Lawmakers hope that changing the Alaska Constitution might be the key to sparing the state’s ailing public school system from the perennial fight over funding.
The Senate on Wednesday voted to advance a constitutional amendment that would allow legislators to create a dedicated fund in the state treasury for public education, which could in turn pave the way for taxes dedicated to public schools. If SJR 29 is also approved in the House, the change would be put up to voters in this year’s elections.
The measure addresses a wonky part of the Alaska Constitution that generally prohibits the state from permanently dedicating money to a specific purpose. Intended to stop one year’s Legislature from tying the hands of a future Legislature, the measure means that legislators cannot, say, levy an income tax and promise that the money will only go to popular causes, like a public school system that has faced years and years of closures.
Even if they earmark money for a specific purpose, as they do with marijuana taxes, that money can be redirected by a simple majority vote in a future budget.
That lack of certainty is fueling at least some of the skepticism around the broader talks lawmakers are having about new taxes to balance the state budget, with some warning that tax money could eventually be funneled away. (Whether those concerns are well-meaning or not is another question entirely, given that some Republicans have plainly said that being a good Republican means opposing taxes.)
Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, carried the measure on the Senate floor, arguing that it would simply lay the groundwork for creating a dedicated fund. It’d allow future legislators to explore taxes — whether income or sales taxes, or changes to the state’s corporate and oil tax structures — permanently tied to schools (well, barring another amendment to the Alaska Constitution), possibly making raising revenue a little more palatable.
“Let the people decide whether the arguments we make are good for this constitutional amendment to put our kids at a better advantage with adequate funding,” he said. “Or should the people decide, no, the status quo is wonderful. It’s fair, it’s equitable. There’s no need to do anything to change our constitution … This is not saying it will be done. It’s saying. let’s ask the people. Everybody says the people know best.”
He also noted that education deserves special attention because it’s one of the few things that is plainly spelled out as a duty in the Alaska Constitution, which says all students must be provided an education. The state has been successfully sued several times for failing to meet that duty, and is currently facing a new lawsuit.
The legislature shall by general law establish and maintain a system of public schools open to all children of the State, and may provide for other public educational institutions. Schools and institutions so established shall be free from sectarian control. No money shall be paid from public funds for the direct benefit of any religious or other private educational institution.
Alaska Constitution, Article VII, § 1. Public Education
The lone opposition was voiced by North Pole Republican Sen. Robert Myers, who argued that while education may be a priority, “but that priorities do change,” and warned that the next flavor-of-the-month cause might also expect its own special dedicated clause.
“Education should be a high priority. It is. There is a reason that it is mentioned as a legislative duty in the Constitution. But priorities do change,” he said. “Sometimes things happen … we’ve got a lot of other issues, though, that have taken up time and interest over the years. You know, they change every five or 10 years or so. I expect if we go this route, that we’re going to be setting a precedent.”
Myers was only joined by Republican Sens. Cathy Tilton and George Rauscher in voting against the measure (it’s also worth noting that after Rauscher voted against a dedicated school fund, he introduced a gallery of public school students visiting from his district).
Because it is a proposed constitutional amendment, the measure needed a two-thirds majority to clear the chamber, which it reached with the support of Republican Sens. Mike Cronk, James Kaufman and Robert Yunt. It’ll need several Republicans to sign on in the House, where it will need 27 votes. If both chambers approve of the measure, it’ll appear on this year’s general election ballot, where it would need the support of a majority of voters.
Any actual details of the dedicated fund or any related taxes would be decided later, likely by whoever wins the 2026 elections. But one example is in the Senate’s rewrite of a tax bill, which would levy a $20 to $60 yearly tax on Alaska workers.
SJR 29 was the second constitutional amendment to advance out of the Senate this week.
SJR 2 by Sen. Matt Claman would lower the threshold for overriding a governor’s budget veto from three-quarters to two-thirds of the Legislature, or from 45 votes to 40. Until last year’s votes on education funding, the 45-vote threshold was effectively an impossible bar to clear. Lowering the threshold to the same level as non-budget veto overrides of 40 is still tricky, but more likely in the future. It passed the Senate 14-6 on Monday, with minority Republicans voting against the measure
Both measures now head to the House, where they’ll need at least 27 votes to be sent to voters.
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 Bluesky.
