Alaska House education proposal reveals fissures and evolving policies

JUNEAU — A House Republican education package was introduced Wednesday to revive talks on funding for Alaska's schools after Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a $200 million education bill.

House Bill 392 was introduced last week by Rep. Tom McKay, an Anchorage Republican, shortly before lawmakers tried to override Dunleavy's veto of an education package lacking priorities, failing by one vote.

The new version of the McKay bill would increase Alaska's $1.2 billion education budget by $175 million a year, an increase that Alaska education officials have long requested, and would also increase homeschooling. It also includes Republican priorities such as significant increases in funding for eligible students and provisions to increase the number of educators. charter school.

But Wednesday's House Education Committee hearing derailed when two members of the Republican-led House majority got into a shouting match over the button.

Rep. Jamie Allard, R-Eagle River, co-chair of the Education Committee, told Rep. CJ McCormick, D-Bethel, one of three non-Republicans in the majority caucus, “The basics. He demanded that he unbutton his jacket, which read “Student Allotment $1,413.” — The numbers refer to a school funding boost that education advocates say is needed after years of essentially flat school funding and high inflation.

Allard said he believed the button was “propaganda” and adjourned the meeting to consult with the council's lawyers. McCormick said during a break in proceedings that he did not have to remove the button, but would do so as a sign of respect for Allard. She interrupted him.

“Maybe you should give everyone an apology tour…that reflects your age,” Allard said loudly, to audible gasps from lawmakers watching in the committee room. McCormick, 26, is currently the youngest member of the Alaska State Legislature.

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[Watch the exchange via Gavel Alaska:]

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Rep. Andy Storey, a Juneau Democrat who serves on the school board, called the incident “unfortunate.” “It was painful to watch,” said Rep. Dan Ortiz, an independent from Ketchikan, who was watching from the bleachers.

Wednesday's friction reflected deep ideological and personal divisions within the House majority. The school board was unable to meet for much of February after Republican co-chairs Allard and Soldotna Rep. Justin Loughridge could not agree on a hearing date.

[Surprise cancellation of a legislative hearing on Alaska prison deaths exposes fissures in the House]

Hopes that an education bill will be passed this year are fading. The bipartisan Senate majority and House minority agreed that House Republicans would vote earlier this month in favor of the education bill and against Dunleavy's veto override. He insists that he must take the lead in passing a new education funding bill. Same bill 2 weeks later.

“Those who voted not to override the veto now carry more of the burden of resolving this challenge,” Rep. Andy Josephson, an Anchorage Democrat, said Tuesday.

McKay was one of the Republicans who voted for the bill in February and later opposed the governor's decision to override it. McKay, who only narrowly defeated his Democratic rival in 2022, acknowledged the importance of passing education legislation before the scheduled end of the session in May.

“I don't know if it's good for the majority or the minority to not pass good legislation on education,” McKay said.

McKay added, “Everyone was really excited about 140,” referring to Senate Bill 140, which Dunleavy vetoed. “So if they really want it, this is a replacement. We think it's better that way.”

But on Wednesday, McKay suggested the bill, estimated to cost more than $200 million a year, is still in the works. As the bill was introduced, McKay said he planned to remove some provisions from his original proposal and change nearly every other part of the bill.

The current version of the bill includes a provision that would cost the state about $40 million a year to improve internet speeds for local schools, but that provision was passed in a separate bill that was already signed into law. As such, it is planned to be excluded. Dunleavy on Wednesday.

McKay's bill also includes teacher bonuses that are expected to cost the state about $180 million over three years. McKay said he would remove the provision, which Dunleavy supported, because it “has proven to be very controversial in this Congress.”

What was unchanged in the bill was a promise to increase the base student allotment by increasing the $5,960 base student allotment by $680, at a cost of approximately $175 million annually. This provision, along with $7 million in additional student transportation funding, comes directly from the bill Dunleavy vetoed.

Ron Garrison, executive director of the Alaska School Boards Association, said Wednesday that the association is “raising the $680 increase to the BSA even though it is far less than the $1,413 needed to account for inflation since 2016. I appreciate the suggestion.”

Other sections of the bill, all of which are expected to undergo significant changes in unpublished legislation, include funding for homeschooled students, funding for reading assistance, and changes to how charter schools are approved. is included. The new version of the bill appears to have the support of Education Commissioner Deena Bishop, who spoke in favor of it during a Board of Education hearing.

Allard set a March 31 deadline for amendments to the bill, even though the new version of the bill that McKay outlined on Wednesday has not yet been submitted to MPs in writing. McKay indicated the bill could come up for another hearing next week, but that hearing had not yet been scheduled as of Wednesday.

Funding for students studying at home

As currently written, the bill includes $13 million annually for about 20,000 Alaska students participating in home-study programs. But McKay said he would like to amend that provision to further increase funding for students enrolled in distance learning programs, although the additional costs are unclear.

Under McKay's new proposal, correspondence students would receive 120% of their base student quota instead of the 100% currently included in the bill. Under current law, correspondence students receive 90% of their allocation, reflecting their lack of dependence on district buildings and other fixed costs.

Bishop said the increase is needed to account for services homeschooled students need, such as career and technical education.

Opponents of the increase argue that school districts have limited control over how these funds are spent and that the funds are not being used effectively because the majority of correspondence students do not participate in state exams. They point out that it is difficult to know whether or not they are present, and express concern.

Funding for reading support

The bill as currently written includes $500 in funding for each kindergarten through third grade student determined to have reading deficiencies, which would cost more than $6 million a year. Estimated. However, McKay said he would like to see that provision changed as well.

The new version includes $180 for each K-12 student in Alaska, regardless of reading ability, and an additional $100 for each student enrolled in Title I schools with a high percentage of low-income students. included. Mr. McKay's office did not provide a cost estimate for the changes.

Mr Bishop said he was “not a fan” of only providing funding to students deemed to be lacking in ability.

“We really want to look at supporting them throughout the process,” Bishop said. “It's really about making sure K-12 can focus and provide resources where they're needed most so that we can get kids up to grade level by third grade.”

Bishop said the reason for providing additional funding for Title I schools is because past research has shown that low-income students need more investment to catch up with other students. He said that.

“There is evidence that the need is greater in Title I schools, so we believe the additional funding is for the additional students we actually need to serve,” Bishop said. Ta.

Charter school regulations

The bill's charter school provisions include a new process for charter schools that have been terminated by their local school board to appeal to the state board of education, which is appointed by the governor. A new charter school coordinator position was created in the education department.

McKay indicated he plans to add a provision that would allow the governor-appointed State Board of Education to approve new charter schools. That power is currently reserved to local school boards, and both lawmakers and educators have expressed concerns about the proposal, which Dunleavy supports.

Storey, a Juneau Democrat, said charter schools can harm neighborhood schools by diverting students and funding away from them. That's why oversight by local school boards is important, she said.

“So who will assess the impact on local neighborhood schools?” she asked.

Bishop said that under the proposal, “the state board would work directly with school districts.”

Bishop said the Department of Education does not track the total number of Alaska students on charter school waiting lists, nor does it track the number of charter school applications that are rejected by local school boards. Ta.

As of earlier this month, 836 students were on charter school waiting lists, according to data compiled by the Alaska School Boards Association and Kelly Ressens of the Anchorage School Board. This number represents less than 0.7% of all Alaska public school students. Ressence said in an email that some of the tally may have been inflated by some students whose names appear on multiple lists.

Of Alaska's nine school districts with at least one charter school, only four had significant waiting lists. The district includes Anchorage, which has 388 students on the waiting list, Matthias, which has 384 students, Fairbanks, which has 45 students, and Nome, which has 19 students.

Bishop said she believes “the district's waiting list will decrease if we add more charter schools that give parents more options.”

Garrison said the association welcomes the proposed charter school appeals process and the new position of charter school coordinator, but opposes giving the State Board of Education the power to approve new charter schools. said.

Cody McCanna, principal of a charter school in Kenai, also expressed opposition to some of the proposed changes to the approval process during Wednesday's public hearing.

“There's a lot of logistics involved in that process, so it's very important,” said McCanna, who is involved in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District's charter school approval process.

Several people from Nikolaevsk, an Old Believer community on the Kenai Peninsula, called to lament that their charter school application had been denied. Many students in that community dropped out of public school and chose to homeschool.

McCanna said the most important part of the bill is a permanent increase in the base student quota that supports public charter schools alongside traditional neighborhood schools.

“As a charter school, the majority of our funding is provided through the BSA, and if that increase does not materialize this year, we will be looking at some cuts that we do not expect,” McCanna said. Stated.

Sean Maguire reported from Juneau and Iris Samuels from Anchorage.