Governor proposes education increase

MAT-SU -- Gov. Frank Murkowski on Friday told the Association of Alaska School Boards that he plans to ask the state Legislature for a $208-million increase for statewide K-12 education over the next two years.

Speaking at the association's annual meeting, Murkowski said it was time to provide funding predictability for school boards across the state rather than making them wait until the last minute before they know the level of funding they will have for the following school year.

"Our schools and our students deserve a predictable level of state funding so that good teachers are rewarded with a 'thank you' at the end of the year instead of a 'pink slip,'" Murkowski said in a press release. "Early, stable funding will let our school districts focus on teaching rather than on money."

For the Mat-Su Borough School District, the proposed funding increase would mean the end of having to hire teachers at the last minute.

The state Legislature did not pass education funding for the current school year until May, two months later than usual. This made it extremely difficult for the district to hire qualified teachers before the start of the 2004-2005 year.

Each year, school districts are forced to play an uncertain waiting game due to the fact that the Legislature only passes education funding one year at a time. By proposing funding for two years, the governor's plan would create predictability for school districts.

"We've seen frustration in some districts last year," Murkowski said in a press conference Friday. "They didn't know what they were going to be able to do."

The governor's proposal would increase individual student education allotments. Currently, each Alaskan student is allocated $4,576 per year but that allotment would increase to $4,869 in 2006 and $5,174 in 2007. The proposal also includes an additional $79 million to cover higher retirement system costs for school districts.

Fixed costs, such as insurance, fuel and day-to-day expenditures, would receive increased funding of $23 million in 2006 and $24 million the following year.

Under Alaska statutes, one Legislature cannot pass education funding that another Legislature has to pay for, but since members of the current Legislature will be together for two years, Murkowski said there shouldn't be a legal problem.

Mat-Su Borough School Board President Mike Chmielewski was on hand during the governor's announcement to the Alaska Association of Alaska School Boards.

"Just talking to people here, there's an enthusiastic reception," Chmielewski said. "For Mat-Su Schools, we would be able to fund programs for more than one year at a time. It means developing programs over time and thereby increasing the chances of success."

Chmielewski said he hopes the Legislature will pass the governor's request, especially following a campaign season in which so many candidates talked about funding education. The Legislature does not convene until January, so a final verdict on the governor's proposal is still several months away.

In the meantime, Chmielewski said the Mat-Su Borough School Board will likely have to come up with two different budget scenarios -- one assuming the governor's request is passed and one assuming it doesn't.

"We need to be able to show the Legislature what this would mean for us, both the positive impact if it is passed and the negative impact if it is not," he said.

Contact Joel Davidson at joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.