Legislature to vote on override of governor’s veto of education bill

State legislators will meet Monday afternoon in a joint session to vote on an override of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of a major education funding bill late Thursday.

It takes one third of the Legislature to override a veto of a bill, which could be high barrier considering the number of Republican lawmakers who generally supp

ort the governor’s positions.

Ironically, most Republicans in the state House voted to approve SB 140 when it passed that body. A vote to support the veto represents a change in their position.

Dunleavy defended his decision in a Friday press conference, saying that he supports increased funding for schools but that SB 140 did not contain two of his priorities, first s authority for the state Board of Education to approve applications for new charters schools instead of local school boards, and second a program of retention bonuses for teachers.

Senate President Gary Stevens issued the following statement following the veto:

“Senate Bill 140 was the legislature's omnibus education compromise…(it) was the largest increase in school funding in state history, with a $680 increase to the Base Student Allocation. Senate Bill 140 significantly improved internet connectivity in rural Alaska, provided $10 million in additional funding for the Alaska Reads Act, and brought parity to public correspondence education by increasing funding by $14.5 million.

It is unfortunate that the Governor's veto forces schools to face further uncertainty, larger classrooms, and instructional loss,” Stevens said.

“Despite ongoing discussions with the Governor over the past two and a half weeks to explore further compromises in a supplemental education bill, we were unable to come to an agreement,” he said.

Education groups were more critical:

“We express our profound disappointment and concern regarding the governor's decision to veto SB 140. This action suggests a disconnect with the critical and urgent challenges confronting education in Alaska,” said the Alaska Council of School Administrators, or ACPA, an association of education professionals.

“Education funding in Alaska has been stagnant since 2017. The repercussions of this chronic underfunding are increasingly evident, with the current economic climate exacerbating the situation. Inflation rates are at historic highs, and the education sector is experiencing unprecedented shortages,” ASPA said.

“These factors have led to school closures, staffing cuts and a host of other serious impacts across the state. The governor's veto of SB 140, a bill that garnered broad bipartisan support, places the responsibility for the lack of education funding squarely on his (the governor’s) shoulders.”

A key part of the education bill dealing with internet speeds in rural schools is now also dead, due to the veto.

“The veto of SB 140 directly impacts students in remote areas of Alaska by failing to increase bandwidth for school districts eligible for the BAG Grant, effectively limiting their internet speeds to 25Mbps. This decision exacerbates existing disparities in educational resources between remote, rural, and urban schools. Access to connectivity should not be a privilege determined by geography,” ASPA said.