In an hour-long news conference, Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced plans to veto a sweeping education bill approved by a near-unanimous vote of legislators unless his priorities are passed in the next two weeks.
Precisely what the governor wants and what concessions he may request out of the already passed legislation wasn’t made clear during the rambling news conference. But, he appears to be asking for some form of his teacher bonus program that was rejected by legislators this week, and some expansion of public charter schools. Even if the Legislature gives him what he wants, he refuses to guarantee that it would be fully funded.
Under the Alaska Constitution, bills become law either with the signature of the governor or in 15 days without his signature after it’s transmitted by the governor, which was done on Monday. He can veto the bill any time in that window.
“We have 15 days before it becomes law or I veto, and I made it clear if there are not certain elements in that bill, I won’t sign it into law — I’ll veto it,” he said, referencing “beefing up” reading opportunities and expanding charter schools. “If people really want the BSA, they’re going to want to help to get these items across the finish line over the next 14 days.”
But for all the apparent urgency behind the threat, the governor revealed that he doesn’t plan to return to Juneau until next week. When questioned about his commitment to the negotiations, he grew irate and claimed that his opponents would use his absence as an excuse not to do anything more.
“I’m in constant contact with legislators,” he said. “I plan on working with them. I’ve got people who are working with them.”
Throughout the news conference, which featured a lengthy session of the governor reading and commenting on an editorial by the Anchorage Daily News, Dunleavy offered little new justification for the proposals that have so far been rejected by lawmakers.
He argued that his proposal to pay teachers between $5,000 and $15,000 for completing a year of school is the best and most effective way to recruit and retain teachers, dismissing a growing push to reinstate pensions as unrealistic. When questioned about the program, he framed it as a study to understand whether pay really matters for recruiting and retaining young teachers.
And he once again vaunted a recent study that showed Alaska’s charter schools performed well when compared to other charter programs across the country, overlooking the fact that the study didn’t opine on why Alaska’s program apparently works so well or how it compares to traditional neighborhood schools.
When asked what would actually be different this time around, given that little has actually changed, Dunleavy conceded that he didn’t know.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know what will be different this time, except they will have to decide if they want some of the work they did to get across the finish line. It can’t just be BSA.”
As for the base student allocation increase, the governor refused to say what his preferred funding level will be. His administration has so far belittled the idea of any blanket increase to school funding, arguing that more targeted funding — such as the teacher recruitment plan — is a wiser use of money.
Notably, he refused to say that even if the Legislature relents on his wishes, the underlying increase to school funding or other areas of spending will actually be funded. While the bill could become law, its priorities still need to be funded through the budget, where Dunleavy can exercise even more control through the veto.
“Are we going to be able to fund everything we want?” he said. “I don’t think so … Everything that people would like to have put in the budget is probably not going to get funding, and some of that may include some of these pieces.”
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.