Alaska lawmakers override governor’s veto of public school funding, restoring services and teachers

The Alaska Legislature, meeting in special session, has overridden Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of more than $50 million in public school funding.

The vote was 45-14. At least 45 of 60 legislators are needed to override an Alaska governor’s budget veto.

The override eliminates a 5.6% year-over-year cut to public school funding, leaving districts with a small funding increase. Since July 1, the start of the state’s fiscal year, oil prices have significantly exceeded the state’s spring forecast, and if that trend continues, the state would have more than enough revenue to pay for the revived spending.

It’s the first time since 1987 that Alaska lawmakers have overridden an appropriations veto by a sitting governor.

“This is a remarkable day,” said Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak. “It was quite eventful and really unprecedented in my experience in the Legislature, and I’m very proud of how the House and Senate worked together and how we stood up and did the right thing.”

Governor and legislators have different perspectives on fixing state schools

School district superintendents said before Saturday’s education vote that if lawmakers were able to override the governor, school districts would be able to reduce class sizes and restore programs that had been cut.

Dunleavy called the special session in order to pressure lawmakers into considering a variety of education policies intended to increase the availability of alternatives to traditional public schools.

Alaska ranks 51st in the country on a national standardized test intended to rate states’ public education performance.

“There’s 50 states, and we’re 51st in the nation. It’s a moral imperative to fix that,” he said.

Legislators approved some policies this spring when they approved a compromise bill that also raised the core of the state’s per-student funding formula, the base student allocation.

Dunleavy called that bill inadequate and vetoed it. Lawmakers overrode that veto.

Dunleavy then vetoed funding needed to pay for the increased formula, and he called a special session for Aug. 2, at a time when some lawmakers were thought to be unavailable, forcing an early vote on a possible override and increasing the odds that his veto would stand.

A successful veto could have forced lawmakers into further compromises with the governor on policies they have previously opposed.

Instead, legislators made extraordinary efforts to attend the special session. Sen. Forrest Dunbar, D-Anchorage, obtained special leave from military service in Europe. Sen. James Kaufman, R-Anchorage, flew to Juneau from Vietnam. Other lawmakers canceled family events and postponed trips for business and to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

As late as Saturday morning, no one in the Capitol was sure whether the governor’s veto would be overridden or sustained.

In the end, the veto was overridden by the exact tally needed.

Dunleavy said afterward that he doesn’t think it was a mistake to call the special session.

“This gives the people of Alaska a chance to see where people stand on these votes,” he said.

He said that policy changes and education funding represent two sides of a coin, and without both halves, “it’s not much of a currency.”

The vote also allows Alaskans to see whether legislators are serious about addressing policy changes now, he said. The special session is open for 30 days, and legislators could meet and discuss the issues.

Legislators have created an education task force to address policy, but that group isn’t expected to meet until Aug. 25 and will work on its own schedule outside of special session.

“The bottom line is they either act or they don’t. This is like the world capital of talk, this place is, in Juneau,” Dunleavy said.

House Minority Leader Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, was the only legislator to vote in favor of a similar education-related veto override in the spring but changed her vote against Saturday’s override.

She said afterward that she thought the prior bill had good policies — a partial ban on cellphones in public schools, for one — and she wanted to see more policy work.

But those comments didn’t represent the views of a majority of lawmakers, who said after the vote that they were concerned about the direct and indirect impacts of the governor’s veto within their district.

Ahead of the vote, Rep. Jeremy Bynum, R-Ketchikan, said that sustaining the veto would encourage local governments to make up the funding gap by increasing their local contribution, increasing the burden on local property taxpayers. Bynum, who voted in favor of May’s veto override, also voted in favor of an override on Saturday.

The House and Senate adjourned their joint session immediately after considering both vetoes and lawmakers were greeted by applause from pro-override protesters who demonstrated in the Capitol’s hallways and outside the building before the vote.

The special session will technically stay ongoing, but legislators said they do not expect to meet again before Aug. 19.

According to a list of vetoes compiled by the Legislative Affairs Agency, Saturday’s vote marked the first time since 2009 that lawmakers have overridden an appropriations veto.

That override involved an action by Gov. Sarah Palin, who had left office by the time of the override. Lawmakers haven’t overridden an appropriations veto by a sitting governor since Gov. Steve Cowper in 1987, according to the LAA list.

School officials and education advocates react to veto override

Before the education veto override, dozens of people rallied outside the Capitol and in the building’s hallways, pleading with legislators to vote yes.

Following the override vote, demonstrators clapped and cheered, thanking lawmakers as they left the joint session.

Several district officials reacted Saturday afternoon with thanks to legislators and applauded the override vote.

“We’re extremely excited. A lot of our administrators were texting and very excited about getting it overturned today, so that made Valdez very happy,” said that city’s school superintendent, Jason Weber, by phone on Saturday. He said the funding will go toward previously cut positions, like an elementary school math specialist, as determined by the school board.

Officials with the Anchorage School District, the state’s largest by student population serving over 43,000 students, also thanked legislators. “The Anchorage School District is grateful to the 45 lawmakers who voted to put students first,” said MJ Thim, the district’s chief of communications, in an emailed statement.

“Restoring $50 million in public school funding means more stability in classrooms, more certainty for families, and stronger support for educators working every day to help students succeed. This funding was already approved with broad legislative support. Overriding the veto ensures that commitment is honored.”

NEA-Alaska, the state’s largest teachers union, expressed support for the education veto override.

“Every dollar invested in public education helps an Alaska student learn. Helps find their passion for science, math, reading, and the arts. Helps keep the lights on and schools warm. And helps our phenomenal Alaska educators successfully do their job,” said NEA-Alaska President Laura Capelle, in a written statement. “This funding is a step in the right direction, but it is not yet enough. We must continue to invest — in real dollars and collaborative solutions — to support the highest quality public education in Alaska.”