After a week of delayed meetings, narrow votes and a bit of brinksmanship, the Alaska House approved a landmark deal on Thursday night to increase public school funding and implement several other reforms.
The deal calls for a $680 increase to the base student allocation, which would make permanent the one-time increase approved by legislators last year. It’s a figure that falls well short of the $1,413 increase requested by educators to keep up with inflation. Still, legislators said it’s what’s feasible given the state’s politics and unresolved budget problems.
The legislation passed with a 38-2 vote.
With the Senate expected to swiftly approve the deal early next week, the agreement marks a relatively early resolution to one of the most pressing issues before the Legislature this year. It’s unclear what Gov. Mike Dunleavy may do when the bill reaches his desk.
“Tonight really is a historic night,” said Rep. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham. “We have flipped the script on a major omnibus bill by doing it early in the session and not at the very end under the pressure of adjournment. I want to thank a number of first-term legislators for leading the way. They brought us together on issues that were so disparate and so polarizing that just 24 hours ago I was doubtful that we would have gotten to where we are tonight.”
The legislation faced an uphill battle after a series of failed procedural votes earlier this week saw the House fail to take up versions of the bill drafted by the House Rules Committee and the House Finance Committee. The House Rules Committee wrote a far-ranging omnibus loaded with conservative priorities such as expanding public charter schools, increased funding for public home school students, and Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s controversial teacher bonus program. It faced significant pushback after it received only a single hearing to discuss the changes.
After legislators blocked that omnibus from being adopted, House Republicans warned that it would likely kill the bill altogether. For a few days, it looked like it could be a reality, with Republicans blocking a series of amendments to increase the base student allocation on Wednesday.
But legislators in the House and Senate continued to work on a deal, reaching one on Thursday night that included the base student allocation increase as well as more moderate versions of the conservative priorities.
Rather than giving the state broad authority to force local school districts to open and operate charter schools, the legislation creates a statewide coordinator position. It also requires the state to follow standards when considering charter application appeals. The governor’s teacher bonus program — which would pay teachers between $5,000 and $15,000 for completing a year of teaching for the next three years — is now intent language asking districts to consider implementing similar incentives with increased funding.
The one conservative priority that emerged unscathed is increased funding districts receive for students participating in public home school programs. It would set the funding at 100% of brick-and-mortar students rather than 90%.
The legislation also includes a new provision aimed at helping schools implement the 2022 Alaska Reads Act, legislation aimed at improving reading with targeted help for students in grades K-3. Districts have warned they don’t have the resources to implement the measure effectively, so legislators included an additional $500 per K-3 student eligible for reading interventions, which is expected to affect about 70% of K-3 students.
The underlying purpose of the bill, increasing internet speeds for remote schools, also remains in the bill.
After several heated days filled with accusations, Thursday’s vote marked a turning point for legislators.
“One team, one fight,” Anchorage Republican Rep. Stanley Wright, who carried the compromise amendment on the House floor, said while recalling a note from the former Rep. Josiah Patkotak. “Right now, that’s what we have.”
Still, amid the jubilation, there was a pang of disappointment from many legislators. Several progressive legislators noted that the funding falls well short of what’s needed to keep up with years of inflation and flat funding. They said several school districts will still face tough decisions like closing schools and reducing programs.
Despite those shortcomings, many saw it as an essential step toward bringing stability to schools.
Anchorage Democratic Rep. Genevieve Mina said the animosity toward schools and parents is misplaced and that the struggles of schools reflect the struggles people face in the state with poverty, food insecurity and other issues. She said she knows schools can be a hand-up for many students who don’t have the same opportunities as others because Anchorage’s schools did that for her.
“Those were opportunities that were afforded to me because of the investment this state had in public education,” she said. “We can still do that, and I see this as one step in a movement forward to figure out how we can do better for our kids because this state and previous legislators did that for me.”
Matt Acuña Buxton is a long-time political reporter who has written for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and The Midnight Sun political blog. He also authors the daily politics newsletter, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Twitter.