Senate Finance Committee visits Nome to explore NACTEC, NWC

Led by Representative Neal Foster (D-Nome), members of the Alaska Senate Finance Committee explored educational facilities around Nome in early August.

Representatives and senators, including Senator Donny Olson, received tours and hands-on training at the Northwestern Alaska Career and Technical Center, NACTEC for short, and the University of AlaskaFairbanks Northwest Campus.

NACTEC, a vocational training center in Nome, allows students from regional villages to spend several weeks at the facilities, receiving high-level, hands-on trainings in construction, flight and medical skills, as well as interpersonal and basic life skills.

The trainings are geared towards high school-aged students and youth looking learn “soft skills,” Foster explained. “Most vocational schools around the state don’t look like Nome’s. Most are geared towards adults, but Nome’s are exploring soft skills, like interpersonal skills and basic career exploration.”

Foster said the senators are looking at educational facilities like NACTEC across the state to determine funding while working on the state budget. The goal, he said, was to determine an appropriate breakdown for the use of Alaska Technical Vocational Educational Program (TVEP) funding. TVEP funding supports several vocational schools, including NACTEC.

“Senators were in town to see how the education tac credits were working for voch-tech schools,” Foster explained. “NACTEC used to get a good deal more money from organizations like Sitnasuak and Bering Straits Native Corp. but they scaled their giving back when [former] Governor Walker cut back.”

Members of the finance committee were particularly impressed with NACTEC’s hands-on learning experiences and spent time meeting with program coordinators at the facility.

“We did have the Senate Finance Committee in Nome [recently], and they will be coming back soon,” said Nome City Manager Glenn Steckman. “They’re very interested in our Port construction project,” in addition to the community’s education facilities.

Photo by Julia Lerner SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE IN NOME—Members of the Alaska Senate Finance Committee and their guests enjoyed lunch at Nome’s Polar Café before touring the NACTEC education facilities on a rainy Friday afternoon. (L-R) House District 39 Representative Neal Foster, Senator Donny Olson, Olson’s wife Willow, Foster’s aunt Iris Magnell, Senator Natasha von Imhof, Darlene Bishop (wife of Senator Click Bishop), Senator Click Bishop and Senator Bert Stedman.