Voters in Kivalina, which has been increasingly eroded by storms on Alaska's northwest coast, have overwhelmingly said yes to building a new school 7 miles away, a step some hope will eventually lead to the seemingly impossible task of relocating the entire community.
City Clerk Marilyn Swan said the unofficial count in Tuesday's election was 107-11 in favor of the proposed school site in an unoccupied area called Kisimagiuqtuq.
Kivalina administrator Janet Mitchell hopes the support adds new life to a proposal to relocate the village, one of Alaska's most eroded communities. She also hopes it hastens construction of a long-desired road that would provide economic development and an escape route for the community of 400, which has seen Kivalina shrink from 54 acres decades ago to half that size today.
Kisimagiuqtuq -- about seven miles northeast of the Inupiat Eskimo community -- is on higher ground and may be a potential gravel source.
Kivalina and at least one other imperiled village, Shishmaref, are planning relocations. But only the Yup'ik Eskimo village of Newtok, about 460 miles south of Kivalina, has begun the actual physical labor of moving.
Once Kivalina's City Council formally counts the votes and certifies the election, the village can proceed with a feasibility study to determine if the proposed school location would work. Other sites have been studied in the past, only to fall short.
If the site is deemed suitable, the village will have to formally request a land transfer from NANA Regional Corp., the Alaska Native corporation that owns the land. Walter Sampson, vice president for NANA's land office, said the process takes about three years.
Kivalina, located 625 miles northwest of Anchorage, is built on an 8-mile barrier island between the Chukchi Sea and the Kivalina River. It is reachable only by plane or boat, and, in winter, also by snowmachine.
Sea ice historically served as a protective buffer for Kivalina, whose economy is based in part on fishing and subsistence hunting of caribou, seal, whale and walrus. With climate change, however, the ice is forming later and melting sooner because of higher temperatures. That has left the village more vulnerable to storm waves and surges that pummel many of Alaska's coastal communities
Funding for the school would stem from a recent agreement by the state to settle a lawsuit that alleged inequities in funding for rural public schools. Tribal leaders also are exploring funding avenues for a road to link the village and the school site should it be officially chosen.
A judge must still approve the agreement, which calls for the governor to seek legislative approval for funding five high-priority rural school construction projects -- including one for Kivalina -- over the next four years. Estimates have put the total cost of the projects at nearly $146 million.
By RACHEL D'ORO
Associated Press