The Alaska House of Representatives passed a sweeping bipartisan education bill late Thursday.
The $246 million bill would permanently increase state education funding, improve internet speeds in some rural schools and provide new aid to charter schools.
Rep. Craig Johnson, an Anchorage Republican and chairman of the House Rules Committee, who led the bill on behalf of House leadership, said it was a compromise.
“This will ensure schools can plan. Is it everything they want? No,” he said. “You rarely get everything you want. This is an example of that.”
The bill would increase the base student allotment, the largest part of the state's education funding structure, by $680. This is the first significant increase since 2016.
House Minority Leader Rep. Calvin Schrage, R-Anchorage, said this is far from what is needed, but it's still something.
“Gives schools the support they need. Does it make them whole? No. But does it provide essential support to keep them moving forward? It's putting fuel in the tank. Will it? Absolutely,” Schrage said.
The bill creates a new Department of Education position dedicated to supporting charter schools and adds an appeals process for charter schools whose contracts have been revoked.
The bill would also increase state funding for distance learning students and provide support for young students with reading deficiencies. And there's also non-binding language directing schools to use the increased funding for “teacher pay and retention bonuses” in place of the more controversial bonus proposal.
Sen. Bill Wilechowski, an Anchorage Democrat and chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, said he plans to vote for the bill and wouldn't be surprised if the Senate simply voted to adopt the House's changes. Stated. He said he was optimistic.
“I think this bodes well for the rest of the session. I think this bodes well for the other big issues we have,” he said on the Senate-passed public sector pension bill and the looming rail belt gas crunch. he said while referring to this.
But whether Gov. Mike Dunleavy will sign the bill is an open question. He reached out to the governor's press staff for comment, but there was no immediate response.
Before the bill was announced Thursday, the governor's communications director said in a prepared statement that the governor would not support legislation that “fails to address educational outcomes in public schools.”
“Reforming Alaska's education system requires expanded access to charter schools and financial incentives for teacher recruitment and retention,” Turner said ahead of Thursday night's floor session. .
Eric Stone covers state government, tracking the Alaska Legislature, state policy and its impact on Alaskans as a whole. Please contact us at estone@alaskapublic.org.
