For the second year in a row, state lawmakers failed to override the governor’s veto of a bill that would have increased funding for K-12 schools by $1,000 per student. Lawmakers got 33 of the 40 votes needed.
Kenai Peninsula lawmakers voted along caucus lines – only Nikiski Republican Sen. Jesse Bjorkman voted to override. The vote came less than a week after Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed the bill, which he said was too expensive and lacked his policy priorities. He wants longer application periods for prospective charter schools, incentive grants for school districts who boost student literacy and open enrollment across school districts, among other things.
Ahead of the vote, Bjorkman said the money in the bill, House Bill 69, is necessary for the state to meet its Constitutional obligation to fund education. And he pushed back on claims the bill is too expensive.
“That keeps schools open in our communities, that keeps class sizes at a reasonable level, certainly prevents them from getting more unreasonable,” he said. “It preserves educational opportunities that allows kids to learn stuff that brings them to school and gets them in the door so that they can learn reading, writing and math.”
Bill supporters, including Kenai Peninsula Borough School District officials, say it provides needed financial relief to districts facing what they say is a lack of sufficient state funding. Opponents say the bill is too expensive and lacks policy initiatives needed to improve students’ academic performance and hold district administrators accountable.
Soldotna Republican Reps. Justin Ruffridge and Bill Elam, as well as Homer Republican Rep. Sarah Vance, all voted to sustain Duleavy’s veto and didn’t speak on the bill Tuesday. Kodiak Republicans Louise Stutes and Gary Stevens voted to override.
On Facebook, Ruffridge called lawmakers’ handling of House Bill 69 a “circus” and said the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District deserves better. He voted to override Dunleavy’s veto last year, but said this year’s decision was more difficult.
“To our teachers, paraprofessionals, custodians, theater techs, cafeteria staff, coaches, counselors—and so many others—I see you,” he wrote. “I know today was devastating. This fight has drained your energy, manipulated your emotions, and left you feeling forgotten. You continue to feel the sting of a legislature who are too wrapped up in optics to deliver results.”
In a press release from the House Minority Caucus, Elam said he supports moving quickly on a more effective solution.
“The power should rest with the people not the system, nor special interest groups,” he’s quoted as saying. “Alaska’s families want a better future for their kids, and that means investing in what works—not throwing money into a broken system.”
At the same time lawmakers voted in Juneau, Kenai Peninsula school board members convened in Soldotna for a special finance committee meeting to continue hashing out cuts needed to balance a forecast deficit. The board built three budgets that each assume different funding levels from the state.
Committee Chair Zen Kelly kicked the meeting off with a reminder that their budget is malleable.
“I've got to stress that this is a preliminary budget,” he said. “It's a draft … we will continue to look at it, even hold special meetings when we need to, as we get answers on the funding from the borough and funding from the state.”
School board members will hold a special meeting tomorrow to vote on a balanced budget. The budget will then go to the borough assembly for a vote up or down. Borough Mayor Peter Micciche has already said he won’t support giving the school district all the money it’s asking for. But at least one assembly member – Brent Johnson – said they’ll try to give the district as much money as the borough is able through an amendment to Micciche’s proposal.
Heading into the current budget cycle, the district faced a $17 million shortfall if it wanted to implement a status quo spending plan. That deficit grows to more than $20 million at the funding level offered by the borough. And it doesn’t include more than $15 million worth of raises the district’s two biggest employee unions are requesting as part of ongoing contract negotiations.
During their Tuesday work session, finance committee members added Sterling Elementary School to the list of cuts it will make even if it gets a $680 increase to the base student allocation from the state. The K-12 Nikolaevsk School is also on the list of budget cuts, even in the district’s best-case scenario.
At the same time he vetoed House Bill 69, Dunleavy introduced a new education bill that included his priorities. That bill, House Bill 204, is sitting before the House Finance Committee.
