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[Senate Report 108-414]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                       Calendar No. 806
108th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     108-414

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PROVIDING HABITABLE LIVING QUARTERS FOR TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATORS, OTHER 
SCHOOL STAFF, AND THEIR HOUSEHOLDS IN RURAL AREAS OF ALASKA LOCATED IN 
                     OR NEAR ALASKA NATIVE VILLAGES

                                _______
                                

               November 17, 2004.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Campbell, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1905]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
bill (S. 1905), to provide habitable living quarters for 
teachers, administrators, other school staff, and their 
households in rural areas of Alaska located in or near Alaska 
Native Villages, having considered the same, reports favorably 
thereon with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and 
recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The lack of habitable living quarters in rural areas of the 
State of Alaska has made it difficult to retain and recruit 
teachers, administrators, other school staff, and their 
households to serve in the teaching profession in that state.
    The primary purpose of the Rural Teacher Housing Act of 
2004 (S. 1905) is to address these problems by increasing the 
number of habitable living quarters in or near Alaska Native 
Villages, which in turn will improve the educational 
opportunities for Alaska native children who live in these 
areas.
    This legislation authorizes funding to assist eligible 
school districts in rural Alaska to address the housing 
shortage in several ways: Construction, purchase, lease 
orrehabilitation of housing units, including purchase or lease of 
property upon which the units are located, and related activities; 
repayment of loans for teacher housing projects; and funding for any 
remaining costs for teacher housing projects that are not already 
financed by loans or other sources of funding.

                               BACKGROUND

    Status of Rural Alaska Teacher Housing. Rural public school 
districts in Alaska--located in areas not connected to the 
Alaska road system--face the challenge of recruiting and 
retaining teachers, administrators, and other school staff due 
to the lack of adequate housing in rural communities. These 
school districts include a significant number of Alaska Native 
children whose education is negatively impacted by such 
conditions.
    Survey. The Teacher Housing Working Group--comprised of the 
Denali Commission, the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development (HUD), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the 
State of Alaska Department of Education and Early Development 
(ADEED), Alaska Native housing authorities, and the Alaska 
Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC)--released a survey in 
August, 2004 detailing teacher housing conditions.
    The survey targeted 51 rural school districts in Alaska and 
found that 57 percent of the school districts surveyed 
experienced challenges in recruiting and retaining teachers. In 
particular, 33 percent of the schools noted that the condition 
or lack of housing was a factor impacting teachers decisions to 
resign.
    This survey categorized the 51 rural school districts into 
three levels of teacher housing need: 53 percent of the school 
districts have limited need for teacher housing, 29 percent 
have moderate need, and 17 percent have high need. The primary 
factor used in the survey to determine the level of need for 
teacher housing was the impact of teacher housing on teacher 
attrition.
    For instance, school districts in the ``limited need'' 
category experienced some challenges with teacher housing but 
which were not sufficiently detrimental to affect the retention 
of teachers. School districts in the ``moderate need'' category 
have problems with the cost of rental housing or housing 
construction. Such districts also rely on the private sector to 
supply housing for their teachers, however, unmet needs still 
exist.
    The ``high need'' school districts have problems with 
affordability, quality, and availability of housing. The survey 
found that 65 percent of the housing units owned by the ``high 
need'' school districts need either major repairs or 
replacement. The cost of repairing the estimated 230 units that 
need repair is projected at $5.9 million. The survey also 
estimates that the total development cost to replace existing 
housing units and construct additional new units to meet demand 
is $100,489,104. Such a funding level would be sufficient to 
construct approximately 498 new housing units.
    Site Visits. During site visits in 2003 through rural 
Alaska with Education Secretary Rod Paige, Senator Murkowski 
found terrible housing conditions facing the school districts. 
In particular, at the Native village school in Savoonga, 
located on an island off the coast of Nome, the principal slept 
in a broom closet in the school due to the lack of housing in 
that village. The special education teacher slept in her 
classroom, bringing a mattress out each evening to sleep on the 
floor. The other teachers shared housing in a single home with 
no room for the teachers' spouses. The conditions existing at 
Savoonga are commonplace for teacher housing in rural Alaska.
    These conditions result in a significant hardship for the 
rural school districts. Rural Alaskan school districts 
experience a high rate of teacher turnover--as high as 30 
percent each year--with housing conditions cited as a major 
factor.
    Serious difficulties in recruitment of teachers also exist 
due to the lack of housing. For example, the Lower Kuskokwim 
School District in southwest Alaska reported that it could only 
hire one teacher for every six who decide not to accept job 
offers. Half of its applicants who did not accept a teaching 
position indicated that their decision wasbased on housing 
factors.
    The lack of and quality of teacher housing in rural Alaska 
is a problem unique to Alaska and is further compounded by the 
inaccessibility of the village communities. Most of the 
communities in rural Alaska are not accessible by roads, with 
such communities served only by air or water.
    Because of this inaccessibility, it is also very expensive 
to transport building equipment and supplies to such rural 
communities. In many cases, it is prohibitively expensive to 
deliver such supplies by way of aircraft. Most supplies must be 
delivered by barges which can only reach targeted communities 
less than six months per year--when the waterways (rivers, 
specifically) are free of ice.
    Funding authorized by S. 1905 would also assist with the 
cost of transporting equipment and supplies to and from these 
rural communities.
    By creating better teacher housing conditions, rural school 
districts will be able to recruit and retain more educators and 
their families. Such stability will greatly benefit the 
education of Alaska Native students.

                      SUMMARY OF MAJOR PROVISIONS

    The Rural Teacher Housing Act of 2004 authorizes funding 
for teacher housing projects in rural school districts in 
Alaska. The funding is provided by the Department of 
Agriculture to the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC), 
which is a State of Alaska agency. The AHFC--with significant 
experience in rural Alaska housing--is authorized to provide 
grant and loan funds to rural Alaskan school districts.
    Funding can then be used for purposes of constructing, 
purchasing, leasing or rehabilitating housing units, including 
purchasing or leasing the property upon which the units are 
located and related activities, and repayment of loans for 
teacher housing projects.
    The bill also addresses the allowable uses for funding and 
delineates how funding is to be disbursed to eligible school 
districts in qualified Alaskan communities. Also, the bill 
specifies the entities that may own teacher housing or land 
paid for by funds authorized by this legislation and who may 
occupy such teacher housing units.
    Generally, housing developed under this bill will be 
available to teachers, administrators, other school staff, and 
members of their households, however under certain 
circumstances, school districts may make the housing available 
to non-educators on a temporary basis. The Alaska Housing 
Finance Corporation determines the maximum period of time a 
non-educator may occupy such housing. Additionally, the 
committee strongly recommends that the Alaska Housing Finance 
Corporation, after consulting with the relevant eligible school 
districts, determine the level of rental payments, if any, such 
occupants must pay to the owner of the applicable teacher 
housing units.
    The bill also mandates that all teacher housing 
constructed, purchased, rehabilitated, or leased with funds 
authorized by this bill complies with all applicable laws, 
regulations, and ordinances. The administration of grant and 
loan funds available under this bill made to eligible school 
districts is to be governed by the policies established by the 
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation.
    The bill specifically provides that the Alaska Housing 
Finance Corporation shall establish such policies after 
consulting with eligible school districts. During the 
legislative hearing on this bill, a witness strongly suggested 
that, in addition to the eligible school districts, the Alaska 
Housing Finance Corporation also consult with Alaska Native 
entities located in the areas where the eligible school 
districts are located. Such entities would include Native 
village corporations, tribally designated housing entities, and 
related entities. The Committee agrees and strongly encourages 
the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation to consult with such 
Alaska Native entities.
    Furthermore, during the legislative hearing on the bill, 
one of the witnesses recommended strongly that school districts 
that receive funds authorized by this legislationhire local 
workers who live in the communities where teacher housing projects take 
place. The Committee agrees and strongly encourages this type of 
hiring.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 1905 was introduced on November 20, 2003, by Senator 
Murkowski for herself and for Senator Campbell and was referred 
to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
    A hearing on S. 1905 was held on March 16, 2004, and 
testimony was provided by a teacher from the Lower Yukon School 
District, a rural school district in Alaska; a technology 
trainer from the Northwest Arctic Borough School District, a 
rural school district in Alaska; the superintendent of the 
Yukon-Koyukuk School District, a rural school district in 
Alaska; the Co-Director of the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative 
at the Alaska Federation of Natives; the Director of Rural 
Program Development at the School of Education at the 
University of Alaska, Fairbanks; the executive director of the 
Association of Alaska School Boards; the Commissioner of the 
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development; and the 
former principal of the village school in Savoonga, Alaska. All 
witnesses expressed support for the bill.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1. Short Title. This section cites the short title 
as the ``Rural Teacher Housing Act of 2004''.
    Section 2. Findings and Purpose. This section sets forth 
Congressional findings and the purposes of the legislation. 
Among the findings is the finding that rural teacher housing in 
Alaska is often substandard, if available at all; alternative 
shelter such as the school buildings themselves must be used; 
there are increased challenges, including meeting the mandates 
of the No Child Left Behind Act; and recruitment and retention 
of employees are problematic due to the lack of affordable, 
quality housing. The purpose of this bill is to provide 
habitable living quarters for teachers, administrators, other 
school staff, and their households in rural areas of Alaska 
located in or near Alaska Native Villages.
    Section 3. Definitions. Section 3 provides definitions for 
terms used throughout the Act.
    Section 4. Rural Teacher Housing Program. This section 
authorizes the Department of Agriculture to provide funds for 
the construction of or improvements to teacher housing units in 
rural areas of Alaska located in or near Alaska Native Villages 
as block grants to the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation. This 
section also establishes standards and criteria for use and 
disbursement of such funds to eligible school districts--either 
in the form of grants or loans--including program policies and 
revisions to such policies.
    Section 5. Regulations. This section requires the 
Department of Agriculture to promulgate regulations necessary 
to carry out this Act.
    Section 6. Authorization of Appropriations. Section 6 
authorizes appropriations of such sums as are necessary to 
carry out this Act for each fiscal year through 2015, including 
the amount of funds available for administrative expenses.

            COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND TABULATION OF VOTE

    In an open business session on September 29, 2004, the 
Committee considered a substitute amendment to S. 1905 proposed 
by Senator Murkowski. Following adoption of the amendment, the 
Committee voted unanimously to favorably report the substitute 
amendment to the full Senate with a recommendation that the 
bill do pass.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The cost estimate for S. 1905, as evaluated by the 
Congressional Budget Office, is set forth below:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, November 10, 2004.
Hon. Ben Nighthorse Campbell,
Chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1905, the Rural 
Teacher Housing Act of 2004.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Chad Chirico.
            Sincerely,
                                       Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

S. 1905--Rural Teacher Housing Act of 2004

    Summary: S. 1905 would authorize the appropriation of funds 
for a program, beginning in fiscal year 2006, to provide 
housing for teachers in rural areas of Alaska located in or 
near native villages. The Secretary of Agriculture will provide 
funding to the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, which would 
make grants or loans to eligible school districts.
    CBO estimates that appropriation of the necessary amounts 
would cost $82 million over the 2006-2010 period. Enacting S. 
1905 would not affect direct spending or revenues.
    S. 1905 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). 
The bill would benefit the state of Alaska and tribal 
governments in the state; any costs to those governments would 
result from complying with conditions of federal assistance.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated 
budgetary impact of S. 1905 is shown in the following table. 
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 600 
(income security).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                           -----------------------------------------------------
                                                              2005     2006     2007     2008     2009     2010
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Estimated Authorization Level.............................        0       21       22       22       23       23
Estimated Outlays.........................................        0        2       13       22       22       23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Basis of estimate: Based on data from the Alaska Department 
of Education and Early Development, CBO estimates that there 
are approximately 3,000 teachers employed by public schools in 
rural areas in or near native villages. A study conducted for 
Alaska's Denali Commission indicates that approximately 500 new 
units of housing are needed to assure teacher recruitment, 
retention, and job satisfaction at an estimated average 
development cost of $200,000. Although the program is 
authorized for the 10-year period beginning in 2006, CBO 
assumes that grants funding roughly 100 units annually would be 
provided for the first five years of the period. Adjusting the 
development costs for inflation, CBO estimates that 
implementing the Rural Teacher Housing Act would require the 
appropriation of $111 million over the 2006-2010 period, which 
would result in outlays of $82 million over that period.
    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 1905 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in UMRA. The bill would benefit the state of Alaska and 
tribal governments in the state; any costs to those governments 
would result from complying with conditions of federal 
assistance.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Chad Chirico; Impact 
on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Sarah Puro; and Impact 
on the Private Sector: Nabeel Alsalam.
    Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

               REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT

    Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the 
Senate requires that each report accompanying a bill to 
evaluate the regulatory and paperwork impact that would be 
incurred in carrying out the bill. The Committee believes that 
the regulatory impact of S. 1905 will be minimal.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    There have been no executive communications received on 
this legislation.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    In compliance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee finds that the 
enactment of S. 1905 will not result in any changes in existing 
law.

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