022 by 5:00PM. Notice can be viewed on the State of Alaska web site at https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/