The applause-drawing question: What's your favorite food?

Parnell's answer: ice cream.

Also getting an enthusiastic response from the young crowd was a question from Tucker Weston: Can I shake your hand?

Parnell's answer was to run across the gym and clasp the third-grader's extended hand.

There were tougher questions, however. Some were posed by a nine-member student press corps comprised of Lindsey Schneider, Graison Sitenga, Isabel Beach, Jordan Raymond, Briea Gregory, Wyatt Frank, Sierra DeLoach, Jared Gee and Leo Ogle. Parnell also accepted questions from the rest of the students, pointing to raised hands.

Leading off the questions was one from Ogle, a Fireweed student, asking Parnell who he consulted first during a time of national crisis.

"That's a good question," Parnell said. "First I say a prayer for guidance. Then I gather my cabinet."

Other questions required lengthier answers, such as the reason drivers pay more for gas in Alaska than other areas of the United States and how he knows which "side to side with" when a debate occurs. The youngsters asked about Parnell's plans for the future of education in Alaska and for protecting the state's wildlife and fisheries. They also wanted to know where he stands on the debate on health care reform and how he deals with problems of getting one resource at the expense of another.

When asked what he could do to make school lunches better, Parnell directed the question back to the students.

"You can," the governor said of students' power to change their own world. Outlining a plan of action, he suggested they form a student group, select the two or three most important changes they'd like made and take their concerns to their teachers and principal.

"Is it hard to be governor?" a student asked.

"I don't think so," Parnell said, adding that it was challenging, "but it's a very rewarding job.'

The final question: How much does a governor get paid?

Answer: $125,000 and a house in Juneau.

Earlier in the day, Parnell spoke at the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce conference. See related story, page 1.