Gov. Mike Dunleavy, as expected, vetoed an education bill Monday that raises the $5,960 Base Student Allocation by $700 and implements a range of policy changes. The Alaska Legislature is scheduled to hold a veto override session at 9 a.m. Tuesday, having previously passed the bill with more than enough votes to meet the two-thirds threshold.
House Bill 57 passed the Legislature by a 48-11 vote. A total of 40 votes is needed for an override, with the quick joint sessions scheduled since the mandatory adjournment deadline is at the end of the day Wednesday. But Dunleavy has also threatened to use a line item veto on the funds when he signs next year’s state budget, which would require 45 votes — and might not occur until the Legislature reconvenes next January.
“I vetoed the education funding bill HB 57 because it lacked sufficient education policy reform necessary to improve student outcomes,” Dunleavy wrote in a social media message Monday. In a letter to the Legislature he further asserted “there is no evidence that a permanent increase in the Base Student Allocation will improve educational outcomes.”
Lawmakers supporting the bill — as well as educators — have argued BSA funding is directly linked to educational outcomes, based on declining test scores and other benchmarks during the past 15 years when per-student funding has remained relatively unchanged, effectively leaving schools with significantly less money due to inflation. Dunleavy has already vetoed one bill this session raising the BSA by $1,000, which the Legislature failed to override by a 33-27 vote.
“It is abundantly clear Gov. Dunleavy does not care about Alaska students or public schools,” Tom Klaameyer, president of the Alaska chapter of the National Education Association, said in a prepared statement. “To veto not one, but two bills this year to fund education is not only shameful and embarrassing, but it is a blatant disregard of his constitutional duties.”
Supporters of HB 57 also note it contains many of the policy provisions Dunleavy is seeking including more student transportation funding and an easing of regulations for operating charter schools. But the governor also insisted lawmakers approve other items such as allowing students to enroll in any district statewide, which legislators said was too complex a policy to implement without evaluating its impacts.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
