School board discusses support for sales tax increase, no formal backing

At their Monday meeting, school board members expressed support for an initiative to bring a sales tax increase to the borough, but no formal backing for the campaign has been given by the district.

A citizen group is gathering signatures this summer to place a question on the October ballot asking voters whether the borough should raise the general sales tax from 3 percent to 3.5 percent. The change, which would add another 50 cents for every $100 spent, would generate an estimated $5 million annually and would be dedicated to fund education, as all sales taxes are in the Kenai Peninsula Borough.

At Monday’s Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education’s work session, superintendent Sean Dusek told the board he was asked to sign the petition.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

“We all know that as a public employee, and in this position, that will probably be pointed out and it could become political,” Dusek told the board. “It just means that if I were to sign that, and I wouldn’t if most of you objected to that… I think it’s worth a discussion. Because I don’t want to step out there politically if you guys are adamantly opposed to this going on the ballot.”

The school board has not created any formal supporting resolution for the initiative. Dusek said if the sales tax increase goes to the ballot, then it will be important for the board to come together as a whole.

The citizen group picked up the initiative after the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly at its June 5 meeting shot down an ordinance that would have asked voters for a sales tax increase.

Soldotna resident Linda Hutchings filed the petition and said she is working with 10 sponsors to gather 2,200 qualified voter signatures before the July 24 deadline. The language and intent are similar to the ordinance the assembly denied, which was sponsored by assembly members Kelly Cooper and Hal Smalley. During the assembly debate over the ordinance, a variety of people offered support for it, many citing support for increased education funding as a reason.

The Board of Education members expressed general support for the initiative as well as the initiative process. Debbie Cary, a school board member from Ninilchik, said she supports the initiative and is helping the group gather signatures.

“I personally have books for people to sign,” she said.

“We have as a board decided we would support revenue measures at the borough level, so I think as a board we need to be in support of whether it makes it through the initiative process or through assembly action, any revenue measures the borough brings forward,” board member Zen Kelly said.

Board member Lynn Hohl and others expressed the need for a formal declaration of support for the initiative.

“I wish we had a resolution in support, so we could have it written out why we support this,” Hohl said.

David Brighton, president of Kenai Peninsula Education Association, which represents the district’s teachers, said he didn’t know if the association had a plan to formally support the initiative, though he said the district could desperately use more money.

The initiative sponsors will have to submit the signatures to the borough clerk’s office for validation by the deadline. If enough signatures are validated as peninsula residents and qualified voters, the question will go to the ballot. If borough residents vote to pass it, the increase would take effect in January 2019.

Reach Victoria Petersen at vpetersen@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

President Zen Kelly speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, July 7, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
School board finalizes budget with deep cuts to programming, classrooms

Multiple members of the board said they were frustrated by the state’s failure to fund education.

Former KPBSD Finance Director Liz Hayes speaks during a Kenai Peninsula Borough School District budget development meeting at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
School district finance department earns national awards

The two awards are based on comprehensive reviews of the district’s budget and financial reporting.

Children leap forward to grab candy during a Fourth of July parade on South Willow Street in Kenai, Alaska, on July 4, 2025. (Photo courtesy Sarah Every)
Celebrating the 4th in the streets

Kenai comes out for annual Independence Day parade.

Fire crews respond to the Bruce Fire, July 4, 2025, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Alaska Division of Forestry)
Firefighting crews respond to wildfire outside Soldotna

The 8-acre fire and two “spot fires” of less than one acre each are located near Mile 102 and 103 of the Sterling Highway.

Robert Weaver was last seen at the Doroshin Bay public use cabin on June 25, 2025. (Photo provided by the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)
Updated: Refuge ends search efforts for missing man

Robert Weaver was last seen near Skilak Lake on June 25.

The Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team conducts a training mission in Seward, Alaska in 2024. Photo courtesy of the Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team
Anchor Point fundraiser to benefit Alaska rescue and recovery group

Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization established in 2016.

Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic staff (left to right) Angie Holland, RN; Jane Rohr, Sonja Martin Young, CNM; Robin Holmes, MD; and Cherie Bole, CMA provide an array of reproductive and sexual health services. (Photo provided by KBFPC)
Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic releases report on STI trends on the Kenai Peninsula

The report pulls from data gathered from 2024 to early 2025.

Pool manager and swim coach Will Hubler leads a treading water exercise at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Swimmers, parents call on Kenai to support Kenai Central pool

The KPBSD Board of Education last week said communities will need to step up and take over administration of pools within the next year.

Most Read

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in