Alaska’s public schools might get more money, after all.
Nine days after Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a significant increase to the state’s K-12 public school funding formula, the Alaska Senate has approved a compromise education bill that includes a smaller increase.
The bill includes some — but not all — of the policy changes that Dunleavy said were necessary to prevent another veto.
House Bill 57, originally drafted to restrict public school students’ cellphone use, was amended by the Senate before being approved on a bipartisan, 19-1 vote, and must return to the House for a concurrence vote.
That vote could have taken place on Monday, but lawmakers found a technical error with the bill, meaning that the Senate must revote on a new text before the House can act.
The new Senate vote and the House’s concurrence are expected on Wednesday.
When that happens, it will be the third time in two years that the Alaska Legislature has attempted to increase the state’s per-student funding formula.
While the first two attempts were defeated by the governor and Republicans who voted to sustain his vetoes, this third attempt appears to have stronger support among legislative Republicans.
On Monday, five members of the six-person Senate Republican minority hailed the bill, and three said they were prepared to override the governor. Two others said they might do so as well.
“We believe that we have struck the most reasonable compromise we’re going to find this year to get something true that’s going to work,” said Senate Minority Leader Mike Shower, R-Wasilla.
Included in the bill is a $700 per student increase to the base student allocation, the foundation of the state’s public school funding formula.
For years, legislators have tried to adjust the formula to keep up with inflation. If the formula were to be adjusted for inflation since 2011, it would have to rise by $1,808 per student. In recent years, districts have had to slash programs and staff, and public school advocates have cited the lack of BSA increases as a cause. During the same period, public-school enrollment has fallen.
Last year, lawmakers included a one-time funding bonus for public schools in the state budget. That was equivalent to a $680 increase to the BSA. The new funding is only a small year-over-year bump — from $174 million to $183 million, given 2024 class sizes — but it’s particularly important, said Sen. Löki Tobin, D-Anchorage, because it’s part of the foundation formula, which means schools can count on that figure when they write their budgets.
“When it’s inside the BSA, not only can they plan long-term … but it also forces this accountability metric,” she said, explaining that districts will be required to account for their spending differently than if they were receiving a one-time bonus.
The bill also includes more money for pupil transportation programs — school bus services, generally — and it designates the proceeds of a proposed corporate tax update for a program intended to improve younger students’ reading skills.
That section of the bill states that schools would be eligible for at least $450 for each student who passes specific skill thresholds.
That provision, plus stronger prohibitions on student cellphones, were important to Sen. Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, and caused her to vote for the bill. She had voted against the bill that was vetoed by Dunleavy.
“I don’t want children to miss out on … primarily the cellphone ban. I think that will be a game changer with middle and high schoolers. You will see academic improvements as a result of that one policy. The reading incentives, that will also be a game changer. And for those reasons, I don’t want to hold back,” she said.
Conversely, Sen. Robert Myers, R-North Pole, was the only “no” vote on the bill and said that while he and Hughes have similar views, he thinks the designated funding mechanism is unreliable and may be unconstitutional.
The House-passed version of HB 57 only required school districts to set a policy for student cellphone use. The Senate-passed version says that if a district doesn’t have a policy, students are banned from using them in school.
Other changes:
People who want to propose new charter schools can do so at any time of year;
Local school boards must decide charter school applications more quickly, and if an application is rejected, the state school board must act more quickly to decide whether to overrule local officials;
A school board decision to create a charter school can be terminated only for specific reasons;
School districts must set targets for class sizes. The target for prekindergarten through grade 6 cannot exceed 23 students per class, and the target for 7th through 12th grades cannot exceed 30 students per class.
Asked on Monday whether the governor was willing to allow the revised bill to become law, Tobin said she wasn’t sure. She also said she wasn’t sure whether there would be enough votes to override a prospective veto.
“I’ve been working my ass off, so I’m hopeful,” she said.
The AlaskaBeacon.com is a donor-funded independent news organization in Alaska.
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