00CS FOR SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 19(FIN) am                                                                    
01 Relating to the use of prototype designs in public school construction projects.                                        
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                              
03  WHEREAS art. VII, sec. 1, Constitution of the State of Alaska, requires the state to                                 
04 establish and maintain a system of public schools to meet the educational needs of children                             
05 throughout the state; and                                                                                               
06  WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature recognizes the crucial role that local school                                   
07 districts serve in the state in meeting this most important constitutional responsibility; and                          
08  WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature understands the challenges school districts                                     
09 face to ensure Alaska's children have skilled teachers, quality curriculum, and safe schools;                           
10 and                                                                                                                     
11  WHEREAS continued growth is projected in the state's school age population that will                                 
12 increase the need for new schools and place further pressure on school district budgets; and                            
13  WHEREAS prudent stewardship of state resources requires that every effort be made                                    
14 to get the best value for each state dollar spent; and                                                                  

01  WHEREAS use of prototype school designs has enabled the Municipality of                                              
02 Anchorage, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Kenai Peninsula Borough, and Matanuska-Susitna                                 
03 Borough school districts to more quickly and economically respond to their district's need for                          
04 new schools and realize cost savings; and                                                                               
05  WHEREAS the use of prototype school designs reduces future routine and major                                         
06 maintenance cost and improves a school district's maintenance program through the use of                                
07 standardized building components, systems, and products; and                                                            
08  WHEREAS school districts experience substantially fewer problems during the first                                    
09 school year in a prototype school, thereby reducing the school district's costs and improving                           
10 the teaching environment for teachers and learning environment for students; and                                        
11  WHEREAS public facilities should be designed to accurately reflect the unique needs                                  
12 of our subarctic and arctic environments, and northern design principles can help minimize                              
13 annual operating and maintenance costs;                                                                                 
14  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature encourages school districts to                                      
15 use prototype school designs wherever feasible so future school classrooms can be constructed                           
16 quicker and funds maximized; and be it                                                                                  
17  FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor is requested to direct the Department of                                          
18 Education to develop prototype school designs for schools in consultation with engineering                              
19 and architecture design professionals, including their statewide and regional organizations, who                        
20 are familiar with the unique climatic conditions in this state as well as other conditions that                         
21 affect application of appropriate school designs; and be it                                                             
22  FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor is requested to direct the Department of                                          
23 Education to consult with the bond reimbursement and grant review committee established                                 
24 under AS 14.11.014 in developing designs and incentives for school districts to use prototype                           
25 school designs in school construction funded through the educational facilities maintenance                             
26 and construction fund (AS 37.05.560); and be it                                                                         
27  FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor is requested to direct the Department of                                          
28 Education, in those instances where a prototype design may not be appropriate, to identify                              
29 components within prototype building designs that can be standardized and can be                                        
30 incorporated into the school design; and be it                                                                          
31  FURTHER RESOLVED that, if statutory changes are necessary to implement these                                         

01 incentives, the Department of Education is requested to report suggested statutory changes to                           
02 the legislature by April 1, 1998, so the changes can be considered by the Second Regular                                
03 Session of the Twentieth Alaska State Legislature.                                                                      
04  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to Shirley J. Holloway, commissioner of                                      
05 education, to the Alaska State Board of Education, and to the school board of each school                               
06 district.